10 Reasons Why You Should Still Be Excited for 2013-14

I know that there hasn't been much good news for Auburn basketball in the past few weeks, which can make it easy to forget all of the good things that a new season on the hardwood can bring. Luckily, that's what you have your friendly neighborhood King of the Jungle for! So without further ado, I give you my ten reasons why you should still be excited about this season:

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1. The seniors

In today's college basketball landscape, players frequently transfer or struggle with following the rules, so making it all the way from their freshman year to their senior year is quite the accomplishment. That's exactly what Allen Payne and Chris Denson have done at Auburn. It's been a bumpy ride for those two along with senior center Asauhn Dixon-Tatum, who transferred to Auburn last season from junior college. Even with all of the hardships they've endured, these guys have put in a lot of hard work during their careers, and this is our last chance to show how much we appreciate them.

Allen and CD3, pumped about graduating

Weekly Recap: July 21-27, 2013

It was a pretty light week in terms of Auburn hoops news, with only one major news item coming this week:

(Albert Cesare)

Shaq Johnson to NW Florida State JUCO

We learned the fate of Shaq Johnson after he was dismissed from the team just over a week ago after being arrested for second-degree possession of marijuana.




That was the only major news item this week for Auburn basketball, but keep it locked to the blog as I'll have some features going up this week and the next on the Tigers' upcoming trip to the Bahamas!

NEWS: Shaq Johnson Lands at NW Florida State Junior College

According to Brad Winton of JucoRecruiting.com, former Auburn guard Shaq Johnson has been picked up by Nortwest Florida State Junior College. Here's his tweet:

Former Auburn player Shaquille Johnson is headed to NW Florida State to play a year of JUCO
— Brad Winton (@JucoRecruiting) July 26, 2013

Shaq Johnson was removed from the Auburn team last Thursday after being arrested for second-degree possession of marijuana. He is the fourth former Auburn Tiger to find a new school this offseason: Jordan Price is transferring to La Salle, Brian Greene Jr. is transferring to Florida-Gulf Coast, and Jerome Seagears returned to Rutgers after being in Auburn only a week.

Shaq Johnson in last season's SEC Tournament (Dave Martin)

NEWS: [UPDATE] Former Auburn All-SEC Forward Korvotney Barber Found Dead

WSFA News has reported that the body of Korvotney Barber was found at 3:49 pm on Sunday in the waters off the coast of Panama City, FL.

Jay Jacobs released this statement to AuburnTigers.com:

"We are deeply saddened to learn of the devastatingly tragic and untimely death of Korvotney Barber. The Auburn Family remembers Vot as a relentless competitor with the heart of a champion. More importantly, those who knew him best remember him as a caring father who deeply loved his children and his family. Korvotney's family and friends will remain in our thoughts and prayers during this profoundly sad time."

Our thoughts and prayers go out to Barber's family and friends.

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As we await official word on the story, Tony Barbee took to Twitter to weigh in on Korvotney Barber's situation:

Former AU basketball player Korvotney Barber is missing & believed to have drowned last night. My thoughts & prayers go out to his family.
— Tony Barbee (@CoachTonyBarbee) July 21, 2013

It appears that no signs of Barber have been found, so he is still listed as missing, but the situation certainly looks grim.

Jay Jacobs also sent a tweet addressing the situation:

My thoughts and heartfelt prayers are with the family and friends of Korvotney Barber during this tremendously difficult time.
— Jay Jacobs (@jayjacobsauad) July 21, 2013

It certainly appears that we should fear the worst. We should all be keeping the friends and family of Vot Barber in our thoughts and prayers.

Here's the original story:

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Former Auburn forward Korvotney "Vot" Barber died in a fatal drowning accident in Florida on Saturday. He was 26 years old.

Korvotney Barber playing in the 2009 NIT

Barber played for the Tigers from 2005-2009, and is regarded as one of the best players to come through the Plains in the last decade. He played in 106 games at Auburn, putting up career averages of 10.9 points per game and 7.2 rebounds per game. He was placed on both the Coaches' and AP All-SEC Second Team in 2009, the last Auburn player to earn All-SEC honors.

Weekly Recap: July 14-20, 2013

This past week has been a rough one for Auburn basketball, perhaps the roughest ever. Here are the biggest news stories that made it so:

(Albert Cesare)

Shaq Johnson Dismissed

Auburn guard Shaq Johnson was dismissed from the team on Thursday after being arrested for second degree possession of marijuana on Wednesday night.

(Julie Bennett)

Brian Greene Jr. to FGCU

On Friday, Brian Greene Jr. announced his plans transfer to Florida-Gulf Coast. He had already announced that he was leaving Auburn earlier this year.

(Todd Van Emst)

Korvotney Barber Dead

Former All-SEC forward Korvotney Barber died at the age of 26 on Saturday after a fatal drowning accident.





As you can see, it's been a really bad week for the Auburn basketball family. Hopefully there will be some better news on the horizon as Auburn prepares for their trip to the Bahamas, and if so I'll keep you posted. Keep checking the blog for more Auburn hoops updates!

NEWS: Former Auburn G Brian Greene Jr. Transferring to FGCU

Today on Twitter, former Auburn guard Brian Greene Jr. announced his plans to transfer to Florida-Gulf Coast, having already decided to leave Auburn at the end of last season. Here it is in his own words:

Excited to be apart of a great program like #FGCU can't wait to get to work #DunkCity
— Brian Greene Jr (@flight_bg) July 19, 2013

NEWS: Shaq Johnson Dismissed from Team

Auburn G Shaq Johnson was dismissed from the team today after being arrested for second degree possession of marijuana on Wednesday night.

The Auburn high-flyer was expected to play a major role this season after playing in all 32 games last season and starting 21 of them. He is not the first Auburn Tiger to leave town this offseason; Jordan Price, Brian Greene Jr., and Jerome Seagears (despite only having been a Tiger for a week) all elected to transfer this offseason.

To say that this has been a rough offseason would be the understatement of the century.

Shaq doing his thing (Todd Van Emst)

Welcome!

Welcome to the world's #1 unofficial Auburn basketball blog, the King of the Jungle Blog!

My goals in creating this blog are simple: I want create a place where anyone can stay up to date on all things Auburn basketball on the internet. While there are many great Auburn websites out there, most of them are focused around Auburn football, so I decided to make a place where Auburn hoops fanatics like myself can go to get all of the latest news, speculation, and details about Auburn basketball.

As you may have noticed by the name and such, this blog will largely focus on Auburn basketball's student section, The Jungle, as most (if not all) of the posts will be written by me, the current "unofficial" King of the Jungle. This means that when the season rolls around, there will be a lot of posts about the student section both before and after each game: specifically, the "dirt" on opposing teams, information about different student section activities, and whatever else students want and need.

That being said, even if you aren't a student, don't let that discourage you from coming here and making yourself a part of the blog, because this blog isn't just for us students, it's for everyone in the Auburn family who loves Auburn Tiger basketball.

That's all I have for now, but keep checking back for more posts in the upcoming days and weeks! So again, welcome and War Eagle!

Allen Payne celebrating the creation of this blog. Or beating LSU, whatever. (Laura Chramer)