Curtis Luper talks about Big Cat Weekend, Tiger Prowl and recruiting against Nick Saban
(Photo credit: Todd Van Emst)
It’s always fun getting a chance to catch up with Auburn’s recruiting czar Curtis Luper.
Namely because there might not be a person in Lee County with more knowledge/opinions about the NBA than Luper.
I like that, considering I’m a diehard Cleveland Cavaliers fan and follow the Association with passion. I don’t like that Luper thinks the Lakers will repeat this season because he said that last year and, well, he was right.
I talked with Luper on the record for about 15 minutes this afternoon with the heavy focus on Auburn’s upcoming recruiting ventures, including the returns of Tiger Prowl and Big Cat Weekend. Here’s a sneak peek of the Q&A, which will run in tomorrow’s Opelika-Auburn News.
(Why do Big Cat again?)
“Coach Chiz wants to make those events annual so if it warrants it being an annual event, we think it did so we’re going to do it again.“
(The theme still going to be less on football and more on fun?)
“That’s the uniqueness. As a staff, we sat down and said ‘How can we be different?‘ You know, we made it a social event. That’s what those guys like.“
(You know the last one was going to be as big as it was?)
“We really were fortunate in the quality of athlete that we were able to attract. It headed off well. We were surprised by the success and the quality of it and the response from players that were there, players that weren’t there, players this year that want to be there. We were, and are and continue to be surprised by the effectiveness of it all.“
(Any hesitation to keep the name?)
“No. None whatsoever. It is a Big Cat Weekend and it will continue to be a Big Cat Weekend.“
(And Tiger Prowl is back, too)
“It’s a lot more than just a limo. It was an opportunity for us to introduce ourselves to the state of Alabama and to get to know the teachers, players, coaches, administrators in this state. Coach Chizik, coach (Phillip) Lolley and coach (Tracy) Rocker were the only ones that spent a significant amount of time in this state. The rest of us needed to get to know the state and I thought it really helped us to learn about the state and we’ll do it again this year with the same intent. Obviously, we’ll go out and see prospective student athletes but it’s still about the people. We love meeting the people, students and teachers and principals.“
(Alabama’s stacked roster in any way an advantage to Auburn’s recruiting endeavors?)
“We’ll find an advantage every way. We’ll find an advantage for us. But Auburn is a great sell. Coach Chizik is an easy sell for us and me in particular. This university can sell itself. I think the players saw the way our players played this year. I think that helped us in recruiting immensely and I think it’s overlooked. We played with a lot of stick-to-it-tiveness. People say we won some games that we shouldn’t have and we were in games we shouldn’t have been. I think that players can see the way we play, they get on campus and they see the interaction with our coaches and see that it is truly an Auburn family. I think those are the factors that really aided us in having a really quality class this year.“
For more, pick up a copy of the Opelika-Auburn News … or continue getting it for free on the Internet. It’s on your conscience.
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