The second year of a new coach's regime at any given school can be an odd time.
If things go according to plan, the team should show improvement from Year 1, with players having fully grasped a new system and adapted to a new coaching style. But unless the school we're talking about is steeped in tradition and just in need of a new man running the show -- see John Calipari at Kentucky -- Year 2 for a head coach can be a bit frustrating. The noticeable improvement might be there, but it's still a transitional time, especially for a head coach, like Tony Barbee at Auburn, that is trying to build a program from the ground up.
Year 2 will likely feature some losses that feel undeserved and a record that leaves something -- or a lot of things -- to be desired. In that case, one shouldn't simply look at the team's wins and losses. There is a need to look deeper to fine out just how successful the season was and if the team is headed down the right path into the future.
For Auburn this year, the final record certainly left plenty to be desired. The Tigers finished 15-16 overall and 5-11 in SEC play. That marked the third consecutive year that Auburn finished with a record below .500, double-digit losses in conference play and no postseason. There haven't been too many periods of basketball success on the Plains, but that's a rough stretch, even for Auburn's standards. Does Barbee have the Tigers on the right track? Will Auburn be competing with the SEC's elite in the near future? Will Auburn fans soon be looking to March as a month to celebrate basketball, as opposed to the time to shift into baseball and football spring practice modes? Only time will tell, but we can get an idea by looking closely at Auburn in 2011-12 and comparing the Tigers to Barbee's first season in 2010-11.
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