BAMA RUNS PAST AUBIE ...

ONE STEP FORWARD FOR BAMA...
Bama moves to 19-9 in wild season
best shot of the night wasn't by Alabama or Auburn...

      Don't get me wrong. I love it when Alabama wins a basketball game. Any win over Auburn is special. This one on the heels of what happened in Baton Rouge says a lot about the character and competitiveness of this young team. Watching the Tide win or lose is another matter. I swear, if God have given Moses another plauge to inflict on the Pharoh, it would have been making all Eygptions watch an Alabama-Auburn basketball game. Not only would the Isrealites been freed they'd been give first class accomodations on the best chariots available.

      Like game one between the two rivals the Crimson Tide sprinted out to a big lead only to see the Tigers come back and make it a game. The last three minutes of the first half saw the Tide explode on some break aways and nice inside baskets. The lead 23-16 at the half and didn't that sound familiar. Any similarities between game one and two were over after that. Trevor Releford went ballistic in the second half to bury the Tigers by a score of 61-43. The Tide's largest lead was 24. The only remaining question in half two was could the Tigers make it to 40 points? They did so but only when Bama was freely subsituting late.

RETIN OBASAHAN MAKES A STATEMENT...

       Retin has slowly been getting more minutes. He's earned them. The Tide actually played much better with Obasashan on the floor than Lacey last night. The Belgium Waffle is a great shooter, a tenacious defender, will take it inside like he's 6-8. Amazingly, the first time Grant met the young man  was on campus after he enrolled. Equally amazing was that first time Retin saw Tuscaloosa was two days before he enrolled. That shows you the trust Grant places in his assistant. I've only known two other coaches who did that. Billy Donovan has done it a couple of times, and John Wooden only recruited one player personally. His name was Bill Walton. Bama found a gem in Retin. You can bet that Retin will see his minutes continue to grow. Lacey is in a profound shooting slump. I'm not sure that Retin isn't a better shooter than Lacey but we haven't seen enoungh from #32 to make that true. The kid knows his fundamentals and is strong. His strenght shows on 50-50 loose balls.

      Last night is the perfect example about why this team is so frustrating to watch. Twice they looked like a great team, but sandwiched in between was horrible basketball. On the nights where our defense doesn't create cheap chances we lose. It is that simple.

Here are some things I took away from last nights game...

• The more Trevor Lacey plays the point the less efffective his outide shot becomes. That's a waste in my opinion.Because of his atypical shooting motion he will never get in a set and shot groove.
• Retin Obasahan has the tools to be a really good player. He needs more time on the floor. He's got fresh legs for one thing.
• Devonta Pollard is a bust. I hope this kid makes me look foolish but he's not a five star player.
• Moussa Gueye will continue to get dumb fouls it appears. But how about that little floater he shot to try to beat the shot clock? That didn't look  bad at all. Maybe if he could face the basket more often.
• Jacobs is getting there. I don't remember any one of his "trying one" shots all night. He also is getting much better on his drop step and using his body. I've love to see him at the power forward and not out of position.
• Trevor Releford doesn't take a backseat to our lineage of great points. He's an All-American type player who needs a post player.  Just an aside, TR told Kansas his sophomore year not to waste time on him. He wasn't going to Kansas. He's always been compared to is brother and he just wanted a new direction.

     I still think we can make the NCAA Tournament. Beat Georgia and either of our two remaining road games and we're very close. Win a game or two in the SEC and they will take us. I'd like to hang on to second place but that isn't mandatory.

THIS AND THAT...

• How bad was the no call on Lacey in Knoxville? Like I said, those things don't even up
• What if Cooper's tip had been good, or if Jacobs had those two easy baskets fall?
• Good to see the practice players on the floor. I still think we should be playing Slaughter.
• How nice was it to see Steele on the sidelines cheering like a mad man?  Leadership.
• Next year, with the Swede back we'll be just fine.
• How about the student from half court? Best shot of the night.