Auburn Basketball From Barkley to Bruce - by Van Allen Plexico & John Ringer (Hardcover)

About the Book

The complete history of Auburn University's Men's Basketball program from 1978-2022, with commentary and discussion by the hosts of the AU Wishbone Auburn Podcast.

Book Synopsis

Van Allen Plexico and John Ringer, hosts of the AU Wishbone Podcast and authors of WE BELIEVED: A LIFETIME OF AUBURN FOOTBALL and SEASON OF OUR DREAMS, bring you the story of Auburn Basketball over the past five decades, beginning with the arrivals of Sonny Smith and Charles Barkley, and through Bruce Pearl's revival of the program, the Final Four season of 2019 and the powerhouse team of 2022. The book includes:

- The hiring of Sonny Smith, along with a bunch of his great stories and hilarious one-liners. AND a new interview conducted with him in 2022, offering his thoughts on his time as coach, his favorite players, his work as color analyst for AU today, and his thoughts on Bruce Pearl and the current Auburn Basketball program.

- Charles Barkley: Every story we could find. His three seasons on the team; his experiences with Bobby Knight at the 1984 Olympic trials (and reactions of other players there!); his glory years in the NBA, and beyond. (Not to mention the time he tried to gain a hundred pounds in one day, to avoid being drafted by one particular team!)

- Cliff Ellis: His best teams and players, and what he really thought about his dismissal in 2004.

- The tragedy of Tommy Joe Eagles, and the disaster of the Lebo/Barbee years. (From how the new Arena was designed and why, to what Barbee felt was the most important thing when he took over the job--!)

- Bruce Pearl: How Jay Jacobs managed the hire. The controversies. The revival of the program. The glorious 2019 run. The great players. The exhilaration of the 2022 team and everything around it. All of that and more.

- The greatest players of the last five decades, and the best games, tournament runs, and more.

- In-depth discussion and analysis of every Auburn Basketball season since 1978 (some of them game-by-game, a few of them play-by-play... and some much more than others, obviously!)

- And, along the way, you get Van and John's patented mixture of commentary, humor, memories, and analysis.

It's 300 pages of Auburn Basketball glory, as only the AU Wishbone duo can tell it!

Review Quotes

"The best and most comprehensive book ever written on Auburn Basketball." --David Housel, Auburn Athletic Director Emeritus