Alabama Basketball Blog

Antoine Pettway Promoted

2013-05-20T17:39:00.000-04:00

As expected, Anthony Grant announced today that Antoine Pettway has been promoted to assistant coach. Other changes to the coaching staff include John Brannen being promoted to Associate Head Coach and the program has also hired a new strength and conditioning coach, Lou DeNeen, whose previous stops include UAB and Cal. Here is a link.

Congratulations to Antoine Pettway on the promotion. I felt when he was retained by Grant after being hired, it was a bit of a PR move on Grant's part. After working with him for four years, I think Grant now has complete confidence in Antoine to get the job done. Pettway loves the university and he is one of the most popular players in the history of the program so this is a win/win for all involved.

Brannen's move to associate head coach was a no-brainer. He's been with Grant for seven years so they have a familiarity with each other. He's the best choice to take over for Dan Hipsher at this point. Brannen is also becoming a name himself. His name has been mentioned for several vacant jobs the last two seasons. It's just a matter of time before someone gives him an opportunity.

I don't know anything about DeNeen, but the article states, in addition to his college experience, he's also worked with professional players in the NBA, MLB and NFL so he's been around it all.

A-Sun Freshman of the Year Considering Alabama

2013-05-19T21:36:00.001-04:00

As we head into the summer, we've seen the Alabama basketball program become a Transfer U of sorts as two players - Ricky Tarrant and Michael Kessens - have already left their former programs for the green green grass of Tuscaloosa.Now comes the news that Anthony Grant and his staff may add another transfer to the mix in Stephen Hurt, a 6-10 285 lb Center from Lipscomb University. Hurt was voted the A-Sun Freshman of the Year after averaging 11.5 points and 7.8 rebounds a game this past season.

Hurt, from Murfreesboro, TN, recently asked for his release after Lipscomb fired Scott Sanderson. The word is he's very interested in Alabama. Hurt will probably have to sit out a year per transfer rules, but he could be an instant impact performer in 2014-15 if he does come to Alabama. It would be yet another sign that the Alabama coaching staff is looking to shore up the inside game, which has been an achilles heel at times during the Grant tenure. Hurt would not only give them a big body on the boards, but a scoring presence as well.

And, make no mistake, Hurt is a big body. At 285 lbs, a year off may actually benefit Hurt before he steps back on the court. He weighed as much as 295 this past season at Lipscomb and, based on an article I found online, it appears the Lipscomb coaches were really pushing him to get in better shape. Being that he was "not close to the best shape I can be in", and yet still won A-Sun Freshman of the Year honors speaks volumes about his skill and potential. Hopefully Alabama is in his future.

Obviously, the 2013-14 season remains an important one for the Alabama basketball program in terms of continuing to build momentum and restoring some good faith in the skeptics. It becomes even more important when you consider the fact that the 2014-15 team will return experience, hopefully add some highly rated recruits from the state and will have 2, maybe 3, transfers who should be able to contribute immediately. With the right momentum from a successful 2013-14 campaign, the 2014-15 team could be a legitimate SEC favorite. What it adds up to is that the immediate future of Alabama basketball suddenly looks a lot better than it did the day after the news of Trevor Lacey's decision to transfer.

Alabama/UCLA Agree To Home And Home Series

2013-05-18T18:39:00.002-04:00

It was reported today by CBS' Jon Rothstein that Alabama and UCLA have agreed to a home and home series beginning next season. Alabama will travel to Pauley Pavilion (Date TBD) and UCLA will make its first visit to Tuscaloosa in the 2014-15 season. Alabama is 1-2 all time against UCLA.

This is good news as it provides Alabama with a name non-conference opponent the next two years and will offer the 2013-14 team a great opportunity at a non-conference resume road win.

UCLA will be undergoing some transition after firing Ben Howland and replacing him with Steve Alford despite Howland's team winning the Pac 12 regular season title and advancing to the NCAA Tournament. Though the Bruins lost Shabazz Muhammed to the NBA draft, the Bruins will return a solid core highlighted by Jordan Adams, Kyle Anderson and the Wear twins. This should be a tough test for an Alabama team that will look to avoid early non-conference struggles that have damaged their tournament resumes two out of the last three years.

Bama to play Texas Tech on November 14

2013-05-14T14:22:00.001-04:00

They are including Texas Tech's return trip as part of the Big 12/SEC Challenge. We play them in Tuscaloosa on Thursday, November 14. It will be the first game of the challenge.

The other matchups are:

Vandy at Texas
auburn at Iowa State
West Virginia at Mizzou
Ole Miss at Kansas State
TCU at Mississippi State
South Carolina at Oklahoma State
Kentucky vs Baylor (Arlington, TX)
Kansas at Florida
Texas A&M v. Oklahoma (Houston, TX)

Looking at these matchups, it will be difficult for the SEC to get 5 wins, in my opinion.

Alabama Lands Second Transfer

2013-05-04T17:35:00.003-04:00

It's being reported that Alabama has landed a second transfer in this year's class in Longwood University's, Michael Kessens. A freshman last season, the 6'9, 205 lb Kessens averaged 13.7 ppg and 8.8 reb. Kessens originally hails from Switzerland and didn't begin playing basketball until he was 16. Like Ricky Tarrant, he will have to sit out the 2013-14 season per transfer rules with three seasons of eligibility remaining.

Admittedly, I did not see Longwood play this season so I know little about Kessens and what he will bring to the table, but the size and rebounding ability will be welcomed for a team that has had its fair shortage of both in recent years. Looking at his stats against solid or good competition (Marshall, Arkansas, Creighton, Seton Hall, Georgetown and VCU), Kessens averaged 7.3, 7.1 reb and 1 blk. It remains to be seen if he will be a long-term contributor, but taking a year off to get stronger and learn the system should help the young man. If nothing else, he could grow into a very reliable role player off the bench for Alabama in the years ahead.

Strange story involving Devonta Pollard's mom- Kidnapping?

2013-05-03T12:09:00.003-04:00

Jesse Mae Pollard, a longtime teacher and mother of University of Alabama basketball player Devonta Pollard, appeared before a U.S. District Court judge today after she was charged in the kidnapping of a six-year-old girl in Kemper County, Miss.

An Amber alert was issued Wednesday for Jashayla Hopson, who was taken from her school in Scooba, Miss., Tuesday afternoon, and was canceled after Hopson was found Wednesday afternoon near Enterprise, Miss., around 2 p.m.

Jesse Mae Brown Pollard, 54, of Northport appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Keith Ball in Jackson, Miss., today. The court ruled to detain Pollard pending action by a federal grand jury based on probable cause.

In the criminal complaint filed today, an FBI agent in the Jackson, Miss., office, presented an affidavit with a timeline of the investigation. In it, he writes that investigators talked to Pollard about a "dispute" she had with Hopson's mother.

Link

Okay... now this makes me wonder if Pollard is gonna want to stick around with this going on.

Anthony Grant Press Conference

2013-04-27T03:32:00.000-04:00

Anthony Grant held a very interesting press conference on Friday in which he discussed a range of topics including the transfers of Moussa and Lacey, Dan Hipsher, next seasons' team, Ricky Tarrant, the NBA early entry rules, the non-conference schedule and the state of the Alabama program. Check it out.

Bama to play in Preseason NIT

2013-04-26T16:40:00.001-04:00

Finally some good news to report. Cecil Hurt tweeted today that Coach Grant said we will play in the preseason NIT along with Arizona, Duke, and others. The preseason NIT is probably the best preseason tournament out there as far as competition and national exposure goes. I can't wait to see what the brackets look like, and let's hope it's our only appearance in the NIT next year.

Rumored SEC/Big 12 Challenge Match-ups

2013-04-25T17:29:00.002-04:00

Let's talk about something else that doesn't involve transfers, basketball apathy and fired coaches. We're probably months before schedules for next season begin to take shape, but there is one thing we do know. The SEC and Big 12 will meet next season in a series of games making up one of those made for TV (ESPN) challenges. There will be ten games, five at the home of an SEC team and the other five at a Big 12 arena near you. The rumored match-ups have been kicking around the internet for about a week now. Again, these are nothing more than rumors at the moment so take with a grain of salt.

Alabama/Oklahoma
Florida/Kansas
Kentucky/Texas
Tennessee/Baylor
Missouri/West Virginia
South Carolina/Kansas State
Ole Miss/Iowa State
LSU/TCU
A&M/Texas Tech
Arkansas/Oklahoma State

The Florida/Kansas game is supposedly a done deal, with the game taking place in Gainesville. The rest of the match-ups, I'm not sold on yet. For one thing, I seriously doubt a situation would be set up in which both Frank Martin and Trent Johnson would play their former teams so soon after leaving them. If anything, I think the SEC teams should be flipped in that scenario. I also find it difficult to believe that Vandy would not be included in this event in place of Carolina or A&M, two teams that will probably not be projected ahead of Vandy when the preseason selections are released.

There are some match-ups that are appealing, however. Alabama/Oklahoma, Missouri/West Virginia, Tennessee/Baylor, Arkansas/Oklahoma State and Ole Miss/Iowa State would be very interesting to watch involving teams with a lot of similarities. The SEC never really showed up for the SEC/Big East challenges. The Big 12 might offer the SEC a better opportunity at repairing some of its basketball image.......or provide the conference with more rope to hang itself with. Either way, it's something to look forward to.

A Pity Party- THIS IS ALABAMA BASKETBALL

2013-04-24T09:43:00.000-04:00

In the last 21 years:

- we have advanced past the 1st week of the NCAA tournament ONE time (2004)
- have ONE SEC regular season title (2002)
- ZERO SEC Tournament Championships (Finals in 1992 and 2002)
- Since Antonio McDyess we have had ONE 1st round pick (Gerald Wallace... and he doesn't even acknowledge he had a cup of coffee @ Bama)

I'm probably as down on Alabama basketball as I ever have been. I don't see next season being a success in any of my required criteria (SECTC, SEC regular season, Top 25 finish, 2nd week of NCAAT) which probably doesn't bode well for Anthony Grant. Saying that, I think he's safe next year regardless of what happens on the court as the buyout on his contract drops to roughly $500K in 2015 (it's roughly $1.5 right now).

I'll continue to support the team despite my convictions... I'll travel to whatever pre-conference tourney we go to (provided it's a destination I would like to visit/revisit), attend one or 2 home games and probably the games @ UGA and/or UTK as my oldest really enjoys Alabama basketball.

I figure I have 30 more years left on the planet... would be nice to see us play in the Final Four once.

Trevor Lacey transfers (told you it wasn't the last one leaving)

2013-04-23T15:09:00.002-04:00

Link

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Alabama sophomore guard Trevor Lacey has decided to transfer from the men’s basketball program and has been granted his release, Crimson Tide head coach Anthony Grant announced on Tuesday.
“I enjoyed having the opportunity to coach Trevor for the two years he was here,” Grant said. “We certainly wish him the best of luck as he continues to pursue his education and his basketball career.”

My goodness... this is getting ridiculous.

Wendell Hudson Resigns

2013-04-22T16:42:00.000-04:00

We normally stick to the men's team at this blog, but this was a news item I felt should be posted (and discussed?). Wendell Hudson, who was head coach of the women's team for the last five years, stepped down today. It is the first significant decision that Bill Battle, the newly appointed AD at Alabama, has made. Battle says it was a mutual decision between he and Hudson, though it's hard to imagine Hudson was in any position to argue after a five year record of 68-87 (14-64 in conference games). The university has announced they will begin a "national search" for a new head coach immediately.

As difficult as it has been for the men's program to gain a foothold during the course of its existence, one would imagine it's been ten times harder for the women's program. Nevertheless, the women's program does have a leg up on the men in that 1994 Final Four appearance and had a sustained run of success under Rick Moody from 1992 to 1999 in which the program made the NCAA Tournament every year during that span and did no worse than the NCAA second round, including that Final Four and four straight years in the Sweet Sixteen after that. Like the men's program, there have been moments of success, but consistency remains elusive.

Fortunately, Hudson will be retained by the university in an "administrative position". How would you guys feel about Wendell Hudson possibly joining Anthony Grant's staff at some point? Do you think that is even a possibility?

Alabama Leads for JC Guard, Algie Key

2013-04-16T14:25:00.003-04:00

2-time JC All-American, Algie Key had an official visit to Alabama this past weekend. The visit obviously went well as the 6-4, 170 lb combo guard from Barton Community College (that's in Kansas, ya'll) currently lists Alabama as the leader for his signature.

Key averaged 17.6 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists this past season at Barton. The consensus opinion on him from the recruiting nerds is that he is a "slasher/distributor" type player with a good mid-range game. The perimeter game could use some work though (only 5-34 from 3-pt this past season). Key set the Barton record for free throws attempted and made so he obviously knows how to get to the line. His 6 boards a game also suggests that he isn't afraid to mix it up with the big guys in the paint. Assist to turnover ratio was 2:1 and he averaged just under 2 steals per game. He looks capable of playing anywhere from the 1-3 spot on the floor depending on the situation. Seems like he would be a good fit for Grant's system.

Key, a Georgia native, still plans to take a visit to UGA this weekend, but he's been quoted as saying he could make a decision as early as this week if he decides not to take the Georgia visit. He also mentioned that Grant told him he was the number one priority at the moment. That could mean the Jaren Sina ship has sailed. We will have to see.

Tony Mitchell named NBA D-League Rookie of the year

2013-04-16T13:43:00.001-04:00

NEW YORK, April 15, 2013 – Fort Wayne Mad Ants rookie Tony Mitchell today was named the 2013 NBA Development League Rookie of the year as voted on by the League’s 16 head coaches. The award recognizes a first-year professional who most significantly contributed to his team’s success during the course of the season.

Mitchell (6-6, 216, Alabama) played in 48 regular season games, 45 as a starter, for the Mad Ants, averaging a team-high 21.9 points to go with 6.4 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.4 steals and 35.3 minutes while shooting 42 percent from the floor and 32 percent from behind the three-point line. His 21.9 points per game was good for second in the NBA D-League.

Full article

I'm going to bet he will be in the NBA at some point next season.

Grading the 2012-13 Alabama Basketball season

2013-04-14T18:30:00.002-04:00

I decided to take a few weeks to write this as it's better to reflect with time. Having said that, THE TIME IS NOW!

I'm going to break this down in 2 groups: Non-Conference and Conference

Non-Conference
Things looked good early... started off 6-0 (winning the 2K Sports Classic), lost on a buzzer beater @ Cincinnati, and everyone was feeling good about the shorthanded team. We head home for what we think is an easy thumping of Dayton... didn't work out as planned. Surprising loss, but wrote it off to the hangover in Cincy.

We knew going to VCU was going to be tough, but no one thought we'd get run out of the building. We did. Next up, @ Texas Tech. We dominate most of the game, but somehow let them get within a basket late before holding them off. I have to admit this game (a win no less) is where I started wondering if this team was NCAAT quality.

Get back home to supposedly beat up on 2 weak opponents in Mercer and Tulane... lost them both. I'm still trying to figure out how that happened. What started promising at 6-1 is now 7-5. As we all know by now our NCAAT hopes were pretty much over by the end of December unless we crushed the SEC schedule.

1st half of the season grade: D
It is inexcusable to lose 3 home games against far inferior opponents.

Conference
We open up at Missouri and most expect to be dominated... we play them tough before wilting late in the 2nd half (which turns out to be our MO the rest of the season). After that, we run off 4 in a row including a thrashing of Mi$$i$$ippi $tate in $tarkville and a win over the defending national champs Kentucky.

The next 4 games probably brought out the gambit of emotions for any diehard fan... the controversial loss @ UTK (choked the lead away late, didn't get the call when Lacey was fouled with the last shot), surviving Arkansas, winning @ Vandy for the 1st time since GHWB was POTUS, and then the terrible loss @ the Barn where basketball was set back 50 years. We come off that loss to win our next 4 (against mostly weak competition, but have a hard time putting them away).

Our last 5 games defined what we were... with a good chance to get into the NCAAT by going 4-1 we choke @ LSU, get revenge vs Auburn, and come up short @ UF and Ole Miss. We almost went 1-4 if not for a 2/3rd court shot by Trevor Releford to beat UGA.

2nd half of the season grade: B-
Going 12-6 would normally be awesome, but when you look closer at the schedule we went 1-3 vs the top 5 teams and 4-5 vs the top 8 in the conference.

Overall season grade: C
It is pretty inexcusable to be down to 8 scholarship players (at its worst) in year 4. I have read that Engstrom might've been the difference in the season. Let's be honest here... while I like Carl, losing him for the season should NOT have been catastrophic.

When I look at the program overall under Anthony Grant I don't feel we are destined for great (or even better than mediocre) things. 1st year was a feeling out process in which I thought we made stride. 2nd year was better than anyone expected (despite going 0fer in St Thomas... which myself and DJC were there to witness). Last season despite making the NCAAT was a letdown IMO as we were a preseason top 20 team (that once we fell out we didn't return), and this past season was again a disappointment.

For the most part I have been really good about keeping my personal opinions off the board and simply 'report' on events, but this season I couldn't hold back anymore. I don't think we are trending positive as a program. We are not in the abyss of the Hobbs years or the last 2 of Gottfried, but I don't get the warm and fuzzies going into next season... I feel a plateau.

Saying that, Grant is here at least another 2 seasons as his recent extension (if I read it correctly) has a $1.5 million buyout until the end of the 2014-15 season (then it drops to $500K or so).

So what does Grant need next season to keep the seat from getting hot? I say one of the following:
- End the season ranked in the top 25
- Win the SEC outright
- Win the SEC Tournament
- If none of the above then a surprise run to the Sweet 16 as a lower seed

Recruits Visiting Tuscaloosa This Weekend

2013-04-12T01:27:00.002-04:00

According to various sources, there will be no less than three basketball recruits in Tuscaloosa for a visit this weekend.

Jaren Sina, a 6'2, 175 lb PG from New Jersey arrived in Birmingham today for a visit tomorrow. Ricky Tarrant, the 6'2, 190 lb PG who is transferring from Tulane will also be in Tuscaloosa for a visit. And finally, Algie Key, a 6'4, 180 lb SG from Barton County Community College will reportedly be in Tuscaloosa as well this weekend for a visit. Key is considered one of the best JC guards in the country after averaging 17 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists. He was also a two-time JC All-American his two years at Barton. It could be a very interesting weekend for Coach Grant and his staff.

One more thing to note. Florida International is currently searching for a new head coach after Richard Pitino was hired at Minnesota. One name that has been mentioned as a possible candidate is Alabama's own, Tony Pujols. Something to keep an eye on as we head into Spring.

UPDATE: If tweets from Releford and Lacey are any indication, it appears that Tulane transfer Ricky Tarrant is the newest member of the Alabama basketball team. He will have to sit out the 2013-14 season per NCAA rules.

S/o to our new teammate @rickytarrant2
— Trevor Lacey (@TrevorLacey5) April 13, 2013

Rp S/O the newest member of crimson tide family @rickytarrant2 !! everybody go follow him now!! instagram.com/p/YDsIxWg-NW/
— Trevor Releford (@TRelly12) April 13, 2013

Moussa Gueye to transfer. Cites style of play

2013-04-09T23:07:00.002-04:00

Not even a day after the season is officially over and we get what seems to be a yearly surprise transfer. Again.

I suspect this isn't the last one we have...

Report from NCAA Title Game

2013-04-09T09:12:00.000-04:00

I bought tickets last week to the Championship Game and I can say it was well worth it. The game last night restored my faith in good college basketball. 2 great teams slugged it out for 40 minutes with Louisville doing just a little bit more in the end to win it 82-76 (I didn't closely read the post so excuse typos/errors for now).

As you can see it was not the best seat in the house, but I could see everything just fine. Actually, the camera (Samsung S3) doesn't zoom to what I could see with my own eyes, but the pictures work.

The crowd was raucous... we were sitting behind and next to some young Michigan fans . Normally I have a heavy disdain for all fans Michigan, but they were having fun and not acting like the Michigan fans I have encountered over my lifetime. I didn't realize how many Louisville fans were behind me until late in the 1st half. Overall I'd say it was a 60/40 Louisville crowd.

About the game... Michigan got off to an early lead, bouncing the lead as much as 12. At one point #2 (Albrecht) for Michigan was 6/7 and 4/4 from 3 as Louisville barely outscored him 21-17. I believe he was the same kid that pretty much owned Florida in the Elite 8. Then Louisville made a comeback thanks to Luke Hancock and briefly took the lead for the 1st time late in the 1st half (briefly), before Michigan hit 2 FTs to take the 1 point lead at the half.

The 2nd half was some of the best basketball I've seen all season. Back and forth, Louisville and Michigan traded the lead until late when Louisville got up by 10. Michigan rallied to get it down to 4, but in the end Louisville made some big plays to win it. Siva was an integral part in Louisville's resiliency as he seemed to be able to get to the basket at will.

I'm not one to complain about officiating, but the crew calling the game tonight was at best inconsistent. The 1st 10 minutes they let the players play, but after that started calling tic-tac fouls. It was like that the entire 2nd half... which probably confuses both the coaching staff and players as they have no idea what kind of a game is going to be called. I thought Michigan got the better end of the tight officiating.

Anyways, it was my 1st NCAA Final Four. I hope one day to see Alabama there (not the NIT one), but the older I get the less I believe it will ever happen for us. I think we are a LONG WAY from that right now.

I'll let this post sit here for a couple days before I do my end of year review on the team, coaches, etc.

Texas-Pan American Hires Dan Hipsher

2013-04-04T22:23:00.003-04:00

In addition to recruiting players this offseason, Anthony Grant will now also have to recruit a new assistant coach. UT-Pan American announced today that Dan Hipsher has been hired as their new basketball coach. Hipsher has been on the Alabama staff since Grant came to Tuscaloosa. His relationship with Grant began at Dayton where Hipsher, then an assistant coach at the school, recruited Grant, and later hired Grant as an assistant at Stetson. Hipsher also coached at the University of Akron where he was named the MAC Coach of the Year in 1998. Best of luck to Coach Hipsher as he begins his new job.

I assume that Brannen or Pujols will be promoted to Hipsher's Associate Head Coach position. No names have surfaced yet regarding who will fill the vacant assistant spot. It will be an interesting story to follow for sure. Coaching turnover can be a tricky situation. Hiring a good assistant is just as important for a Head Coach as recruiting 4 and 5 star players. Hopefully the hire is made sooner rather than later so the staff is solidified before summer workouts begin.

Recruiting Update

2013-04-03T13:51:00.004-04:00

Sadly, the college basketball season is coming to a close, but that doesn't mean there's nothing to talk about. The deadline for college players to declare for the NBA Draft is April 10th. And then, of course, there is recruiting. Alabama is not expected to have any players declare for the NBA draft, but there will certainly be a lot of interest in Alabama's 2013 class after Anthony Grant only signed one player in 2012. Jimmie Taylor and Shannon Hale have already signed letters of intent, but who else is Alabama hoping to sign in 2013? Here is a quick rundown of some of those players. If I leave anyone out, please let me know in the comments section.

With Taylor and Hale on board, and assuming no one leaves the program, Alabama has two spots open for next season. Anthony Grant seems intent on filling at least one of these remaining spots, based on comments he made following the Maryland game.

Jaren Sina - PG - 6'2, 175 - Average Rating: 3 Star: Sina, a Jersey native, was committed to Alabama at one time before changing his mind and committing to Northwestern. He is now back on the radar after Northwestern fired Bill Carmody. Northwestern is still very much in the mix with new coach, Chris Collins, as is Seton Hall and Indiana. In fact, Sina received a home visit from Tom Crean following the end of the Indiana season. Grant also paid a visit to Sina last week and is obviously very interested in Sina as he and his staff have been recruiting the kid for a couple of years now. My feeling is that it's going to be very tough to convince a kid to leave Jersey to come to Alabama to play basketball, but landing Sina would certainly fill a future need at point guard and a present need for a good perimeter shooter. At 6'2, Sina also fits the mold of the bigger type of guard (Lacey, Randolph, etc) that Grant has favored.

Jon Severe - Combo Guard - 6'2, 185 - Average Rating: 3 Star: Severe is very similar to the type of guards Alabama has recruited up to this point. Big, strong, quick guards who excel in transition. Based on what I've seen, Severe is great going to the rim and has a good looking shot, but he's most likely a guy who will need a year or two to develop an overall game. Severe has drawn a lot of interest in recent months, with as many as 11 schools (West Virginia, Georgia, Pittsburgh and South Carolina among others) that I know of that have currently offered him. He likes Alabama enough that he took an official visit to Tuscaloosa back in February, but there hasn't been much news concerning his current interest. Severe is a New York kid, and, like Sina, it's hard to imagine a player wanting to travel so far from home to play basketball in Alabama. Severe will announce his college decision on May 22nd.

Jalen James - PG - 6'2, 180 - Average Rating: 3 Star: Point guard is obviously a position of interest for Anthony Grant in this class. Alabama just offered James, from Chicago, yesterday. That's nothing new for Jame as he has received a lot of interest lately with offers rolling in from Arkansas, Missouri, Auburn, UNLV, Colorado and College of Charleston. He has scheduled official visits for Charleston and Arkansas in April with the remaining visits to be determined. James has said he will probably make his decision sometime in May. The video I've seen of James, he reminds me of Grant's former player at VCU, Eric Maynor. Very much a slashing, penetrating type of guard who can finish in the paint. The perimeter game probably needs work, but you can say that for the majority of high school players.

That's all I know of for right now. Again, if you guys have further information on these recruits or any recruits I missed, please share in the comments section.

PG Ricky Tarrant transferring from Tulane

2013-04-02T17:39:00.000-04:00

He has not announced where yet, but I will be very surprised if he does not end up at Bama. He will have to sit out a year, which works out well since he can take over after Releford leaves. He averaged 15 ppg at Tulane, but did not do a whole lot in the game against us. It is also being reported that forward Josh Davis will transfer from Tulane, but I have heard no indications as to where he is going. Davis transferred to Tulane from NC State. It would be nice if Tarrant could convince Davis to come to Tuscaloosa with him.

2013 End of Season Manifesto

2013-04-01T15:19:00.000-04:00

Let's take one last look at this season, the state of the program, Coach Anthony Grant, and the future. You guys know how long-winded I can be, and this is going to be exceptionally long even by my standards, so you've been warned. I'm going to insert a jump here so as not to take up the whole front page of the blog. Please forgive any typos, as I'm going to publish this without proofreading.

Season Recap

After making the NCAA tournament for the first time in what felt like decades last year, we lost our two leading scorers but returned a very talented group of sophomores. The "experts" picked us to finish 6th in the SEC. I expected us to be a bubble team, and was hopeful that we could just make the tournament in order to maintain the momentum we gained from last year. Of course, we finished tied for 2nd in a down SEC, received the 4th seed in the SEC tournament, and came up short of the big dance.

We all knew that our post play would be a huge question mark coming into the season. I posted (or at least I think I did) that the keys to the season would be Nick Jacobs continued development and Devonta Pollard being able to contribute as a true freshman. Unfortunately, neither of those materialized with any consistency.

Things started off promising, with a 6-0 record and a championship in the pre conference tournament in New York. After that tournament, I cautioned about getting too optimistic based on those results, as none of the four teams in NY looked like NCAA tournament teams to me. Of course, I was proven wrong, as Villanova, who didn't even look NIT worthy in those games in my opinion, went on to earn a bid.

Some may say bad luck in close losses at Tennessee, Cincinnati, LSU, and others ultimately kept us out of the tournament, but that ignores the buzzer beaters that went our way at Vanderbilt, South Dakota State, Texas A&M, and Georgia. At the end of the day, we ended up about where we deserved to be.

A turning point in the season was the injury to Carl Engstrom against Cincinnati. He was actually developing into a serviceable big man when he went down. We still managed to play the Bearcats close to the wire, but it seemed to take us a few weeks to adjust to playing with Jacobs and Gueye as our only centers. December was an unmitigated disaster with 3 home losses in a row to Dayton, Mercer, and Tulane, not to mention the absolute beat down in Richmond at the hands of VCU. At that point, I was not even sure we would make the NIT, and the NCAA seemed like a pipe dream.

Fortunately, our defense kept us in most games, and our guards played very well to overcome our deficiencies in the post, and we were able to get back on track. Our perimeter shooting was exponentially better than it was last year. Gueye improved a lot defensively, when he managed to stay out of foul trouble, but we still sorely missed Carl, if for no other reason we desperately needed at least another large, warm body to give us some minutes and fouls.

We could win a few games in a row, just enough to get our hopes up, but couldn't land that big "signature" win we needed to get over the hump. We were still in contention for the SEC championship until blowing a 10 point lead in the final 11 minutes in Gainesville.

Nevertheless, this season had its moments. Exciting buzzer beating victories over South Dakota State to start the season, Texas A&M in SEC play, and Releford's halfcourt shot to close out the regular season against Georgia. I'm appreciative of the fact that I finally got to see us win in $tarkville, of course the 5 of us who write on this blog could have probably beat $tate that night. I'm very grateful to this team for finally ending Vandy's 22 year reign of terror over us in Memorial Gym.

Ultimately, missing the NCAA tournament and then losing in the NIT to Maryland was a disappointment. On the other hand, one can argue that going as far as we did with only 2 centers, one of which can't play offense, and the other can't play defense, was actually overachieving. I think it's more a testament to how bad our league was this year than anything else.

STATE OF THE PROGRAM

As I feared, the momentum from making the tournament last year is long gone. There is a sense of negativity and apathy around the program, and I hope it does not impact our recruiting efforts. Attendance was down this year, and the atmosphere in Coleman pretty much sucked for most of the season, with the exception of the final two NIT games. We need to create some hype about next year's team, and more importantly, next year's team must live up to that hype if we are going to progress.

Certainly losing the games in December was a big part of that, but we have a number of issues that go beyond wins and losses. Everybody, from the marketing department, to Coach Grant, and others involved, do a very poor job of marketing the program. We are not Kentucky, UCLA, UNC, Indiana, or Duke, as much as us die hard basketball fans would like to be. Alabama is a football first school, and we aren't going to fill up Coleman just because we put 5 guys on the floor wearing Alabama jerseys. I can't tell you how many times I've been in Tuscaloosa on gameday, and spoken to locals and/or students who did not even realize we were playing on that day.

I would completely revamp our marketing efforts. It starts on campus. Coach Grant needs to realize that part of his job is selling the program, and doing so will actually make the more important part of his job, winning basketball games, a little bit easier. I would like to see Coach Grant go to some fraternity/sorority houses and speak at residential halls before the season. Sort of as a motivational speaker type of thing where he can also solicit support for the basketball program. Next, I would figure a way to move the student seating closer to the court. Yes, you are going to displace some season ticket holders and step on a few toes, and it may cost you some money in the short term, but long term, you are creating a better atmosphere that will lead to winning. You are also going to get more students to come to the game this way, who will in turn be more likely to be fans/season ticket holders/donors in a few years. Throw in a free hot dog, drink, and bag of chips for them like they did when I was a student too, while you are at it. Finally, I would send out campus wide emails to every single student, faculty, and staff member reminding them of games. I would reach out to the local media, both Tuscaloosa and Birmingham, and offer the occasional exclusive interview with coaches, invite them to a practice or two, anything to keep the brand in the news and in a positive light. Also, Tuscaloosa does not have the size or demographics to support the program alone. Birmingham is 45 minutes away, it sounds cliche and cheesy, but I would consider some billboards in the metro area, maybe send some merchandise, such as posters and what not to popular sports bars and restaurants here in Birmingham for display. Being highly visible is half of the battle of staying in the minds of the more casual fans. Everywhere you look in this town you see Alabama football stuff and UAB basketball stuff, why not Alabama basketball? If at all possible, I would try to play at least one game per year, ideally during Christmas break when the students aren't on campus anyway, at the BJCC. I know Bryant, Jr. will probably never go for it, but with Gene Bartow now rotting in hell, it is time to revisit the idea of playing UAB. If we did all of these things, and we had a little better atmosphere for those December games, who knows, maybe it's enough to give the team just a little more motivation and we are able to mitigate some of that damage?

A lot of people feel we may have "missed an opportunity" with the SEC being down, but there are reasons the SEC is down and we are not immune to those factors. We all want a Final Four/National Championship caliber team, but that is a pipe dream right now. We have several steps to complete before we can even contemplate being at that level. In order to compete at that level, you must be able to recruit the top prospects nationally on a regular basis. We aren't UNC, Duke, Kentucky, or UCLA. The only way we are going to bring in 3 or 4 McDonald's All Americans every year is if we take the $tansbury Mississippi $tate approach. I think you all know what I mean, and understand why we should not do that. Historically, we are at our best when the state and region are producing top talent. That is not happening right now.

Some like to make the distinction between "basketball players" and "athletes." Obviously, you want prospects who fall into both of those categories. Alabama, and the south in general, no doubt produces a number of good athletes. There are a number of reasons why many of those athletes are not also good basketball players. With only a few exceptions, football is the most important sport at most high schools here just as it is perceived to be at the college level. Schools make more of an investment in their football programs. High school athletes are either pushed to play football over basketball, or choose to because they know it will bring them more local notoriety. Climate also plays a part in it. We don't have ridiculously long, cold winters like the Midwest so kids are able to get outside and play football or baseball, whereas they are limited to indoor sports for half of the year up there. Thus, we are drawing from a smaller pool of students who are dedicated to hoops. Finally, and most importantly, the level of coaching kids receive at the lower levels pales in comparison to that of other parts of the country. This is not an indictment of any individual high school coaches in Alabama, there are some VERY good ones, but those are the exception. It goes back to the investment that schools are willing to make in the sport.

In order to take the next step and become a consistent NCAA tournament team, we need to keep what little elite talent the state is producing at home. When we have the talent on hand to make a run, as we might next year, we must make the most of it, keeping our name in the news so to speak, and use that success to hopefully be able to supplement the local talent with one or two national type recruits. The last couple of years the state has not produced much talent, but we did manage to keep Levi and Lacey here a couple of years ago, and next year's class is shaping up to be a pretty good one as well.

Bottom line, we can demand a final four all we want, but right now we sound like delusional Ole Miss football fans in doing so. We need to change the basketball culture around here to start making the tournament on a regular basis.

COACH GRANT

When Coach Grant was first hired, I made this post outlining my hopes and expectations. While he has not implemented a lot of the things I hoped for, he met my expectations for years 1-3 before taking a step back this year. On the one hand, I think Coach Grant did a pretty good job to win 23 games while basically playing 4 on 5 at one end of the court or the other at all times. On the other hand, poor roster management led to those shortcomings. He failed to anticipate the departures of Eblen and Hankerson, missed out on some top national recruits, and seemingly had no plan B. I do not believe this is a fire-able offense, as long as it does not become a recurring problem. It is important to remember that Coach Grant is still a relatively young coach, and I trust he will learn and grow from this experience.

As much as I have complained about his use and management of timeouts, that is one area that I believe he greatly improved on this year. I see no reason to believe he cannot improve in other areas as well. Nobody can question the defensive intensity, and I do believe he generally gets the most out of his players available.

Obviously the offensive production has not been as good as we would like. Coach Grant's teams have never been known for lighting up scoreboards, but the issues were especially aggravated this year by the lack of a post game. Coach Grant's system relies heavily on perimeter screens and guards being able to penetrate or create space. With no post play, opposing defenses were able to over extend on the perimeter, come over the top of our screens and over play the passing lanes. We also lacked a great rebounder who could get some garbage points on put backs for us. Relatively speaking, our offensive woes are not quite as bad as they may seem. Scoring was way down all over college basketball this year. I don't remember another season where I saw as many games in the 40s, and some even in the 30s. I read an article not long ago that attributed this to technological advances in scouting. Now, teams can get instant access to every game an opponent has played going back several years, often with multiple angles, etc, so there are few surprises. I don't doubt that plays a role, and also players are generally larger and more physical and thus harder to score against. It also seems that officials are allowing more contact by the defense in terms of hand checking and calling more charges and moving screens against the offense. Of course, we still have some offensive problems, but I point out that scoring is down overall to illustrate that it might not be as bad as it seems.

This year marked the second time that bad early season losses ultimately kept us out of the tournament. The last 20 games of the season, we used the same starting lineup, and clearly played much better during that time. I hope Coach Grant is able to figure out his best lineup and rotation earlier in the season going forward.

I know there is a segment of our fan base who wants Coach Grant gone now, and I recognize that I am likely not going to convince you otherwise. I would like to respectfully ask those of you who hold that viewpoint to recognize that Coach Grant will be our head coach next year. I think we can all agree that if next year is not a success, then Coach's future here will be uncertain. For now, can we all agree to disagree, and just wait and see how it plays out? The public calls for his termination and the negativity are not good for recruiting. If you are correct and he's not the man for the job, it will be evident soon enough. Until then, let's give the team, and that includes Coach Grant, our full support. It's a free country, and I am not trying to censor anybody, but I think we all want the same thing and that is what is best for Alabama basketball.

THE FUTURE

Next year will be a defining season for the future of the Alabama program. We lose only Andrew Steele. Assuming no major injuries or attrition, we should have a very talented group returning with the additions of Jimmie Taylor and Shannon Hale. Obviously, it's difficult to make predictions or set expectations this far in advance without seeing schedules, having a final roster, etc, but my initial thoughts are that we should make the tournament fairly easily next year. I think it's reasonable to expect us to be anywhere from a 6 seed at best to a 10 seed. Offensive production in the post will still be a problem, I'm afraid. Jimmie Taylor is a defensive and rebounding specialist, but not really a scorer. Shannon Hale is 6'8" but not really a back to the basket type of player, but I do think he will help our offense with his shooting ability pulling our opponents bigs away from the basket. More importantly, with Carl back, we will now have 4 or 5 bodies to throw down there instead of trying to get by with 2.

We will have a very good senior PG in Releford. I would like to see him work hard in the offseason and take on a leadership role. It would be ideal if he would stay in Tuscaloosa rather than returning to Kansas City. I would like to see Pollard add some weight and start living up to his expectations. Nick Jacobs needs to have another good offseason and tone up some more. I think our added depth next year will both help to motivate him and make him more productive by having a true PF on the court with him in the games. Hopefully Carl will make a full recovery and be serviceable. I think Cooper will be able to play the 3 spot more next year which will help his game. Retin played very well late in the game, and should be able to give us some good minutes in the back court, and hopefully allow Lacey to play almost exclusively at the 2. We need Lacey to get more consistent, and I would like to see our offense designed to get him more shots.

The competition in conference should be tougher next year, which will be good for our RPI. I expect Ole Miss to fall back to reality after losing their bigs, and I will still be surprised if Marshall Henderson is still there next year, for one reason or another. Kentucky could be the best team in the country. Florida will reload and be solid. $tate will improve, as they have most everybody back, and they can't get much worse. LSU and Vandy should be much improved, and look for South Carolina to be better in Frank Martin's second year. Believe it or not, auburn may even be worse, if that's possible, as they are losing Sullivan and Chubb. Playing them twice will not be good for our strength of schedule rankings.

If we can make the tournament next year, get a good draw and win a game or two, that will be solid progress that we should be able to build upon.

CONCLUSION

We had a disappointing season, but a lot of reasons for optimism next year. Next year is a make or break year that will determine the direction of the program for the near future.

Thanks to Bobbyjack for allowing me to post here and for doing a great job with the blog. I think the changes implemented this year are fantastic. Thanks also to the other writers and frequent commenters. We don't always agree on everything, (and the world would be a pretty boring place if we all had the same thoughts), but I enjoy the discussion with other knowledgeable Bama basketball fans. If I run across any recruiting news or scheduling tidbits, I'll be sure to pass them along. Otherwise, enjoy the offseason and Roll Tide!

Reviewing the 2012-13 Season - Msmilie's Take

2013-03-29T23:51:00.000-04:00

Well, here we are at the end of yet another Alabama basketball season so I wanted to take the time to review the season from my own point of view. I’m sure the others will chime in with their own thoughts in the days ahead.

First, let me get this out of the way. My support of Coach Grant has been well-documented throughout the season so I would prefer it if those who don’t share that support could help avoid the slap fights we’ve had in the comments section of other posts by simply sitting this one out. At this point we all know where the other stands on the subject. So please read the post, agree or disagree with my position on the state of the program, and let’s move forward toward next season. Thank you.

Coming into the season, I looked at this Alabama team on paper and predicted 21-22 regular season wins and a return to the NCAA Tournament. Despite losing the two best players – JaMychal Green and Tony Mitchell – from last years’ team, I felt the depth at the guard position would be enough to make the team competitive, if not exactly a world beater. Yes, there were question marks in the paint, but Nick Jacobs and Carl Engstrom had shown enough flashes the year before that I felt confident in that 21-22 win prediction. I also thought the SEC would be a much-improved conference that would help with the requisite RPI and SOS numbers. So much for that.

Through the month of November, things looked promising. The team got off to a 6-0 start, including winning their second consecutive early season event by defeating Oregon State and Villanova in New York City in the 2K Sports Classic. And then came the month of December.

It began with Andrew Steele once again being bit by the injury bug as he was forced to miss time due to surgery for a sports hernia. And then Carl Engstrom was lost for the season with a knee injury. For a team with limited skill and depth in the post, his loss was significant. To add insult to his injury, Alabama then lost a crucial road game at Cincinnati when the Bearcats’ Cashmere Wright hit a buzzer-beating shot. That loss began a dreadful month in which Alabama went 1-5, including home losses to Dayton, Mercer and Tulane that ultimately proved to be the nail in Alabama’s NCAA tournament hopes.

The team regrouped and went 12-6 in conference play, finishing tied for second after being selected to finish sixth in the preseason. Unfortunately, even with that accomplishment, it was hard to shake the fact that Alabama could have finished higher in the standings if they had only shown up in a dreadful road loss at Auburn, and had finished strong in winnable games at LSU, Tennessee and Florida that they allowed to slip away down the stretch. Then again, one could also argue they easily could have lost several close games they won.

In the end, the Alabama basketball team was simply unable to win enough games down the stretch to offset that December struggle and had to settle for an NIT bid. While a third straight postseason appearance is not to be dismissed, a number of Alabama fans, even those outside the lunatic fringe element of the fanbase, were disappointed with the lack of an NCAA bid. Alabama played some spirited basketball in its three NIT games, but fell short in the quarterfinals, once again rousing the naysayers.

On top of all that, Anthony Grant’s name has been mentioned as a possible candidate for the Minnesota job. My gut tells me that Coach Grant will return for his fifth season, but the coaching profession has become a nomadic one and until the coaching carousel comes to an end and Anthony Grant is still the Alabama coach, anything is possible. For some, Grant moving on would not be a tragedy, but I still believe that Anthony Grant can take this program to the next level. It is my hope he feels the same and will return to finish the job.

With that said, should Anthony Grant return, year five will be a pivotal one for him. Assuming there are no offseason injuries or transfers, Alabama will return experience and depth in the backcourt and will finally have the frontcourt depth that has been a missing ingredient since Grant arrived in Tuscaloosa. Simply put, anything less than another 20-win season, a return to the NCAA tournament, and some measure of success in March would have to be considered a disappointment.

This season was not devoid of success. If anything, Alabama persevered despite their shortcomings as a team. The fact that a team that frequently struggled to score and rebound the ball can still win 23 games is a testament to the coaching staff and the hunger to improve on the part of the players. It could portend great things in 2013-14.

For now, we’re left to observe what happens in the offseason with the coaching carousel and the recruiting class for next season, which is off to a promising start with the commitments of Jimmie Taylor and Shannon Hale. After the summer months have passed, I’ll look at the current roster, preview each player and what they can hopefully bring to the table in the 2013-14 season.

Roll Tide

Season in review- Grading the Centers/Forwards

2013-03-27T22:08:00.001-04:00

Centers: D+
We all knew this was a gaping hole in the lineup, but who knew our season would take a tumble when Carl Engstrom went down for the season. This made us play Gueye probably more than he needed to and put added pressure on Jacobs playing PT Center. I did see some improvement from Gueye defensively... and even a tad on the offensive side (looks like Jacobs worked with him on the sky hook), but let's be honest and say I don't think he sees the court more than 5 minutes a game anywhere else in the SEC.

Jacobs is AUful on the defensive side and he was 3rd on the team in rebounds. Let me repeat that... 3RD ON AN UNDERSIZED TEAM IN REBOUNDS at a tad over 4 a game (Cooper and Randolph pulled 4.5 and 4.2). That is inexcusable for a guy his size.... yes I know he had some back issues, but by default he should've been pulling 6 a game. I should cut him some slack as he probably should be put in the Forwards group, but oh well.

Forwards: C
Technically Jacobs should be included here, but like I said... tough. I'm including Rodney Cooper and Devonta Pollard here since Coop played more as a SF than guard IMO. Cooper was enigmatic... he'd look great one day and AUful the next. The one thing he did every game was play good defense. He was our leading rebounder and in many instances was called upon to guard the opponent's top scorer. Overall, I think he was better than average.

Pollard... while he came on a little bit in the final month he looked lost out there for most of the season. He couldn't shoot, defend, or dribble more than 5 feet. I'm not sure if he was overwhelmed this season or was a product of bad coaching. Regardless, he was a major disappointment considering we knew he had to make some sort of an impact this season for us.

Long story short, our deficiencies here was our downfall. Grant needs to address this in the offseason quickly as I'm not getting the warm and fuzzies with what we have right now. I know we are a guard oriented team, but we need AT THE VERY LEAST an illusion of an inside game and a dedicated board cleaner.

Turtles top Tide, 58-57

2013-03-27T13:34:00.000-04:00

I blame this loss completely on my girlfriend. She missed 2 home games this year, this game and the Tulane game. Clearly, we can't win at Coleman without her.

In many ways this game was a microcosm of our season. Inexcusable mistakes, followed by stretches of good enough play to get our hopes up, but never quite enough to get over the hump before finally ending in disappointment.

Overall, I thought the physical effort from our team was outstanding, with the exception of a couple of lazy passes, everyone played hard from tip to finish. There was no lack of hustle, but for some reason there seemed to be a glaring lack of mental focus. The two obvious examples are Rodney Cooper running the baseline against the Maryland press on an in-bound following a charge call, and Moose's lane violation when he decided to leave his block after Levi was given the ball to shoot a free throw. As some of you know, I officiate high school basketball. I might see one middle school or 9th grade player per year, at most, make the mistake of running the baseline on a throw-in. Of course you see a few lane violations, but very few of that particular variety. You almost never see either of those at the varsity high school level. To have those two mistakes, in a Division 1 game...in the SAME game by the SAME team, is completely inexcusable.

Beyond that, we also made very poor decisions with the ball. I was shocked to look at the box score and see we only had 14 turnovers. It seemed like twice as many, I guess because so many of them were unforced and/or at very bad times. Our entry passes into the post were horrible. When we weren't telegraphing, we were attempting bounce passes at Nick Jacobs and Moussa Gueye's feet.

We could not match up with them man to man early in the game. It's easy to see how they were able to get some of their impressive wins. Alex Len is an outstanding ball player in the post, and he opens things up for the rest of their team. They jumped out to an early 10-5 lead on us in the first couple of minutes, , but we were able to get back into the game after switching to a zone defense that caused them a lot of problems. Neither of our centers were able to do much with Len when he got the ball in the low post, but the zone allowed us to either deny him the ball or force him away from the basket.

After going on a run to briefly take the lead, Maryland came back to recapture the lead with about 8 minutes to go in the first half and would not relingquish it for the rest of the game. I thought we stuck with Moose for too long in the first half after he picked up his 2nd foul. He was playing tentative on defense and Maryland took it to him 2 or 3 possessions in a row.

After falling behind by 10 in the second half, I thought we did a good job of continuing to battle back every time it looked like the Terps might be able to blow it open. Unfortunately, it seemed like every time we got some momentum and cut the lead to 4 or 6, we would make a boneheaded mistake (see discussion above) and the deficit would increase back to 6 or 8.

We seemed to have the same game plan focusing on the dribble drive that was successful against Stanford. The problem is that Len is much taller and a much better defender than Powell. Our guards and forwards were either getting rejected or having to attempt very difficult acrobatic shots around the rim.

When Len finally picked up his 4th foul and had to go to the bench, I thought we had a great opportunity to seize control of the game. We were on the verge of doing so, having cut the lead to 1, when Maryland went on a 9-2 run by making 3 straight three pointers. With Len out of the game, we probably could have extended our defense more on the perimeter, but statistically the guys who made those shots were not great shooters and had not been shooting the ball well that night up to that point. Give Maryland credit for making the plays they needed to down the stretch in a tough environment.

Our guys continued to battle, Cooper answered with an and 1 at the other end and we forced some turnovers to give ourselves a chance to win. We had the ball, down 1 with 19 seconds left, and used our last timeout to draw up a play. Maryland did a nice job defensively switching on every screen and not allowing Releford to advantage of the high ball screen as designed. He passed to Cooper, who made a move to the basket, but was rejected, leaving us with only 3 seconds to play. Incidentally, with 3 seconds remaining in the first half, coming out of a timeout, Retin could not get the ball in bounds and burned another of our timeouts. Given the low liklihood of scoring in that situation, I would rather put the ball up for grabs than waste a timeout on that possession. It would have been nice to have one more T.O. to use with 3 seconds left in the game after Cooper got blocked. Nevertheless, I thought the team and Coach Grant showed good composure, and Lacey used a head fake to get a very good look from about 16 feet that just wouldn't fall.

Individually, I thought Levi and Cooper had excellent games. Releford had a very strong second half, and Nick Jacobs played well considering what he was up against. Levi was even briefly matched up on Len when we went with our smaller lineup, using Levi to front him and deny him the ball. That worked for a couple of possessions until they figured out they could just throw over the top and Pollard wouldn't be able to do much from the other side. Retin seemed to regress after playing very well the last few games. He was out of control and made some very poor decisions with the ball leading to turnovers. Gueye was horrible, as his height was obviously not an advantage against Len, thus the reason he only played 12 minutes.

The crowd was fantastic. I would guess there was close to 10,000 there, and they were very loud and into the game, even when Maryland had a 10 point lead. My only complaint was it was not our most knowledgeable crowd, a lot of people booed the officials after our boneheaded throw-in violation not realizing what had occurred, and I had to tell some people sitting a few rows behind me to stop yelling while we were attempting free throws. Still, having to tell people sitting near the court NOT to make noise was a refreshing change. We've discussed the problems with the Tide Totals and seating configuration here a lot, but another issue is ticket prices. To most people, it's not worth $20+ per game to sit way up in the corners of Coleman for an SEC game, but I think if we reduced prices for some of those "cheap seats," to the $10-$12 range, we could bring in some fairly nice crowds.

Up next, the off season. Even though this was a disappointing season in many ways, I am always a little sad when I realize I won't see a Bama basketball game for 7-8 months. I am going to decompress a bit, and hopefully by the end of the week I will make one last post analyzing the season and the state of the program before I retire to the wilderness of crappy baseball for the summer.