It depends on how you look at the situation

there is good and bad in tide hoops...
both views are correct

       I've learned the hard way that you cannot please Alabama fans regardless of what you write. It's a lot harder to to find a concensus of opinion on this basketball team and both camps think they are correct. A good example is one fan who says I've drunk too much of the Grant Kool-Ade. Another says that he finds my negative articles annoying. The real problem is perfectly expemplified in the Texas Tech game. Both sides of the two opinions are correct, but both are wrong. For one half we looked like world beaters and the next half it looked we didn't know how to play. Between the two it seems to me that it okay  to celebrate a road win. But it is wrong to just ignore the second half. We didn't completey fold. We had enought good plays to hold on for the win.

          Take in account the Texas Tech home court advantage. The weather in Lubbock was horrible. A wind and dust storm started after noon. It continued all day. Turnout was low. Texas Tech had the home court advantage but it wasn't like 15,000 fans in Coleman Coliseum. I can honestly say that this is one of the few basketball games I've ever seen effected by the weather. How bad was it there? The airport was closed. There is nothing to serve as windbreaks in Lubbock which is as flat as a pancake. People just stayed home. Students stayed in their housing. We caught a break. Like I said yesterday the Tide showed what they can be in the first half, and what they seem to be right now. You are never as good as you look or as bad as you seem. The problem with what happened in Texas makes it clear our bad play will get usbeat more than our good play win. That is probably true for any team. It's like playing golf. The great players win when they aren;t playing well. I just don't think this team can do that. This team has a split personality. It doesn't show itself in a game to game siutation. It shows itself in long offensive dry spells and terrible halves. It might be the first or it might be the second half. When are we going to play a good game in both. I guarantee you that is a question that Coach Grant asks himself daily.

           Alabama fans seem to think we should either be a top 10 program and if we aren't then the players aren't worthy of attention. We have won 70% of our games so far. If we win 70% of all our rremaining games it will be a great season. When you look at the SEC it is easy to see that the SEC isn't going to win any awards for excellence. Kentucky has had its problems. Florida seems very good, perhaps the best team in the SEC. Missouri is going to be a really good team. Auburn has improved. Arkansas, Ole Miss, and Miss.State appear to be lost. Georgia and Vandy aren't very good now. Our version of good might be better than other SEC team's version of good. If that's true this is going to be a good season.

          I have great faith in Coach Grant despite the Kool - Ade. He's not perfect. He has some problems with exciting the fan base. I hear constant stories of people sending him emails and asking for his photo going unanswered. He's no Wimp Sanderson who loved the game of basketball with every drop of his blood. But don't think that Grant doesn't feel the same way despite his demeanor. Nick Saban is the best coach in America but I wouldn't call him overly friendly. Acutally, the two are very similiar in approach and expectation.

          Grant has attempted to expand the recruiting base. It might work. He finished 2d on 3 players who would have made this team special. If you play poker you understand what having the second best hand means. We have some very talented players. I'd also like to affirm they are young. This team will be twice as good next season if we don't get any help in the recruting wars.

• I wouldn't trade Trevor Releford for any point guard in the SEC.
• Levi Randolph is a very special player. He is selfless, and does all the little things that help his team win. He is also shooting 40% of his 3 point attemps.
• I predicted that in the long run Rodney Cooper would be the best player in his class. I see no reason to change my view.
• Trevor Lacey is a great player who has yet to reach his potential. He may be the best player on the team after Releford.
• Nick Jacobs showed us last season what he can do. He just needs to show us that he can do it again this season.So far he hasn't.

      There you go. Four players who were bona fide five and four star recruits. In fact, with the exception of 4 star Jacobs all the other players were picked by at least one recruiting service as a 5 star player. The lack of an inside player was a tremendous mistake to some but just as many feel the Trio of big men would get the job done. I think that Grant hoped that one of them was. He took a gamble and it didn't work out. At least so far. So some of you think Grant is failing. I'm not in that crowd - yet. Some of you think I'm so negative about this team it is annoying. I think what I've written has been balanced. The win at Texas Tech was nice. As pointed out, any road win is nice. A solid second half would have me more positive for future games.  To blow a big league in the last 15 minutes was not so nice. Throw in 13 second have turnovers and I've got some real questions about what is going on. That is just a fact. It's one thing to turn the ball over that much against VCU. It is an entirely different matter against a team like Texas Tech. This is never going to be a great team. But they can be a good team, and if you measure success on getting 100% out of your team they may be great. You know, I do this for fun. I also do it because I am angry at the lip service given college basketball by our press.. If you don't like what I write you don't have to read anything. Don't hit the click here button and move on. If you are one of people who just like to say negative things go ahead. I don't care. What I always hope is that what is written will bring about some talk about hoops. I can promise you this. There is not a single fan who cares more about UA basketball than me.. I'm not sure that i've seen more games than any other fan in our arena. I bet I'm near the top.

       I hope all you guys have a Merry Christmas and a Happy Jan.7th. I think that Notre Dame is a great team. Not great like Alabama. No one is great like Alabama.