'Bama fails to receive one vote for top 25...
It is hard to believe that 'Bama didn't garner a single vote in the AP Poll. I'm not saying we are a top 10 team. But not one vote? Surely to goodness Alabama deserves at least a vote with four starters returning from an NCAA team.We are better than that.
Here's the real question for Tide fans to keep in mind this season. Will there come a point when Alabama becomes a better team without Green on the floor? If we can answer that at some point we will be a pretty good team. If not, it might be a hard year. A lot of those questions are going to rest on the skills and strenght of Nick Jacobs. How much of the loss of Green is NJ going to be able to replace. My personal thought is a pretty good bit. Let's be honest here. Jacobs is a sophomore who had a a very good freshman season. Part because some suspensions let him get more time on the floor, and in part because of his skill set. He has the size, the bulk, and that baby hook to contribute big time. He can fly in the sky like Green or Mitchell but thats okay because he'll understand his limitations.
What about Mousse Gueye?
What about the big man in the middle? Is the 7 foot Senegalese post player about to break out and have great season. Let's hope so. He is moving well. He is much improved. He can block shots, and he can rebound missed shots. He's not a great player but he is going to be a good player by the time the SEC season rolls around. Here's the deal about Mousse - he is big and very agile. He is going to cause a great deal of problems for someone. That is if he can stay out of foul trouble. He still tends to be overaggressive and pick up some obvious fouls. But he also gets those little silly fouls as well. If the Tide can get 10 -12 good minutes out of the big one then we will win some games we weren't expected to win. When you watch Mousse practice you have to be impressed with his work ethic. Granted, he is not like watch Hakeem or anyone but he has own game which will bring some good things to the floor. First, his sheer size is intimidated. His wing span is longer than a Boeing Dream-Liner. And he can jump. More important, he seems to know when to jump. He'll be given an opportunity to get some big minutes. It's all up to him. My gut feeling is that he'll help more than a lot of people believe. I have a lot of faith in this player.
Is the big Swede ready to throw his weight around?
Let's hope so. When you are 7-1 and weigh around 285 lbs. you don't exactly hide out when you are on the floor. And that is exactly how Alabama would like it to be. Last season Carl Engstrom started to show some real ability. He isn't fast, but not really slow either. He can't jump out of the Coliseum but he takes up a lot of space. I mean a lot of space. That is exactly what Coach Grant wants. He showed flashes last season. He blocked 3 shots in a couple of games. He pulled down close to double digit rebounds in another couple. He has shown he can mix it up around the basket. That is the one area where the Tide needs an inside player who can stake out the paint as his own. One good thing about Engstrom is that he doesn't have to do a lot except go to glass and pull down rebounds. If he scores that is a bonus. In practice he's been a lot more involved in the offense and it is clear he is getting better. At the end of the day he is going to help the Crimson Tide on the inside but he isn't going to carry the inside game on his shoulders. He can give the Tide some big minutes however. What you hoped last season was that when Carl played he wouldn't hurt the Tide.This season I think it is a reasonable statement to predict we can expect some help on both ends of the floor.
One drawback is that his lack of speed hurts the Tide in its full court press defense. Carl is very smart. Here's my take. The light has come on regarding the game of basketball. He has much better court awareness. Before, I'm not sure that he really understood the bigger picture. Now he does. No way to minimize how much that can help. Same with Mousse. He seems to have a better idea of where he fits in on the team. This kid from Sweden is not a throwaway. I believe he will help us. The season won't rise or fall on his play but he can make the team better.
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| Baby bull needs to run wild inside this year. |
Here's the real question for Tide fans to keep in mind this season. Will there come a point when Alabama becomes a better team without Green on the floor? If we can answer that at some point we will be a pretty good team. If not, it might be a hard year. A lot of those questions are going to rest on the skills and strenght of Nick Jacobs. How much of the loss of Green is NJ going to be able to replace. My personal thought is a pretty good bit. Let's be honest here. Jacobs is a sophomore who had a a very good freshman season. Part because some suspensions let him get more time on the floor, and in part because of his skill set. He has the size, the bulk, and that baby hook to contribute big time. He can fly in the sky like Green or Mitchell but thats okay because he'll understand his limitations.
What about Mousse Gueye?
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| Is he ready to help this year? |
Is the big Swede ready to throw his weight around?
One drawback is that his lack of speed hurts the Tide in its full court press defense. Carl is very smart. Here's my take. The light has come on regarding the game of basketball. He has much better court awareness. Before, I'm not sure that he really understood the bigger picture. Now he does. No way to minimize how much that can help. Same with Mousse. He seems to have a better idea of where he fits in on the team. This kid from Sweden is not a throwaway. I believe he will help us. The season won't rise or fall on his play but he can make the team better.
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