March 18, 2018
By Greg Ostendorf
AuburnTigers.com
SAN DIEGO ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" Mack McGadney sat in on Auburn's practice Saturday and watched as the players ran through drills and took shots. He watched as Bruce Pearl and the other coaches directed the team as they worked on specific plays.
Sitting on the sideline at Viejas Arena, the former Auburn basketball player was brought to tears as he remembered his own NCAA Tournament experience.
"You ask me what I remember. I remember this," McGadney said. "I remember stretching. I remember muscle memory. I remember the same routine that Coach Pearl is having these guys go through. I remember getting changed in the locker room as a player. I remember what it took to get here. I remember the hardships. I remember the sacrifices."
McGadney was a freshman at Auburn during the 1998-99 season when the Tigers went 29-4 and won the SEC regular-season championship. Until this season, it was the last time Auburn had won a conference title, and he still proudly wears his ring around. That team won two games in the NCAA Tournament before losing to Ohio State in the Sweet 16.
The next year, McGadney and the Tigers returned to the Big Dance as a 7 seed where they opened with a win over Creighton but lost to Iowa State in the second round.
"I loved it," McGadney said. "I loved the experience. I loved just being around it."
However, that loss to Iowa State would be McGadney's final NCAA Tournament game. The 6-foot-7 big man tore his ACL eight games into his junior season. Prior to the injury, he was averaging 16.9 points and 9.3 rebounds per game for the Tigers. And though he tried to come back as a senior, he was never the same player.
As a result of the injury, Auburn missed the Big Dance in 2001 and 2002.
"I want to tell the guys, 'Don't take this for granted,'" McGadney said. "You never know. You never know when you'll get that opportunity to be in a March Madness. You never know when CBS shoots you or whoever has a chance to publicize to you. You never know when you're going to have an Auburn jersey or Auburn paraphernalia on."
For McGadney, it's been 16 years since he last put on his Auburn jersey. It's been 16 years since he last attended an Auburn basketball game.
But when it was announced that the Tigers would be headed to San Diego for the opening weekend, the Arizona native texted Charles Barkley and told him he was driving over to watch their university play. On Friday, he showed up at Tiger Walk outside the team hotel with his old jersey on, and he went and cheered on Auburn in its first-round win over Charleston.
On Saturday, he rode the team bus to practice and met the players for the first time.
"These players are fighters," McGadney said. "These players are undersized. These players don't care about being undersized. These players don't care about any adversity that you throw in front of them. Who doesn't want to be with these players?
"I left in 2002. We wanted it. We knew we were playing for something. We were playing as a team to accomplish goals individually, and that's what I love about (this team). There's not an individual player on this court that I saw (Friday). Every kid is playing for each other. That's a testament to Bruce. That's a testament to the staff."
Though Pearl had not yet met McGadney in person before this trip, he welcomed the presence of the former alum.
"It's just great," Pearl said. "We're trying to add to the history and tradition that he helped get started. Johnny and Karen Kincey are great friends of mine at Auburn, and they were like adopted parents to him. Even though we just met for the first time, because I feel like I'm a part of their family, in many ways, we're part of the same family.
"The fact that it means so much to him, it means even more to me."
McGadney will be back at Viejas Arena on Sunday to watch as Auburn looks to advance to the Sweet 16 with a win over Clemson.
Greg Ostendorf is a Senior Writer for AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: Follow @greg_ostendorf