Painful, but don't give up...

   

    You shouldn't lose games with a ten point lead and 3:30 left. No argument from anyone on that point. It would be easy to point to the faults that cost us this game. We could point fingers. I'm not going to do any of that. Even as the game slipped away from us, I couldn't help but think about what a great team we will be next year if we can just get a couple of decent inside players. I'm not talking about McDonald's All-Americans. I'm talking about a couple of junior college players like Chris Hines. Give me two junkyard dogs, and we can win the SEC. not That does mean I'm quite ready to give up on the NCAA, and it is going to be very interesting to see what this team does with Auburn. Will we come out pancake flat or Rocky Balboa mad? I'm betting Rocky.

       Life on the road in the SEC is hard. He's why - we shoot 19 free throws and they shoot 33. We didn't commit that many more fouls than LSU in reality. It's called  Home Cooking. It's one of the dirty little financial secrets of the SEC. Don't think for one minute that calls don't lean toward the home team to put fans in the seats. We get calls at home. Other teams get them on their This has been going on for years. It's about the money now more than the competition in today's SEC floor. Don't misunderstand. We benefit just like the other home teams. Seriously, wouldn't it be nice just to see games called fair and square? Do I think the SEC home office promotes this? Let me put it this way - I see no evidence of it slowing down. None of this takes one thing away from LSU. If Alabama had an actual inside game we would be 20 points better than LSU. Give Grant one Leon Douglas or Derrick McKey and the basketball world would be turned upside down again like when Wimp and CM were at Bama. We are so close you can feel it. We've got great guards and versatile players. We don't have an inside man who can consistently get it done. Let me put what I'm trying to say another way - If Grant can do what he is doing now what could he do with a bona fide inside player. How good would this team be with Green or even, dare I mention the name, Tony Mitchell?

        If you didn't think Trevor Releford was the best point guard in the SEC surely you are convinced by what you saw today. If you don't think that Lacey, Coop, and Randolph are big time, then you don't know hoops. Gosh, today hurt. But there are going to be a lot of great tomorrows. Believe it. Book it. Write it down. Hold me to what I say. Bet money with me. Two good, not even great, inside players and we win the SEC. I'm a true believer in Anthony Grant. No objectivity here today. Nope, I don't have the heart to say anything bad about a team that lost in triple overtime.