tide loses another second half lead
jacobs makes a statement in losing effort...
It looks like Alabama is running its offense in a rice paddy. We can't score enough to matter. And once again we lost a decent second half lead in the last 5 minutes. How do you give up only 53 points and lose? I don't know about you but it never seemed like we would win. It was kinda like being in a car that was going to run out of gas before you get home and you knew it was going to happen. In summary, we were horrible. Watching Alabama play offense is like watching paint dry -There ain't nothing going on that demands your attention. A few times we got into some type of rhythm and got the ball underneath to Nick Jacobs. Jacobs let Alabama fans know he hasn't quit. In fact, he seemed to be the only spark plug we had tonight. As you know, Grant had called Jacobs out for his lack of productivity so far this season. The Sophomore picked up his game, and you would have thought his inside play would have led to a win.
We had no defensive answer to Josh Davis, but we knew that going into the game. Lacey played hard but out of control, Releford was almost invisible, Randolph is always steady, and Cooper looked completely uninvolved. I'll give our team credit on defense. The 2-3 zone worked as well as it could. For a man to man defensive team we really ran that zone like we'd played it forever. In an earlier post I wondered if maybe he would try a zone because of of Davis. Davis got his average but man did he have to play hard to get it. Once again a couple of late three point baskets killed the Tide. Bama had one last chance to tie the game, but Coopers three point shot was hotly contested by Josh Davis (who else?) and only hit the backboard. Once again he lost a lead and the game. A lot of posters got mad at me for making such a big deal out of our second half play in Texas. I am afraid that second half might be the turning point of the season. It seems to me that Alabama lost a lot of confidence in that win. That is not to say all is lost. Next season we have some inside help on the way in the form of Jimmy Ellis on the inside, and I know we are looking at a big junior college inside player. We are not far from being a really good team. But I doubt it happens this season. This might well be our winter of discontent in men's basketball. We play Oakland I'm concerned about that one as well. Then we travel to Columbia to play Missouri. At least we can get it out of the way early. If Missouri beat us by 30 points I would not be surprised.
Grant's job is not in danger. Let's be fair and say a contract extention isn't be negotiated either. There are some really bad teams in the SEC that might help our record before the year is over. Of course, we are a really bad team as well. We just don't have the talent to be an SEC contender. In trying to be objective we need to do some things.
One of the great things about writing a blog is you get to second guess everyone.As most of you probably know I am not really big into second guessing our coach. Tonight I'll take an exception. When Jacobs was playing well Grant set him down for too long long. That's when we lost our lead. Gueye couldn't strike fear into a minature poodle with his offensive game. Tulane ignored him and overplayed the passing lanes and shut us down. No doubt we are going to have to try some things in the future. You can't ask for better defense. Let's not forget that. But a great defense is not going to win games when you score 50 points.
When you look at the stats some thing stick out. Tulane barely outrebounded us, they barely had more turnovers, they barely made more free throws, and they barely beat us. We had a six point lead with 4 minutes left and had the ball. And then we lost. We folded our tents and walked away. It would unfair to say we didn't play hard. Giving up only 53 shows we did play very hard. Maybe we can get that guy who talks to the football players to come in and help us out. The truth is obvious and painful. We don't have enough talent to win. Worse than that is the clear lack of chemistry and leadership. Someone asked me earlier tonight if the team was having any discipline problems or problems. I am not aware of any. We just don't have enough big bodies on the team.
Hope that each of you have the best year of your life starting January 1. Despite all this, it is better to be an Alabama than anything else that comes to mind. Roll Tide and get ready Irish, the Big Crimson Crushing machine is getting ready to process ya'll to death. That's what my cousin said.
jacobs makes a statement in losing effort...
 |
| Cooper throws up a wild three point shot over Davis at the end |
We had no defensive answer to Josh Davis, but we knew that going into the game. Lacey played hard but out of control, Releford was almost invisible, Randolph is always steady, and Cooper looked completely uninvolved. I'll give our team credit on defense. The 2-3 zone worked as well as it could. For a man to man defensive team we really ran that zone like we'd played it forever. In an earlier post I wondered if maybe he would try a zone because of of Davis. Davis got his average but man did he have to play hard to get it. Once again a couple of late three point baskets killed the Tide. Bama had one last chance to tie the game, but Coopers three point shot was hotly contested by Josh Davis (who else?) and only hit the backboard. Once again he lost a lead and the game. A lot of posters got mad at me for making such a big deal out of our second half play in Texas. I am afraid that second half might be the turning point of the season. It seems to me that Alabama lost a lot of confidence in that win. That is not to say all is lost. Next season we have some inside help on the way in the form of Jimmy Ellis on the inside, and I know we are looking at a big junior college inside player. We are not far from being a really good team. But I doubt it happens this season. This might well be our winter of discontent in men's basketball. We play Oakland I'm concerned about that one as well. Then we travel to Columbia to play Missouri. At least we can get it out of the way early. If Missouri beat us by 30 points I would not be surprised.
Grant's job is not in danger. Let's be fair and say a contract extention isn't be negotiated either. There are some really bad teams in the SEC that might help our record before the year is over. Of course, we are a really bad team as well. We just don't have the talent to be an SEC contender. In trying to be objective we need to do some things.
- Pollard needs to start being a part of the offense.
- Cooper needs to settle down and play like we know he can
- Releford needs to show some leadership
- Lacey is a better shooter than he is now shooting. He pressing.
- Randolph always holds his own but he is killing himself on defense. On the two 3 point baskets that Callahan made Levi was so fatigued he just couldn't get to the shooter
- Jacobs showed some hope in the middle and needs to continue.
- I've often wondered why we don't play Cooper on the elbow and let him use his long arms and ability to hit short jumpers. That would at least move some people out of the passing lanes to pay some attention to his shooting.
- It is just me, or is the team the slowest team to pass the ball in the history of basketball.
- We don't get to the foul line enough. You get to the line when you penetrate the lane and crash the boards. There is no excuse for a team that plays four guards not to dribble drive, and go to the line. Of course, when we get there it helps to make the free throws we do make. Tonight was better with 9-12. We shot only 12 free throws on our home floor
Hope that each of you have the best year of your life starting January 1. Despite all this, it is better to be an Alabama than anything else that comes to mind. Roll Tide and get ready Irish, the Big Crimson Crushing machine is getting ready to process ya'll to death. That's what my cousin said.
No comments:
Post a Comment