BMatt’s Monday musings

AUBURN | A lot of things can be true at once and that’s certainly the case with Aden Holloway.

He had a disappointing first season at Auburn and appeared to lose confidence in his 3-point shot. He also struggled at times adjusting to playing point guard after being more of an off-guard in high school.

But a lot of true freshmen struggle in their first season of college. And because of his work ethic and drive, there’s every reason to expect that he could step up in a lot of ways in year two.

Except that won’t be taking place at Auburn. Instead, Holloway will be suiting up for the Tigers’ biggest rival, Alabama, next season.

As soon as i realized this was a possibility, the first thing that popped into my mind was how many Holloway threads will the started on the Bunker over the next 11-plus months.

The limit does not exist.

On the other hand, I’m determined to make this my one and only column concerning him.

And if we’re being honest, Holloway is probably going to be a good fit in the Tide’s fast-paced offense, especially if he can regain confidence in his 3-point shot.

When it comes to the Tigers, especially with Johni Broome, Dylan Cardwell and Chaney Johnson all planning to return, they needed a different kind of point guard.

Auburn needed a more veteran guard that could effectively run and lead a half-court offense and excelled at coming off screens, popping 3-pointers, driving inside to drop off a pass for an easy bucket or finishing at the rim.

Auburn found a perfect fit in JP Pegues, who averaged 18.4 points, 4.8 assists and shot 36.2 percent from 3-point range as a junior at Furman last season.

Both Holloway and Tre Donaldson knew Auburn was going to pursue a point guard like Pegues and had the opportunity to return and compete.

Both elected to move on with Donaldson landing at Michigan.

There don’t have to be any bad guys here. Holloway and Donaldson believe they’ll have better opportunities at their new schools.

Pegues could be AU’s best point guard since Jared Harper.

Look, I get it. There’s gonna be some hard feelings. It’s not that Holloway left, it’s that he went to play for AU’s biggest rival.

So let’s enjoy it. I mean, it’s moves like this that can really inflame a rivalry that was already heating up after the Tide’s run last season and Auburn’s early exit.

It’s OK to be a hater, just not a HATER. And it should make Alabama’s trip to Neville Arena next season one for the ages.

*** I'd like to welcome Uncle Keith's Red Sauce as the official sponsor of Monday musings. I was a customer before bringing them on as a sponsor and I was hooked after the very first taste. It's available in original and hot and can be found in Publix throughout the state of Alabama along with select Piggly Wiggly's, Renfroe's, the Kroger's in Auburn/Opelika and on-line. Uncle Keith's Red Sauce was born right here in the state of Alabama. ***

In today’s musical journey, we go back four days to the death of one of the greatest guitarists of all time, a leader of the Southern rock movement and the inspiration for an almost famous movie character. On April 18, 2024, Dickey Betts, a co-founder of the Allman Brothers Band, passed away at his home in Osprey, Fla., from two forms of cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The Allman Brothers Band along with Charlie Daniels, the Marshall Tucker Band and Lynyrd Skynyrd were all major contributors to the rise of Southern Rock during the 1970’s, which combined rock with country and blues. The Allman Brothers Band released 18 albums from 1969-2004 and had a couple of early hits in 1969’s “Whipping Post” and 1971's “Midnight Rider,” which is best known from a solo version put out by Gregg Allman in 1973. The band had a couple more hits in 1972 with “One Way Out” and “Melissa,” and then their most successful single in 1973’s “Ramblin Man,” which was written by Betts and peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard 100. Other popular hits by the band include two instrumentals composed by Betts in 1971’s “In Memory of Elizabeth Reed” and 1974’s “Jessica.” The Allman Brothers Band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995 and is ranked by Rolling Stone as the 52nd best musical artist of all time.

Forrest Richard Betts was born in West Palm Beach, Fla., in 1943 and grew up in Bradenton. He first started playing a ukulele at age 5 and eventually moved to a mandolin, banjo and guitar. He started playing in bands at the age of 16, mainly in Florida, before meeting Duane Allman in Jacksonville in 1969. The pair started forming the group, which added Gregg Allman a couple of weeks later once he returned from Los Angeles where he was under contract with Liberty Records. The band suffered a pair of tragedies early on when Duane was killed in a motorcycle accident in 1971 and bassist Berry Oakley in a similar accident a year later. After Duane’s death, Betts became the band’s only guitarist and also took a bigger role in songwriting and singing. A 16-year old Cameron Crowe joined the Allman Brothers Band on a tour in 1973 to write a cover story for Rolling Stone and Betts became Crowe's inspiration for Billy Crudup’s character Russell in the film, Almost Famous. Betts struggled with alcohol and drugs through much of his career and was eventually kicked out of the band in 2000. He also released 14 other albums with various other groups or solo. He won a Grammy Award with the bend for “Jessica” in 1996. The song was named after one of Bett’s daughters. Betts is ranked by Rolling Stone as the 58th best guitarist of all time.