1988–89 Auburn Tigers men's basketball team

The 1988–89 Auburn Tigers men's basketball team represented Auburn University in the 1988–89 college basketball season. The team's head coach was Sonny Smith, who was in his eleventh and final season at Auburn. The team played their home games at Joel H. Eaves Memorial Coliseum in Auburn, Alabama. They finished the season 9–19, 2–16 in SEC play. They lost to Ole Miss in the first round of the SEC tournament.[2]

1988–89 Auburn Tigers men's basketball
ConferenceSoutheastern Conference
Record9–19 (2–16 SEC)
Head coach
Home arenaJoel H. Eaves Memorial Coliseum
Seasons
1988–89 Southeastern Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Florida 13 5   .722 21 13   .618
No. 20 Alabama 12 6   .667 23 8   .742
Vanderbilt 12 6   .667 19 14   .576
LSU 11 7   .611 20 12   .625
Tennessee 11 7   .611 19 11   .633
Kentucky 8 10   .444 13 19   .406
Ole Miss 8 10   .444 15 15   .500
Mississippi State 7 11   .389 13 15   .464
Georgia 6 12   .333 15 16   .484
Auburn 2 16   .111 9 19   .321
1989 SEC tournament winner
Rankings from AP poll[1]

The Tigers' season was beset with many problems. Junior forward John Caylor, expected to be a key contributor this season, was lost after five games due to a life-threatening blood clot in his shoulder.[3]

Junior guard Derrick Dennison, another key contributor from last season, quit the team over a feud with Coach Smith about a reduced role, but later returned. Additionally, forward Kelvin Ardister, a junior-college transfer, and freshman guard Johnny Benjamin were both dismissed from the team after seven games for violating team rules.[4] Prior to his dismissal, Benjamin had been arrested and imprisoned on two misdemeanor charges, criminal trespassing and third-degree theft of property, when he entered a student's off-campus apartment and took an undisclosed amount of money.[5]

After the season, coach Sonny Smith resigned and took the head coaching position at VCU.[6]

Roster

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1988–89 Auburn Tigers men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
F 22 John Caylor 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Jr Morristown West High School Talbott, Tennessee
C 25 Matt Geiger 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)
So Countryside High School Clearwater, FL
G 30 Keenan Carpenter 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Sr Rutherfordton, Tennessee
G 24 Derrick Dennison 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Jr Douglass High School Atlanta, Georgia
G 3 Kirt Hankton 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Jr De LaSalle High School New Orleans, Louisiana
G 12 Johnny Benjamin 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Fr Central Florida Academy Orlando, Florida
G 14 Reggie Gallon 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Fr Miami Edison High School Miami, Florida
F 15 Kelvin Ardister 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Jr Southwest DeKalb High School Decatur, Georgia
G 20 Dustin Hester 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
So Crestview High School Crestview, Alabama
G 21 Ronnie Battle 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
So Chavala High School Pittsview, Alabama
F 34 Robert McKie 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
So Miami Carol City High School Miami, Florida
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

References

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  1. ^ sports-reference.com 1988-89 Southeastern Conference Season Summary
  2. ^ "1988-89 Auburn Tigers Schedule and Results". Retrieved December 9, 2016.
  3. ^ Staff, Brian Schmitz of the Sentinel. "AFTER RECENT TRAGEDY, CAYLOR PONDERS FUTURE". OrlandoSentinel.com.
  4. ^ "Auburn's second leading scorer, Derrick Dennison, quit the basketball..." UPI.
  5. ^ Staff, Barry Cooper and Mike Huguenin of The Sentinel. "TROUBLED BENJAMIN JAILED IN AUBURN". OrlandoSentinel.com.
  6. ^ Sentinel, Orlando. "SONNY TO VCU". OrlandoSentinel.com.

Schedule and Results

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Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Regular season
Nov 26, 1988*
Mount St. Mary's W 89-83  1-0
Auburn, AL 
Joel H. Eaves Memorial Coliseum
Nov 29, 1988*
Georgia State W 74-70  2-0
Auburn, AL 
Joel H. Eaves Memorial Coliseum
Dec 3, 1988*
Mercer W 87-66  3-0
Joel H. Eaves Memorial Coliseum 
Auburn, AL
Dec 10, 1988*
Texas Southern W 109-81  4-0
Joel H. Eaves Memorial Coliseum 
Auburn, AL
Dec 14, 1988
at Vanderbilt L 77-93  4-1 (0-1)
Memorial Gymnasium 
Nashville, TN
Dec 17, 1988*
Jackson State W 74-51  5-1
Joel H. Eaves Memorial Coliseum 
Auburn, AL
Dec 20, 1988*
at Virginia Commonwealth W 85-79  6-1
Richmond Coliseum 
Richmond, VA
Dec 28,1988*
vs. Villanova
Red Lobster Classic
L 83-84  6-2
Orange County Civic Center 
Orlando, FL
Dec 29, 1988*
at Central Florida
Red Lobster Classic
W 95-68  7-2
Orange County Civic Center 
Orlando, FL
Jan 4, 1989
No. 17 Tennessee L 73-84  7-3 (0-2)
Joel H. Eaves Memorial Coliseum 
Auburn, AL
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
SE=Southeast.
All times are in Central.