Grant brings home a winning class with one more to follow...

         That highly ineffective recruiter, Anthony Grant, has seen his Tide hit the # 6 according to several national sites that follow recruiting. We have one more big fish to reel in, and expect that to happen much sooner than later. For all the nay sayers regarding Riley Norris you'd best eat your crow and move on. The tall slender kid from Albertville, Alabama has an unlimited shooting range and ceiling at Bama. He's a perfect fit for Grant's system. He is a deadly accurate shooter from anywhere inside the gym. He can create and he can jump. Here's a little insight into another reason Grant signed him - is is also a good defense player all ready. He has the wing span of a condor. Those who know him well also say he has a big heart and a level head. His 6-8 frame will
allow him to just shoot over most defenders. In watching him in a couple of camps he seems to have two distinct shots - one is dead in with nothing but nylon, and the other the other may, on occasion, graze the iron before falling. He can also drive to the hoop and is a very good passer. He can put the ball on the floor and runs like a much smaller man. Most services rate him as a four star player, and that's about right. I had some concerns about the quality of competition, but after watching him perform at camps those fears have abated. He was the clear go to guy in a lot of trips down the floor. I'm sure that a segment of our fans will continue to say he can't play and why did Bama offer him?  Ask Billy Donovan the same question. I'm sure that Donovan is not happy losing Norris, but happy that Grant got him. Give this kid a good weight program and he'll make All-SEC.

   Justin Coleman is not very tall at 5-11.  He doesn't weigh very much at 175. What he does have is blazing speed and quickness which you have to see to believe. He can shoot the eyes out of the rim and can thread the proverbial needle with his interior passing. When Justin is on the floor the term press doesn't apply. The ball looks like its attached to a string. He can do it all in terms of providing an offense and being an offensive leader. With Releford leaving he'll get instant minutes, will be an All-Freshman player and will capture the imagination of Crimson Tide fans. He's one of the smooth little point guards that come along every decade or so in Alabama. Most fans believe that Bama beat out Auburn to get the point guard. Not true. Auburn recruited him hard but in the long run Kansas State came the closest. He picked 'Bama in large part because of Grant. Same can be said for Riley Norris as well. Bama has James "Hollywood" Robinson. Make room for Justin "the showman" Coleman. Only in a blue moon does a point guard come along who has the court sense that Coleman possesses. Mark it down - he's Bama's next great point guard.



Next:  Mitchell and one more...