Will Grant ever catch a break?

Lacey and Pollard are quite the pair...

 

          Kiddnapping? Seriously?    Is some type of dark stormy cloud  following Anthony Grant?  The Devonta Pollard story is so bizarre it is almost unbelievable.  Trevor Lacey leaves Alabama for better coaching?  And he considers North Carolina State as his next stop?  Excuse me while I pick myself up off the floor from my laughter attack. The laughter is about Lacey not Pollard. Nothing funny there.

       I’m not going to say anything bad about the character of both these players but they have something in common – classic underachievers. Beyond that, it would be difficult to compare the two. Maybe Pollard was so concerned about his pending indictment he couldn’t concentrate on basketball at Bama. I do know that both these players are so pumped full of sunshine about their abilities, it hinders their ability to think of themselves with any objectivity.  I’m concerned about Pollard.  I’m just disgusted with Lacey.  Frankly, Pollard was a monumental bust. Lacey was a huge disappointment in more ways than one.  I met Pollard’s mother once. Once was enough. Devonta had it rough growing up in his household.  Lacey didn’t. It’s pretty obvious that Pollard does what his mother tells him to do. I think Pollard is somewhat a victim. I also think the Department of Justice is going to have a hard time convicting him of kidnapping or conspiracy. This kidnapping story is so interwoven with family matters, feuds, and stupidity it is almost hard to imagine it really happened. I think Pollard should get a second chance and I think Grant should try to help him get that chance. Pollard is not a criminal in the evil sense but is afraid of his mother, and does what she tells him to do. The hard fact is that young black men in America go to prison in disproportionate numbers, and that doesn’t bode well for him. Criminal behavior cannot be overlooked, and I'm not suggesting that Pollard and Lacey are cut from the same cloth. I am suggesting both used poor judgement.

 

      The best thing might be to send the mother to prison and let Pollard get on with his life under strict supervision. I don’t know if he will ever play basketball at Alabama again. I do know that there could be no better influence on his behavior than Anthony Grant. If it was left up to me, I’d let him play again. There would be a lot of conditions attached to his return, but this is a young man whose life is worth saving. It is going to be very interesting to see what happens. I am of the opinion that Alabama has a chance to make a real statement about education here. It might not occur in the classroom.  America is a nation of second chances. It would be expedite to just dump the kid. Let’s hope that doesn’t happen. 

 

  

   Lacey said the other day that he thought most Alabama fans understood and supported his decision to leave the Capstone. Trevor, what planet are you from? I don’t think people wish you any ill will,  but you betrayed your school and teammates. I’m old school. You just don’t do that.  I understood why some players transfer. A lot of kids see little playing time in their mind for the next season and they want to play.  Hankerson is a great example. Gueye might have seen the same thing happen, but the tall one just doesn’t fit in Alabama’s offense at any rate. Lacey seems to be a nice person. This transfer might say more about his family than it does the player.

       Grant bent over backwards to accommodate Lacey’s development. He allowed Lacey to share the point position if Trevor Releford.  If anything, I learned two things about Lacey this season. One is that he isn’t a point guard, and second, is that his outside shooting is so inconsistent it negates his value. I thought that Bama was a much better team late in the season when Obasahan started to play well. The increased time Obasahan received was at Lacey’s expense. Lacey’s parents asked Grant to give Trevor a chance at the point prior to the start of last season. He was given that chance.  It wasn’t helpful and it certainly wasn’t  pretty as we all watched Lacey struggle.  And then, in the midst of this point guard “experiment” his outside shooting went south.  Not just a little south, but deep-south. His turnovers went up. He became sloppy with his ball handling. The only thing that Lacey excelled in was hard nosed defense. That’s kind of ironic isn’t it? At least he has defense to take with him to North Carolina State (if he lands there). Just for the record, NCState gave up 71 points per game last season. Alabama gave up 58 ppg. Maybe Lacey can be the stud defender. That’s kind of funny to think that State might be recruiting him more for defense than offense. That is probably not true but it is worth mentioning.

       Here’s some cold hard truth. Alabama’s two five star recruits averaged less than 15 points a game together last season. Lacey has some good skills. Mainly, he understands basketball. That lets him play at a higher level than his talent. Pollard is a complete enigma to me on the basketball floor. Now he’s carried that enigma into the real world.

    I have this book. It’s entitled, WHEN BAD THINGS HAPPEN TO GOOD PEOPLE. Maybe Coach G has a copy. I hope so. He needs it.