CRIMSON HOOPS - TIDE TAKES DOWN UCLA

'Bama wins over name brand UCLA...
Tide guts out win despite poor play...
Tarrant stars with game high 24 pts.

   

Randolph moves on Alford for a layup...

 If you have any historical perspective about college basketball, you have to give the Tide credit for beating the UCLA Bruins. Granted, this isn't a vintage Gold and Blue team. Likewise, this isn't a great 'Bama team either. The first half of the game looked more like an eight grade girls game than big time basketball. UCLA literally self destructed. 6 unforced turnovers put the west coast team in a straight jacket. Alabama was only slightly better. Let's define that just a bit. Ricky Tarrant was better. Ricky Tarrant scored 18 points in the first half. For much of the first twenty minutes Tarrant was outscoring the Bruins on his own. That was outstanding. 

    We won the game, but the road from start to finish wasn't pretty. But, the Tide won. Last season this was the type game they would have likely lost. 'Bama shot only 33% from the floor. The missed free throws that would have iced the game early on. They Tide made only
4-22 from downtown for a miserable 18.2%. UCLA shot only 30.8% from the floor. The Bruins made only 5 three point baskets on 26% shooting. There was more iron clanging that in a blacksmith's shop. The Tide did manage to score 56 points. That's not many, but UCLA could put up only 50. It was a win, but not one for the ages. Hey, Alabama can't be picky at this point. The Tide moved to 9-3 with North Florida on stage Jan. 2, which will close out the pre-SEC schedule for the Tide. 10-3 is a world beater number compared to the total of 13 games the Tide won last season.North Florida has already beaten BIG 10 Purdue, so that game doesn't  have cake walk in a box written on the outside.

    If you read the posts of forums this morning you probably thought we lost. We didn't. You probably thought that Grant couldn't coach his way out of a wet paper bag. Yes and no, in my opinion on that one. My pregame post suggested the winner would do four things:

1. The Tide broke even on the boards and gave up only 9 offensive rebounds. That is more than you'd like, but they snared 8 themselves;

2. The Tide would make their free throws. They didn't but they did. The were only 18-30 which was far below their season average. UCLA made only 13. As C.M. Newton would remind us that the key stat is how many did we make and not how many did we miss. Credit to Ricky Tarrant for forcing the issue in the paint.

3. Shooting for both teams was abysmal. UCLA was more abysmal. Alabama knocked down one third of third shots. UCLA knocked down about a quarter of their attempts.

4. 'Bama had only 12 turnovers. Some where foolish, some came from hard effort, and a couple were just crazy. The Bruins were credited with 18 but most of their turnovers were self induced. You know what I mean? Dribbling the ball off your own foot, standing on an out of bounds line, lazy passes, and anything else from the Book of Turnover Disasters that coach preach from daily.

     On balance the Tide won each of those four areas. I was proud of the rebounding effort in particular. The Tide also did some other good things:

a. The put two quick fouls on Parade High School All-American Kevon Looney. He sat most of the first half as a result. Because of that, the Bruins never got their offense on track. I bet they are tired of coming  to the southeast to be embarrassed.

b. When it mattered most the Tide held their composure and made some free throws. Down the stretch they made 6-8 when they needed them.

c. They held Tony Parker, the interior banger for the Bruins, to only 10 points. Parker got some points in the second half when Taylor was on the bench. Last season he killed the Tide. I give the nod to Taylor this year.

d.  The Tide played good switch defense on Alford when he needed to score. He put up one air ball and one brick in the last 45 seconds.

e.   The boards were a draw, and 'Bama worked hard to get the really big ones down to the wire.    

       There was a lot of bad things as well. Some ill advised shots. The complete disappearance of Cooper on offense. But lost in his poor offensive showing was some tough rebounding and defense against Norman Powell, who is the Bruin's top player. He finished with only 3 points and was clearly upset with the Tide defense. I think it was interesting we won this game with Cooper scoring only 1 point. Way to much standing around on offense again.

      You can only speculate why Grant left Taylor in the game after he got his third foul. When he picked up his forth file on the next trip down the floor, the Bruins were able to get the ball to Parker, who scored 4 baskets. It was questionable coaching to leave in a player who gets a lot of fouls. For those who find a lot of fault in Grant's game management you have your evidence. I also wondered why Riley Norris was on the pine the last ten minutes. Norris is a good player who seems to make things happen. It's also time to give him the green light to shoot more. He is a deadly shooter. For those who think he should replace Cooper I'd advise that he's not quite ready. Take Cooper's defense out of the game and we would have lost the game. Cooper and company cut the head off the pride of the UCLA floor game when they shut down Powell.  At times those things get lost in the flow of a game. Kudos to Cooper for keeping up the hard inside play when his offense was missing.

      Boy, did Grant ever slow the pace down. Fans go nuts when this happens. Here's my question - what exactly should he have done? The most effective way to minimize poor shooting is to take less shots. Try to get the foul line as often as possible, and take only good shots. Alabama shortened the game because of their poor offensive play. The poor offensive play was not the slow play. It was absolutely the best thing Grant could have done. It takes guts to minimize your shots in a tight game. Grant knew his team was solid on defense and wasn't giving up a lot of second shots. Great move by Grant, and I tip my hat to him regardless of the blow back. But coach, could you please not let Taylor and Kessens handle the ball 30 feet from the baskets. Only a couple of things can happen out there in the hinterlands and neither are good.

    Had the Tide been shooting well early, on the game would have been over by halftime. The Tide could have folded late in the second half. They didn't. They sucked it up, stuck with the new game plan on offense and won. In the end that is all that matters, or should matter. It wasn't the game I expected to see, but it was the result I'd hoped for. Roll Tide.

  

CRIMSON HOOPS - TIDE AND BRUINS BOTH IN MUST WIN GAME

UCLA and Alabama need a win...



    If you think that there discord in Tuscaloosa regarding Coach Grant, it pales in comparison with what tradition rich UCLA is going through right now. Bruin fans are a like Alabama fans. Losing is simply not an option. The Westwood Warriors have won a mere 11 NCAA Championships. When you win 10 championships in 12 years the bar is set almost impossibly high. John Wooden was the head coach of the Bruins when those 10 national championships occurred. He topped it off with 1 additional title. That is the greatest coaching run in the history of American sports. Alabama had Bear Bryant. UCLA had John Wooden. I have been a UCLA fan my entire basketball life. I have been an Alabama fan my entire life. This year I watched the Bruins play Gonzaga. There is no shame in losing to Gonzaga. The Bulldogs have a great program. Mark Few would be on my short list for any future coaching vacancy at the Capstone. In all honesty, it surprised me the Bruins lost that game on their home floor.
    

         Things were bad enough in the Bruin camp. Then came that little 24-0 run the Wildcats put on blue and gold. UCLA scored 7 points in the first half. The Bruin nation exploded in anger. Steve Alford, coach of UCLA, found himself on the coaches hot seat in much the same manner as Anthony Grant. Keep in mind that UCLA has 3 Parade-All Americans on the floor. It's one thing to get beat without talent. It's entirely another to get beat with outstanding talent. As one Los Angeles writer suggested, "The Alabama game was the lightweight in a murderer's row for the Bruins. It has now become the most important game on the UCLA schedule." UCLA's attempt to sign five star recruits has been fairly successful. Not as good as Kentucky, and the UCLA fundamental base was weak when Alford started this new approach. UCLA has had very few upper classmen to anchor their team as the super stars matured.

      Last season, my wife and I drove to Los Angeles to spend a couple of months with our daughter. It also gave me a chance to attend our game with UCLA. The Tide lost,but Trevor Releford left an indelible mark on the UCLA fans. He got a standing ovation for his terrific game. We all know that basketball is a second class citizen in our state. In Los Angeles the Bruins basketball team is just like Kentucky is in the Deep South. For the Crimson Tide to schedule a home and home with Alabama says a lot about Mal Moore and Anthony Grant. The scheduling of this game has brought a firestorm of dismay among the Bruin faithful. It is a game that winning will mean nothing to the UCLA program but a loss might end their NCAA hopes. How ironic is that? This weekend's game is between two teams that need a win in the worse way. In our state an Alabama loss would be (probably) the end to the NCAA's. In Los Angeles, a loss to Alabama would be demeaning. As I pointed out to a Bruin supporter - it has happened before, and it happened in Los Angeles."

    On Friday, I'm trying to put some thoughts together about the game. I'll have much more detailed report over the weekend. Here are the four areas which will determine the winner:

1. Who is going to shoot the ball better from the field. Bama has a slight overall edge, but the edge may be just from the Kentucky game.
 
2. Bama shoots free throws better. This will be a game where each side will need to make their free throws.

3. UCLA has turned the ball over fewer times than Alabama. The number is small but important. Alabama has been looking shaky lately.

1.  But this game is going to boil down to which team gives up the fewest offensive rebounds to their opponent. UCLA has a big edge in this area. Grant is going to play big if he hopes to break even on the boards. It wouldn't surprise me if Kessens, Taylor, Cooper, and Hale get some minutes together at the same time. Cooper and Hale give the Tide some opportunities to make some three pointers against Bruin defenders.

CRIMSON HOOPS - Some good things after WSU and Appalachian State

Some good and some bad...
Slow Progress being made in my opinion

      Seriously trying to find a silver line in the WSU game… If the Shockers are really the 11^th best team in America, what does that say for Alabama? Are we 12^th? It doesn’t work that way but it sure is something to think about. Plus, it was a one-point loss on the road. For 34 minutes the Tide sure looked like the best team to me. I have no doubt we would have won that game at Coleman.     On the other hand, it obvious that the Shockers are not as good as last year. They are close though, and we should take some solace in that.

       So, like all fans, I try to find something good to come out of the loss. Unlike many fans I think you can do that. Basketball is not how good you are on any given night, but how good you are in March of each year. So we made some real progress in the WSU game. And then, like a creditor demanding his due, comes the Appalachian State game. Some good things came out of the game. First, we won the game. In March that will be win and the near upset won’t be remembered. Second, say hello to how good Michael Kessens can be. He had a double-double. That’s been rare for an inside player lately. Kenssens even hit a passing lane, stole a pass, and took it the length of the court for basketball. Sure, he didn’t look like Kevin Durant, but he didn’t look like Carl Engstrom either. Jimmy Taylor blocked a few shots and continues to improve his defensive presence

in the paint. He’ll start making that little left handed jump as he matures.

       What do we make of a game like Sunday night? Joe Dean, the dean of SEC basketball announcers, said it was the ‘holiday blues’. We might not have liked the way we won, but don’t lose fact that when we were staring defeat in the eye, we pulled together at the end. We played well in Kansas but didn’t finish well. We played poorly in Tuscaloosa but won. We finished better. We didn’t finish in a way to make anyone quit sitting on the edge of their seats. Missed free throws kept Appalachian State in the game. Play of the Game: Riley Cooper and Retin Obasahan had great communication on a defensive screen at the end.  Riley switched to get to the shooter in time to make it an almost impossible shot. Keep in mind, a freshman, playing fundamental pick and switch may have saved the game.  I thought Grant’s game management in the last five minutes was fine. Coach cannot shoot free throws. We miss four in a row that we have been making and the fans could have relaxed some. 

      A lot of fans on the forum boards continue to give Grant a hard time. I don’t want Grant to fail. I want him to succeed like any real Alabama fan. I’m not happy with the lack of progress under his tenure, but anyone who thinks this team isn’t better just doesn’t know basketball. If the past is the best predictor of the future you sure get a mixed message from Grant. Is he the Coach at VCU and the first couple of years of Alabama, or is he the man we have seen the last three? The Tide is now 9-3. That is only 4 games short of the number we won last season. Just to remind us all, last season we were a horrible 13-19. Regardless of how many feel you cannot deny that is improvement. The next 3 games are huge for Alabama.

 

  

      Next up is UCLA. I hope younger fans appreciate the fact that UCLA actually signed a home and home contract with Alabama. They had nothing to gain from doing so. Last year in Pauley Pavilion we almost pulled off an improbable upset.  Don’t think for one minute that UCLA is a bad team. What happened to the Bruins in Chicago was a perfect storm for the first 25 minutes.  I expect the LA team to fly into Tuscaloosa and be more than ready to amend from the last SEC disaster. We will have some real match-up problems with UCLA. At least Taylor has matured and Kessens may help shut down some of the damage we saw inside last season. I think Alabama has a slight edge at the guards. The Bruins, despite what you saw over the weekend, can flat out shoot the rock. I went to Westwood a couple of weeks ago and watched the Gonzaga game. What I saw was two fine basketball teams. The Bulldogs won but UCLA could have won. A win over UCLA is still a big deal. They are the name brand in NCAA college basketball history. Winning the game is not unlike someone beating Alabama in football even when the Tide is not rolling. We can beat the Bruins, but don’t be fooled. The Kentucky game was an anomaly for UCLA. It was also the explosion of Kentucky talent and effort.

 

       Looking back, maybe the close game on Sunday will serve as a wake-up call for the Tide. The team looked confused on offense. We missed a lot of good shots. We took some ill-advised shots as well. Are you listening Shannon Hale? Speaking of Hale, I think he is the missing piece of the Tide puzzle. When Hale finds his game the Tide may be a pretty decent little team. We won’t win the SEC but when teams see we’re on deck, teams are not going to say “automatic win” either. I don’t know if Anthony Grant can get the job done. He is clearly refocused. For the time being, I am taking them one game at a time. I’m going to dwell in the present and let the future take care of itself. There is a real possibility that we could be 12-3 at the end of this home stand. After that, we go through one of the toughest runs I’ve ever seen in the SEC. The next seven games include two games against Kentucky. There are six road games on the schedule. That is ridiculous. Whoever makes up the schedule needs to be taken out behind the woodshed and whipped.

     

 

       

CRIMSON HOOPS - ALMOST

Turnovers kill Tide in last five minutes...

 

The Round House is a tough venue

    Normally, at the end of a game I’ll grab a coke. Last night it was a two fingers of Oban Scotch. Straight up. It was a grown up drink for crying baby. I just couldn’t find any words to express my disappointment in our collapse against Wichita State. For almost 35 minutes the Tide hung like a rusty fishhook in one the most difficult places to win a basketball game in the NCAA. For the last five minutes the Tide looked like a team who doesn’t understand or believe they can’t win a game. The term “Road Warrior” doesn’t come to mind when thinking about Alabama.

 

Road games are hard…

    Every team that plays on the road is going to see the home team mount a comeback. You know it’s coming. The only question is when. In Alabama’s case it could only come in the last five minutes of the game. Given all that, last night’s loss was still stunning to watch. The exit of Jimmy Taylor, who was playing the game of his young career hurt. Foul number five made it possible for WSU to exploit the paint. And then there was the substitution of Retin Obasahan for Ricky Tarrant. It was one of the coaching even the casual fan of basketball had to wonder why the heck Anthony Grant did that. I understand that Obasahan can play good defense. He can also make some really bad decisions.

    I swear that you could hear Wimp Sanderson moan when Tarrant went to the bench. What you don’t want in the last five minutes are bad decisions and turnovers. Grant wrapped up a Christmas gift and gave it to Gregg Marshall. It didn’t have a big red bow. It had a neon sign stuck on the side that said, “now’s the time”. Marshall took that opportunity, turned up the pressure, and ‘Bama fell apart. I asked Bobby Knight a question a couple of decades ago. “Coach, how do you beat a team that presses?” His answer was simple – press them yourself. You can only expend so much energy at any given time in a game. For thirty-five minutes the Tide had played like a great team. They took Wichita State’s best shots to the jaw and hit back even harder. State was stunned. The crowd was dead. After six years Alabama had a chance to win a really significant game, and then it was gone. You can chalk this one up to coaching. I never like to use football terminology in basketball. Nick Saban would say you have to finish. You also have to have the players on the floor to finish well.

  

Basketball is a forty minute game…    

Hale and Taylor each played well in loss

 You have to finish. You have to calm down, collect your wits, and look to the bench for help. I sincerely believe that players did all three of those things. Two they could do on their own. The gaze toward the bench hurt. Those were all the things I saw and felt as a fan. In being objective, the team did a lot of good things. I’m proud of them for walking into a snake pit and trying to kill the snake. To kill a snake you can’t just cut it in half. You have to lop off the head. Baker and Van Fleet are the head of the snake and in the last five minutes they made the difference. I give a lot of credit to Wichita and Gregg Marshall. I’d take Levi Randolph and Ricky Tarrant in a close nod over Baker and Van Fleet. The talent level between the teams was small. The ‘Shockers were better inside over all, but Taylor shut down the middle. Kessens played well. Once Taylor was gone and Kessens was saddled with four fouls, the talent level shifted back to State in my opinion.

What went well?

    We did so much right. We broke even inside. We defended so well it was as impressive as anything I’ve seen in a long time. Hey, say what you want to about Grant, the man has given us a lot of great defense over the years. Last night might have been his defensive masterpiece. I’ll give the man that. Some people will say that if a coach puts his team into a position to win he’s done his job. I’ll leave that up to the readers in this case. But... 

What went wrong?

1.   We certainly played great defense, except… on the winning basketball our weak side help didn’t rotate over to help Kessens. A small but fundamental mistake. WSU executed and the Tide was a half-step slow. What was so frustrating was that you could see it coming. Cooper realized what was happening and gave it one heck of a try to cut off the post.

2.   We missed free throws. Of all the things that you would have expected the Tide to do well, making free throws were not really a concern. Levi’s miss was just one of several. There was lot of pressure. I’d put him on the line in that spot every game and feel good about it.

3.   On Levi’s move to the basket as time was running out he missed a wide open Ricky Tarrant on the wing. He probably didn’t see him because of the suggestion, but Ricky wanted the rock. I like that. It’s great to have a man who wants to have the final shot.

4.   Bama missed a wide open shot at the end which could have won the game. Alabama was clearly trying to screen inside to get the ball to Kessens but the ‘Shockers shut that down. Cooper had a good look. With 1.2 seconds that is about as good as you can get.

5.   We almost broke even on the boards. Clearly, it was a team effort. That helped. Losing Taylor in the last five minutes was the difference.

6.   We shot the ball well enough to win from the field, but needed a couple of more from downtown.

7.   The stats were almost dead even. Our defense gave us a chance to win. The game was lost at the free throw line.

 

Progress made, the season is not over…

So where do we go from there. The season is not over. We made some real progress. I think getting into this position will help us win some close games later in the year. I think we need to recognize that WSU is not a powerhouse, but are a great deal like us at the talent level. That is why coaching can really make a difference one way or the other. Alabama is more likely than not to get better as the year progresses. Winning at home against UCLA isn’t mandatory but the mental benefits it would bring our huge. The Bruins are going to be a tougher match up than WSU. However, we have shown to play every well in Tuscaloosa. If we can keep Taylor or Kessens around for the entire game we should win. We are not devoid of talent. We are not overload with talent either. We seem to have good leadership. I was honestly touched with Grant and Randolph, arms around the others shoulder, in the final time out. That says a great deal about what Grant thinks of Levi. But we should recognize this team really likes their coach. That is very important.

 

My bottom line – We are getting better

Overall, we played well for the vast majority of the game. We built a lead large enough to have weathered a Shocker storm in the end. We can’t feel terrible about the effort. We can dog Grant, and perhaps some dogging is deserved. The bottom line for me is that we have proven that we are a pretty good little team. Our record depends on the number of really close games we win. Losing last night to the fans was really tough. I couldn’t help but to think about Arkansas football after the game. I think last night was a step forward. Winning would have been a big step, but it seems to me we are making progress. Is Grant the man for the job? I don’t think so, but I’m willing to support him for the remainder of this season because I love the players. I could be convinced otherwise about the coach, but this is a tough haul for Grant. When Dickie V talks about your coaching future things are not good. Vitale said a lot of good things about the Tide. He was clearly surprised at how good we were. Fasten those seat belts. This season is going to a bumpy ride even when we win. 

 

 

Crimson Hoops - Tide faces its toughest opponent this season

Tide has uphill battle in Wichita tonight...
Dick Vitale will be doing the color...
National Stage for the Crimson...

  



What a great opportunity for Grant and the Tide

  

      Just when I think the Tide might have turned a corner, or at least peeked around one, Xavier scores 97 points and the Tide looks like Moses wandering in the desert without the pillar of fire for guidance. The tough play the Tide had shown against a much superior Iowa State team was nowhere to be found. If we thought that Iowa State and Xavier were good teams then you better buckle up for Wichita State on their home floor.

      WSU is a basketball program which is simply better than Alabama’s right now. Last season they lost no regular season games, and have lost only one this year. ‘Bama played the ‘Shockers a close game in Tuscaloosa. The Crimson even led the game with six minutes left. Then the depth and great defense of WSU turned the tide so to speak. Get ready to greet the usual suspects from last season. Last winter, the ‘Shockers abused Alabama inside. Alabama had managed to put All-Conference guard Ron Baker on the bench with early foul trouble. Instead, the Missouri Valley team turned to Cleanthony Earl who knocked down 26 for the game. ‘Bama had no one who could match up wirh the forward. The Tide even slowed down Fred Van Fleet who had only 11. The boards killed the Tide. WSU got 12 additional boards than the home team, which included 12 offensive boards. None of the missed shots hurt the Tide more than two offensive rebounds in the last two minutes.

 

Baker is a great guard, and team leader

     I’m not sure exactly what it is about WSU that is so impressive. It starts with coaching. Greg Marshall can flat out coach, and he is seems to have a knack of finding a way to win even when the stats say otherwise. One thing the ‘Shockers do is take care of the ball.  Marshall’s teams don’t waste shots either. They are not the most prolific shooting team you will ever see but they take a lot of good shots. Both team have similar stats except for two areas. First, the ‘Shockers are tough under the boards, and second, they are a much better defensive team than Bama. I thought that Bama played great defense against Tennessee Tech in the second half. Holding any team to only 17 points in a half is phenomenal. The Tennessee team had only 53 for the night. That is hopeful if the offense returns this week. As of Monday, no line had been posted for the game, but I’d guess it would fall around 12. That seems about right to me. One thing that should keep Alabama competitive in every game is their potential at guard. If the Tide can eliminate a few turnovers they can win some games. Interior play has been turnover city so far. I look for MK to get better. He has good hands. Taylor is better but, it is still an adventure when he catches the ball. If the Tide can hold Van Fleet and Baker below their season averages and break even or close to even inside we might win.

 

Tarrant should be at full speed tonight

          The Tide is still figuring out their lineup and there is a lot of youth and new on the team. Randolph and Tarrant are a strong backcourt. Throw Coleman in the mix and you slide Randolph down to the baseline, which causes a lot of matchup problems. Hale is pressing and he’ll be okay in the long run. I’m not sold on this team yet, but I’m not writing them off either. Alabama needs to beat WSU or UCLA. I went to the UCLA – Gonzaga game and the Bruins have some problems at the guard position. They are also big and explosive inside. If Bama loses both those games they need to win 15 or so league games to go dancing. 20+ is no cinch for the tournament any longer. The Tide may have a lot of good loses, but you still have to win some big ones. I like State by 10. If Tarrant can’t go it might be worse. It will take one heck of a game for Bama to win. My heart says yes, but my common sense says no. Hope I’m wrong. Roll Tide.

Keys to winning:

Break even on the glass

Keep turnovers below 10

Shoot 50% from floor and 40% from downtown

Shoot at least 25 free throws / make 80%

 

WIN NUMBER FOUR FOR ALABAMA...

Randolph rips the Sun Devils...

Tarrant knocks down 21

Tide finishes with great effort to secure the win

 

Randolph brings Tide back

  Levi Randolph dropped in 28 points, many at crucial times, to lead the Tide to a come from behind 76-71 victory over Arizona State. Randolph scored 14 off his points late in the game to give Alabama a much needed win on the road back to respect in the SEC. Arizona State was an NCAA tournament team last season, and many experts expect them to be selected again. The Alabama senior took over the game when 'Bama fell behind by 9 early in the second half. Alabama's Ricky Tarrant scored his career high of 21 as a Crimson Tider. The outside shooting of Randolph and Tarrant made up for a weak inside game by the front court.

      Randolph's emergence at a scorer was unexpected, but much needed. His leadership qualities have helped Alabama to a 4-1 record. Ricky Tarrant came to Alabama from Tulane with a reputation of a gunner. He's not shy. He has a scorers mentality. His outside shooting is great, but when coupled with the ability to take the ball inside to the basket, makes him hard to predict, and harder to stop. I believe at some point this season we may see some prolonged minutes with Randolph, Coleman, and Tarrant on the floor. Alabama's guard play was the difference. Alabama's floor movement and spacing was excellent, and it made a difference in finding good shots. Despite the fact of good ball movement the Tide had only 6 assists. One reason is Tide players were finding open shots by themselves. Justin Coleman only played 16 minutes and that held the assists down. The post players scored only 2 points. Taylor also had 3 turnovers. Kessens wasn't factor.

 

Tarrant scores 21 

    The Tide committed only 9 turnovers which will help win a lot of games. The boards were essentially even. This was a step in the right direction. Alabama could have lost, but Randolph stepped up for some big time baskets. Ricky Tarrant did the same. Rodney Cooper scored six and had four boards but he helped cool of Gerry Blakes. Blake had 21 to lead the Sun Devils but Cooper slowed him down in the last 10 minutes. Grant praised his team for a gritty effort and not giving in to adversity. Fans seem to be really high on this team. It's early and making predictions would be difficult to make. But the one thing the Tide has done is give the win starved fan base some hope. With three big time games remaining on the pre-SEC season,  wins could really catapult Bama in the polls and with the selection committee.  Xavier, UCLA, and Wichita State are tough games. Something tells me this team has no back down at all. You are going to have to play well to beat this season's Crimson Tide. And better play hard because Alabama will

Tide falls 84-74 to Iowa State...

Tide plays hard but falls short in the end…

Cooper has a big night…

  

    Two Schools of Thought here: A lose is lose is lose. Nothing has changed from last season. That’s the way some fans will look at last night’s 84-74 game to Iowa State. Another way to look at the game is to say that Alabama played a road game against the number 13 or 14 team in the NCAA and hung tough. Statistically it was an interesting game.

·         Iowa State shot 58% from the floor. Alabama hit only 39%. C.M. Newton used to remind us that you have to look at the number of shots you took. Alabama took 20 more shots than Iowa State, and that kept the game in reach.

·         Bama got a minor hose job at the free throw line by 8, which is substantial but not a killer. The Tide made 10-13 which is very solid. Luckily, Jimmy Taylor didn’t shoot any for the night, but Shannon Hale was only 2-4.

·         The Tide got beat on the boards 34-31 but you can live with that. Where the Tide excelled off the glass was getting 9 offensive boards, and giving up only 2. That’s big time.

·         Personal fouls were pretty even. I thought a few fouls were missed by the refs which hurt Bama, but no felonies committed in my opinion. Bama had 20 fouls which is a few more than you would like to have. Honestly, we were so porous on defense at times we couldn’t catch up to foul.

·         Bama had only 9 turnovers. That is a big boy basketball, and considering this was a de facto road game, Grant love that number. We caused 15 and had 5 blocks. Three of those lead to change of possession.

·         Bama had 7 steals to the Cyclones steals. Our defense was pretty disruptive when Grant went zone in the second half and it caused Iowa State some problems. That ten minute period let us take the lead. We then switched back to man and that didn’t work out very well in my opinion.

·         Bama was down by 13 with a 3:26 left in the half. The Tide cut it to 6 at halftime. That impressed me. Randolph made a three, and the team didn’t fold its tent.

·         Hello Mr. Cooper!!!– Coop threw in 27 from a combination of power moves in the paint and some down town bombs. Cooper’s clutch shooting in the first 15 minutes of the second half gave Alabama a chance. Cooper doesn’t need to score that many every game, but he does need to give us a consistent 15. Maybe this game will put him over a slump.

·         The Tide’s inside game was missing in action. The only inside game was what Randolph and Cooper managed to bring on some gritty play to the hoop. Taylor had another hook shot and that looked good. He also had only 4 boards, but logged on 17 minutes. Kessens scored 2 points and had 2 boards. He did have some good defensive plays, and I believe he’ll get better after he gets his game feet back. He is very athletic. Not only is he adjusting to returning to play, he is getting accustomed to Division One hoops. Keep in mind he didn’t have the best competition to practice against last year.

·         Reggie Witherspoon has brought a little magic to the team with his offense. This offense is going to take away a little defense however. There is only so much energy to expend.

·         Kudos to Riley Norris. The freshman is giving up his offense to play harder defense. He was Bama’s leading rebounder despite logging in only 18 minutes. He also had a team leading 3 steals. Freshman Justin Coleman and Sophomore Shannon Hale each had 4 assists. The trio have the Tide a lot for underclassmen. Hale continues to expand his offense. He and Coleman opened up the Tide scoring by draining threes away from home.

·         Ricky Tarrant got only 19 minutes which was surprising to me. He hit a nice three, but he was forced to play a lot of his time when time was running down. He didn’t get the best shot selection. He did knock Thomas Matt with a hard drive in the second half. Cooper and Randolph seemed to have an easier time with some inside moves after that. Tarrant was charged with an offensive foul but at least he got his money’s worth.

      Summing up: The Tide played very well most of the games. We don’t have much of an inside game. When Taylor was off the floor the Cyclones got a lot of easy layups. Kessens isn’t moving his feet quick enough, but he is getting better. I think Michael may be the kind of player who plays better defense after he scores a few points. The talent is obviously there. He’s strong and smooth. Expect him to be a much better player when the Conference opens plays. Tonight the Tide takes on talented Arizona State. If Bama can play as well as they did last night I believe we can get out of KC with one win. Arizona State finished poorly by giving up 7 points late. Maryland pulled a win out of the proverbial rabbit hat.

 

Prediction:  Alabama 82 – Arizona State 77.

 

Tide gets ready show they belong in NCAA Tournament tonight

Iowa State is big league...

Tide seeks to reverse last year's poor start

Tonight’s game with Iowa State is going to tell Alabama fans a lot. Tonight won’t be about offense I bet. If Alabama is going to beat Iowa State it will a team defensive effort. The Cyclones have scoring from all of their position players. Coach Grant has stated he thinks Alabama could be a very good team. It will take a good team to beat the #14 team in the AP Poll. First thing that sticks out about ISU is the balanced scoring. All five starters are in double figures, and the sixth man is scoring at 9.1.  Iowa State is one of the top twenty programs in the NCAA. They are coached by Fred Hoiberg. Hoiberg has brought an exciting brand of basketball to the State of Iowa.

The game is listed as a neutral location. It’s about as neutral as if the Tide were playing in Birmingham. Kansas City has been very good to the Cyclones over the years. Expect several thousand Cyclone fans to make the trip for tonight’s game. The Cyclones opened the season with 93 and 81 points. The dropped Oakland 93-82 and then followed that up by a complete shellacking of Georgia State 81-58. Both Oakland and Georgia State are the type programs that cans sneak up and beat good teams.

Iowa State likes to move the ball on offense. They had 18 assist to only 8 turnovers in their first game. That will win a lot of games. The turned around and dropped 23 against Georgia State. They had only 12 turnovers. That’s almost a 2-1 ratio. The Tide has won their first three, including a hard fought game against Western Carolina which went down to the wire.

This year’s addition of Tide Hoops is a lot different from last season. First, the team can score. Ex-Buffalo coach Reggie Witherspoon has made the Tide a pretty good offensive team. The team has been a collection of veterans, transfers, and new players. Witherspoon is melding the players into a much more explosive team. Like a lot of new teams, the Tide is just about even on assists to turnovers. That ratio is offset by a lot of steals and blocked shots. Jimmy Taylor already has 8 in the first three games. Levi Randolph has stepped up his game and turned into the leader of the team. He was unanimously elected the team captain. That was a first for a Grant coached team. No doubt that Ricky Tarrant has been a very strong addition to the roster. Michael Kessens seems to have the skills to contribute in the paint. He can play with his back to basket or can face up on the exterior. Tarrant has the potential to be an All-SEC type player. It’s a little too early to say the same about Kessens but he’s got skills. Once again, Rodney Cooper is an enigma in my eyes. He should be scoring far more that has in the past. His rebound is very solid, and he is a good defensive player. When the season is over we may look back and say that we are only as good as Cooper became his senior year.

Jimmy Taylor hit a nice little running fade away. It was a kind of Buck Johnson shot. Taylor has also bulked up and is much stronger. He has great timing on blocking shots, and can finish off interior passes with a stuff. He looks much improved. A real star in the making is Sophomore Shannon Hale. He is aggressive, much stronger, has a nice shooting shot, and has some real court awareness.

What can you say negative about Justin Coleman? He is generously listed at 5-10 and 160lbs. He is quicker than a hiccup. He can drive and dish, and drop in some outside bombs. His upside is tremendous. He and Tarrant will make a tough backcourt when they play together. That’s some that Grant hasn’t done much but as the SEC season approaches they will. Jeff Garrett has been unable play because of oral surgery but is expected in the lineup tonight. Riley Norris, who narrowed his choices of college to ‘Bama, ‘Vandy, and the Gators is going to be very good player. Same for Devon Mitchell. All of Bama’s new recruits can contribute in a lot of ways. They are all keepers, and will set a strong foundation for the future.

Grant is going to get one more season after this year regardless of what happens. If this year’s team is any indication to what he can do he seems to be off to a good start. Alabama has a really tough pre-season. The conference is going to be somewhat easier than most of the teams we play early on. Bama needs to win three or four in early period to catch the attention of the selection committee. If the Tide stumbles out of the gate it will diminish what happens in the SEC. If Alabama is able to knock off UCLA, Wichita State, and Iowa State the Crimson is going to look a lot better in the Committee room. Prior to season I didn’t think this team would be competitive. They just might be. If players continue to improve, the outside shooting holds up, and the Tide rebounds well, they might surprise. The defense has looked all that good in the first three games. Isn’t that ironic. The Tide has been trying to play a lot of zone to protect Taylor. The game tonight is a big step to determine whether we belong or not. I think that ISU should win the game. But should win is not the same as will win. This team seems tight with each other. That is a good sign. We’ll know more later tonight. Roll Tide

Where do we stand as a basketball school today?

Tide hosts Southern Miss tonight...

Tide thumped Towson and struggled against Western Carolina..

 

Emails asking the same questions...

     I get emails from fans wanting to know my opinion about our basketball program. A little background first. I’ve been watching Alabama since the Rocket 8 lifted off from the hardwood. Those were gaudy times. Then came the Eugene Lambert era which was pretty bad, but not terrible. If you view that time against the time he coached, Alabama was about average for an SEC team. No one really gave a flip about hoops in those days. Foster Auditorium was an absolute joke even for its time. It was all Alabama needed though.

Fans wanted some changes in the 60's

     Their came a day when a group of basketball fans, me included, started to write letters to Coach Bryant about the need to upgrade our program. He gave it his best shot. And like all the shots that the Bear took it was dead solid perfect. We explained to him that his legacy as an AD hinged on the improvement of basketball and other non-revenue sports. My father and Coach Bryant a lifted a drink or two together in their times, so the Bear was not a complete stranger to me. It would not be true to say we were friends. How I met the Bear was more to do with bourbon, Old Golds and Chesterfields. But he knew who I was due to my father. Those fan conversations took place with Coach through individual efforts, but finally a “group” asked to meet with him. I think it was a preview for looking at God on judgment day. He was polite and generous with his time. We had 15 minutes or so. He listened. You could tell he was really listening about what we thought as fans and alums.

Enter C.M. Newton and the program exploded... 

      Bryant hired C.M. Newton as our next head coach. Who the heck was C.M. Newton? Where the heck was Transylvania College? I was young and cocky and thought I knew it all about hoops. That hire was a puzzle to me. I remember thinking ‘why didn’t we try to sign someone like Adolph Rupp’. That’s how young and naïve I was back then. It was a total lack of respect for people who actually knew basketball. It’s the same lack of respect I see that our younger fans give our older fans today. The young think that older fans don’t know a darn thing about Hoops, and that selling us season tickets is hilarious. Many of the younger fans think that older Alabama fans sit on their hands in expensive seats, and that is a total waste of time. Nothing could be further from the truth on all counts. I’m 67 years old now. I know so much more than a college student, as it relates to basketball, because of the extra 45 years I’ve attended games. I’ve got so much information about the game of basketball and Alabama basketball in my brain than most could imagine. Reading the forums it is clear that having a mouthful to say is not the same as having a brain to back it up. I don’t always agree with the opinion of others regarding our program. But if an Alabama has an opinion I’m open to what they have to say. We have polarized our fan base, and forums just fuel the fire. I think that loving Alabama should be unifying. I’m clearly aware that criticizing our coach is perfectly acceptable. I don’t think it is acceptable to make untrue comments about our players. Like the other day someone say Devonta Pollard is "as dumb as a rock". He isn't. He is a smart young man who was carrying more trouble than most of us could endure. Let's cut that crap out.

   Unity through winning is what C.M. Newton brought to Alabama basketball.  We have had two truly great basketball teams in my opinion. Either could have won a national championship. The ’76 team was one. The ’87 team was another.  Truthfully, if you get on a roll and make it to the Sweet Sixteen you might make it to Finals. Gottfried got to the Elite Eight on the backs of great shooting in the post season. C.M. Newton came at a time that was absolutely perfect. He started to recruit black American players. The State of Alabama had a ton of them. Wendell signed to come on board and the world started to change. All of sudden, the Crimson Tide became a force. Those guys didn’t win every game, but they weren’t chump change. You had to beat Alabama because they were well coached and had superior players. Wimp inherited a great situation and made it better.  C.M. may have kicked started Alabama but in Wimp Sanderson, Alabama basketball found it’s identify. I think C.M. was a very good coach. He assembled so much talent after those first few years that Alabama simply overwhelmed the competition. Wimp was something special. He was also something else to behold. He was one of us, a man of the people, a populist. He was what we imagined what we might be ourselves if we coached. He was also a genius. I'm not talking figuratively, but making a literal statement.

Sanderson set the standard for measuring future Alabama coaches at the Capstone...

  Wimp is the best basketball coach I’ve ever known. If fact, he’s the best coach I’ve ever known. He got more out of great players than any man I’ve seen. He got more out of less talent than any coach I’ve ever seen. The persona of Wimp Sanderson was not unlike the Bear. Think Houndstooth and think Plaid. Wimp has us so close to being a top five program. He was as close as the razor’s edge. He packed the Plaid Palace with great teams and great fans. I’m telling you that we were so close you could smell it cooking. 

    Then he was gone. I am not going into the why of his leaving, but I will say it was the most overblown situation ever imagined. Wimp made the mistake of trusting a gonzo radio commentator off the record. The record now reflects it ruined Alabama basketball to the extent it has never recovered. Sure, we’ve had good teams since. No doubt, we were ranked #1 for the time it takes to drink a coke. We were #1, and a lot of schools will never be able to make that claim. That was cool. It wasn’t unimaginable then. It is now. Things changed after Wimp, Something was missing. The consistency was gone. The talent level didn’t play up to its potential, and players started going pro early. I think David Hobbs was a step away from being a really good coach until Antonio McDyess went pro. After that departure things started to go downhill fast.  Things got better with Mark for a while, and then they got really bad despite good talent.

Grant is a good coach, but...

  Contrary to most “experts” on the forum believe,  I think Grant is a great x and o guy. The problem is you have to recruit some great players. Slowly, the talent wasn’t being replaced. Some players were highly ranked and didn’t pan out. Devonta Pollard is an example.  Trevor Lacey was a good player but he was never great. Tell me any great players that Grant has recruited who turned into a great college player. We had one. His name was Releford. Even the little engine couldn't play in the NBA.  As great as the little man was, he wasn’t great as Leon Douglas, Mule King, or TR Dunn from the Newton era. He wasn’t great like the multiple stars who played under Wimp. You know who they are. The kid was like a Rolls-Royce in a used car lot. He had no help. What is Grant doing or not doing that CM or Wimp were able to do?

 CM and Wimp locked up the borders. Precious few got away. Those who did were an exception to Alabama’s general rule that no great player was leaving Alabama. By the way, UAB was considered to be an out of State school.  One night while Herb Winches and I was doing a talk radio show. Wimp was our guest. The Wimpster let his true feelings escape regarding UAB and Bartow. The radio station was aghast. The rating jumped for the first time ever in college basketball season. Some may not have liked what he said, or the way he said it, but by God he was a man who loved Alabama and we loved him back. The man lived and died Alabama. Anthony Grant is so reserved it is hard to know exactly how he feels about the school and the fans.

Our first two games make one thing very clear...

      I have watched our first two games. We play hard. We have better players than last season. They are, despite some contrary opinions, well coached. They are not shooting well right now, but they’ll get better as they learn to play with each other. Kessens and Tarrant are good players. There is a lot of new blood to mix into a unit. They may get there or they may not. Here’s the problem with our program today. Any program, including Alabama, will rise and fall on one simple fact. A team has to have some great players. We have pretty good players. Pretty good players will pull of an occasional upset and get beat on occasions when they should win. It’s just the nature of the talent level.  All Grant can do is play who he has recruited. That’s his problem. His recruiting hasn’t been up to par with CM, Wimp, and Mark. I have no doubt if he had the players he be successful. Here's a simple fact of life. He won't cheat to get them.

So where are we going into game three?

   Were do we stand?  Keep in mind that a game or two is a mere snap shot of something, and is not definitive. Anybody can take a selfie. A video of a season is a better indicator, but a career of a coach is like a full length movie. That is where you go to determine what’s happening in a program. We will never win a national championship with Grant. We may never win an SEC championship with Grant, we will never win a SEC Tournament under Grant unless, and I stress the unless Grant can start recruiting great players, and he has shown only minimal evidence of an ability to do that. He really is a good coach. He is surely a decent man. That isn’t enough. It isn't his fault we are not Kentucky. You have to acknowledge that. The one and done rule is the biggest hypocrisy ever approved by the NCAA and NBA.  We need to fix that. One day it will be corrected. Today, it hurts us. We are, however, the second best program from a historical basis in the SEC and we could try to live up to that standard. We aren't. We are not even close.

What keeps us from being great...

There are two other things that keep us from being a great program. I’m not convinced the AD has a real vested interest in helping us move forward. I have no proof he isn’t, it is just a feeling. And when you read on a forum, “do we play Kentucky in basketball this year?” shows you the state of people who think they are fans. Seriously, do we play Auburn in football? Wimp Sanderson was a coach who would change is offense for each opponent. Our coach doesn’t have enough talent to change a light bulb. That doesn’t mean I don’t love my school, my coach, or our players. I do. I hope this season is a roaring success. I want to hear Dick Vitale ask 'where did these guys come from'? I’m not holding my breath and neither should you. I think our program has reached a state of what Arlo Guthrie once said,  "Stop hoping for bad luck and knocking on wood.” That’s where our program really is. We really do expect the worse and then knock on wood that it won’t happen. Does anyone think that works?

   If you can't support the coach or the AD, then support the kids. If you don't like the coaching then support the effort of the players. If you think the whole thing is like buying a ticket on the Titanic, then look on those jerseys and see the word ALABAMA on the front.  That, we can all support.

I think our program has reached a state of what Arlo Guthrie once said, “Stop hoping for bad luck and knocking on wood.” That’s where our program really is. We really do expect the worse and then knock on wood that it won’t happen. Trust me that does not work…

    In the meantime if you can’t support the AD and the coach, support effort, if you can support the coaches support the players, and if you think the whole thing is like a ticket on the Titanic, look on the jerseys and see the word – ALABAMA. That, you can support. Let’s quit taking low shots at our players. It only hurts our recruiting. That is something I know first hand.

 Oh yeah,  how much would the 76 or 87 beat today's Tide? I'd say about 30.