Auburn's men's basketball team is routinely one of the under-performers in the SEC, but that was about to change during the mid- and late-1990s.

For a brief time they were the top ranked team in the nation, and the 1995-1996 club, which finished 19-13, was the foundation for that later success.

Pat Burke has the ball in this photo. I had a few classes with him, he was a nice guy, fond of his basketball and proud to tell you about it -- as if being 6-feet-11-inches tall wasn't enough of an attention getter. He would go undrafted after his senior season at Auburn in 1997, but signed with the Orlando Magic and became the first Irishman ever to play in the NBA.

Now he's playing basketball in Europe and has made a nice career for himself there.

This was Cliff Ellis' second season coaching the team. He was another likable guy. He would be named national Coach of the Year after the magical 1999 run where the Tigers won 29 games and the conference championship. He'd make it to the Sweet 16 twice after that, but was fired in 2004.

The basketball program is still struggling to recover.

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