Mike Szvetitz | A View From The Lazy Boy

03/12 at 01:40 AM

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — If you haven’t heard by now, don’t expect Jeff Lebo to let you in on what’s going on.

He doesn’t know. And if he does, he’s not talking.

Neither is Auburn athletic director Jay Jacobs. At least not Thursday, or the days leading up to it.

Lebo’s future is uncertain, at best. Actually, depending on who you talk to, it ranges anywhere from cloudy to really, really, really cloudy, especially after the Tigers’ 78-69, opening-round SEC Tournament loss to Florida on Thursday night.

The loss finished up Lebo’s sixth season on the Plains, where he’s 96-93 overall and 37-67 against SEC opponents.

By now, you know his stat line: winning just 36 percent of his conference games, only one postseason tournament to his credit (the NIT last year), no NCAA Tournament appearances in six years and only two SEC Tournament wins in that timeframe.

But, again, don’t look for Lebo to shed any light on what happens next. For the fourth time in the last week, Lebo only offered that he would meet with Jacobs.

Nothing else.

“We’ll meet like we always do at the end, like most head coaches and ADs meet,” Lebo said during his postgame press conference. “We’ll have our discussion. That will be private.

“It will happen at some point here soon, I’m sure.”

That’s about the only thing we do know for sure. A meeting will happen. Soon. Possibly today.

Anything else is anyone’s guess. And let me just say, I’ve heard them all. Everything from he’s staying to he’s going.

What will actually happen? Again, we’ll find out soon.

After talking to some of his players Thursday night, though, the consensus is that he should stay.

“I think he should still be here, because he’s a good coach,” senior guard Tay Waller said.

“I haven’t heard too much about it, but in my opinion he’s a great coach,” senior forward Lucas Hargrove said. “I think he should get many more years. … I think he’s a great coach and, going into the new arena, I feel like he should definitely have a chance.”

Will it happen? Well, something’s got to.

In the world of college athletics, it’s all about “what have you done for me lately?”

Auburn is one of just two SEC programs in the last six years to not make the NCAA Tournament.

Auburn made the commitment to basketball when it decided to break ground on the $92.5 million Auburn Arena, which will open next season.

Money talks just as loudly as wins, and Jacobs and Auburn spoke up when they started construction on the new facility.

Now, what will they say about the basketball coach? About the future of the program?

Will Lebo lead the Tigers into their new digs? Will next year’s recruiting class be the one that finally helps him turn the corner? Will the new arena, followed by another vote of confidence be what lifts the program? Does Lebo deserve another chance to try and make that happen?

All fair questions.

Or will it be someone else? A new coach with a new outlook and a new style? Will it be a fresh face, or perhaps a familiar one who knows the Auburn dynamic?

Again, all fair questions.

Questions Jacobs has to answer, if he hasn’t already.

MIKE SZVETITZ is sports editor of the Opelika-Auburn News. He may be reached at 737-2513.