bama wins a tough one 60-57
missed free throws almost costs tide a win
Once again a nail biter. Once again Tide fans sat on the edge of their seats hoping that this one wouldn't slip away. It almost did. Bama missed so many free throws in the last five minutes of the game that what could have been a 15 point laugher became sheer agony. The bottom line is that in the end the Tide won 60-57. The forum boards lite up with negativity about how the Tide won and just how bad the team really is. Really? If you think that you don't understand hoops. Alabama's last outing was about as smooth as a square wheel on a dirt road.
The object of the game is to win. We shouldn't forget that. And all you guys who love to inject the negativity really don't understand this team. Alabama is a blue collar team who carry their lunches in a brown paper bag. They don't have a lot of gloss or glitter. They simply can't afford to do that. This is a team whose winning is comprised of statistics that rarely get mentioned. Frequently, the players who contribute the most are mentioned the least. Sometimes the Tide has a line up on the floor that looks like a United Natons meeting instead of a basketball team. On Saturday night Alabama had every opportunity to take a win and make it a crushng loss. However and whoever wouldn't let it happen.
C.M. Newton used to chuckle about missed free throws. He would say don't tell me how many we missed - tell me how many we made. The Tide was 20-33 from the line. LSU made only 11. They shot 14. Alabama almost lost the game by missing some pressure packed freebies, but they won the game at the line by getting there come hell or high water. Grant's team mirrored his attitude about basketball. A basketball game is a war and a each play is a battle. Win enough battles and you win the war. Last night before 12,000 die hard fans the Crimson Tide won the battle on the boards, blocked more shots, dived on more loose balls, and hung on to win.
I think you understand Anthony Grant or you don't. I get what he's trying to do and who he has to do it with. Nick Jacobs and Moussa Gueye are not all-conference players. Together they can put up some all-conference numbers. Jacobs took Johnny O'Bryant to school on the inside much of the game. Gueye kept him off the boards just enough to make the difference. One plays offense and the other plays defense. If you watched the game it was obvious that Bama was going to take the ball inside. In some ways Bama's preoccupation with the inside game hurt them from the outside. The outside shooters never really got set and squared to the basket. The other thing that Bama did was make Randolph become involved more on offense. The only obvious mismatch that the Tide had over the Bengals on offense was whoever guarded Randolph was either not fast enough to stay with him, or he took smaller guards insider to score. His reverse one handed dunk on a lob from Releford was an ESPN highlight.
In a repeat of the last game the Tide guards were cold from the outside. Lacey has reverted to sticking his elbow outside the shooting box and as long as he continues his "chicken wing" form the slump will continue. One area we didn't slump in was blocked shots. The Tide had nine. Moussa at least four and he deflected at least two more. That's not counting the contortions he put LSU players in try to even get a shot inside. Gueye is improving every game. He also got one of the mystery calls that even two of the officials questioned. Grant, in a rare display of anger, walked to midcourt to argue the call. LSU got a couple of iffy calls as well.
If you picked a player of the game it would have to be Jacobs. He had 15 badly needed points. He also had four rebounds and two blocked shots. However, it was Randolph who kept his cool the entire second half. He scored, had an assist and two big steals late in the game. He also made a free throw which extended the game into two possessions for LSU to win. It's hard to describe just how valuable he is. He's a lot like Chris Hines with more talent. Levi is the man who always seems to get the lose ball, block a shot, pull down a big board, or come up with a steal from nowhere. Late in the game the Tigers ran a back door on Lacey, It looked like an easy basketball, but Randolph deflected ball out of bounds. A made Tiger basket would have cut the lead to one.
Bama travels to to red hot Georgia on Tuesday. Polk is a monster. We will be on the road. Look for the over/under to be below 120. If Bama can win that key road game the season will look a whole lot better. These kids are not underachieving. In fact, you could make a argument for the opposite. It is amazing to me that they continue to win without a good offense. If the Tide can get back some better outside shooting they will be a team no one will want to play. The media picked Bama 6th in the pre season. We are 3rd. That is not exactly what I'd call underachieving. What this team needs is more support and less "expert" criticism. See you in Athens.
missed free throws almost costs tide a win
The object of the game is to win. We shouldn't forget that. And all you guys who love to inject the negativity really don't understand this team. Alabama is a blue collar team who carry their lunches in a brown paper bag. They don't have a lot of gloss or glitter. They simply can't afford to do that. This is a team whose winning is comprised of statistics that rarely get mentioned. Frequently, the players who contribute the most are mentioned the least. Sometimes the Tide has a line up on the floor that looks like a United Natons meeting instead of a basketball team. On Saturday night Alabama had every opportunity to take a win and make it a crushng loss. However and whoever wouldn't let it happen.
I think you understand Anthony Grant or you don't. I get what he's trying to do and who he has to do it with. Nick Jacobs and Moussa Gueye are not all-conference players. Together they can put up some all-conference numbers. Jacobs took Johnny O'Bryant to school on the inside much of the game. Gueye kept him off the boards just enough to make the difference. One plays offense and the other plays defense. If you watched the game it was obvious that Bama was going to take the ball inside. In some ways Bama's preoccupation with the inside game hurt them from the outside. The outside shooters never really got set and squared to the basket. The other thing that Bama did was make Randolph become involved more on offense. The only obvious mismatch that the Tide had over the Bengals on offense was whoever guarded Randolph was either not fast enough to stay with him, or he took smaller guards insider to score. His reverse one handed dunk on a lob from Releford was an ESPN highlight.
In a repeat of the last game the Tide guards were cold from the outside. Lacey has reverted to sticking his elbow outside the shooting box and as long as he continues his "chicken wing" form the slump will continue. One area we didn't slump in was blocked shots. The Tide had nine. Moussa at least four and he deflected at least two more. That's not counting the contortions he put LSU players in try to even get a shot inside. Gueye is improving every game. He also got one of the mystery calls that even two of the officials questioned. Grant, in a rare display of anger, walked to midcourt to argue the call. LSU got a couple of iffy calls as well.
Bama travels to to red hot Georgia on Tuesday. Polk is a monster. We will be on the road. Look for the over/under to be below 120. If Bama can win that key road game the season will look a whole lot better. These kids are not underachieving. In fact, you could make a argument for the opposite. It is amazing to me that they continue to win without a good offense. If the Tide can get back some better outside shooting they will be a team no one will want to play. The media picked Bama 6th in the pre season. We are 3rd. That is not exactly what I'd call underachieving. What this team needs is more support and less "expert" criticism. See you in Athens.
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