TIDE REFUSES TO QUIT ...

BAMA WINS WITHOUT KEY PLAYERS...


Kessens and Tarrant didn't play. Hale injured.
Rag Tag bunch refused to give up

   

Grant coaches a gem

 In the history of basketball games played in Coleman Coliseum. the South Carolina isn’t going to rank as an all time classic. But, if you are wondering whether or not Grant can coach go back and watch the game again. In the second half with Hale, Kessens, and Tarrant sitting on the pine the Tide won a close one. I don’t know any coach who has a handy little game plan in the hip pocket when you lose 60% of your starting lineup. Grant’s coaching in this game was as inspirational as the kids who pulled it off.

   For the majority of the game Alabama had two players playing very well. That would be Levi Randolph and Riley Norris. After that Retin Obasahan joined in. Coop caught fire. Taylor rebounded like a madman. He also threw down at least two monster dunks All of sudden the Alabama had a patch-work team that played like veterans. I think there are only two other coaches in the SEC who can do that – Calipari and Donovan. For the second half of the game the Grant had the most unlikely concoction of players to take the floor and to win a close game. The Tide got slaughtered on the boards for most of the game. When it came time to see who would get the big boards, and the 50/50 balls the team wearing white came up the winner. When it was time to play in your face defense, Alabama stepped up a notch. If you were on offense and from South Carolina you were covered, contested, and ultimately killed by a stifling defense. In the second half Grant wisely sat Taylor on the bench and waited for the right time to put him back on the floor. The five on the floor gave the Tide the lead, and then Taylor came back in to control the glass. Not only was that great coaching it was gutsy coaching. Frank Martin admitted as much in his post game comments. Pure class from a classy coach . -

Alabama has lost 8 games by two points or less. You do the math. They were so close it hurts. As much as everyone wants Grant to leave, you can’t ignore the truth about this year’s team. They are better, the coaching is better, and team concept to there. I know that watching Bama play offense is like sitting down for root canal. The defense has been there in almost every game. This was the year the Tide might have opened it up a little. First the deadly shooter kid Hawaii never played. Second, Kessens was not a far along as we hoped, and those two things really hurt. Kessens was limited by an injury. The Tide simply didn’t have a team that could dominate the boards. When you can’t rebound well, you cannot run. End of discussion. Levi Randolph is our go to guy on offense. He’s great kid with a huge heart. He’s not going to be drafted in the NBA. When your go to guy has that talent level it says a lot about the overall talent level. That is up to you coach and staff to reel them in. We have finished second on some great players which is lot like always having the second best hand on poker night. I think he has done quite well with the talent he has recruited. I'm not satisfied with the recruiting. That would make me second in line behind Anthony Grant on that issue.

     Some kids have transferred for all the wrong reasons. Some kids transferred because of parental pressure. Mama is going to win out over the coach almost 100%. One kid got arrested for a serious crime. He was a good kid trying to mind his mother. If you want to get rid of the coach let’s at least acknowledge the good as well as bad. As you know I was pretty verbal about getting rid of our coach. Like any fan I thought like a fan. A college coach called me one night. He gave me a list of things that are important in coaching.  I think there were 10 things. Grant rang the bell on 8 of them. One of the things on that list was “is the winning equal to the status of the program”. Most of us would jump and say no. On closer analysis I’m not so sure. The program was fading. I felt like Anthony had killed it. I was wrong. This program was killed the day Hootie Ingram fired Sanderson. Things have never been the same. We came to take for granted what Newton and Sanderson did. If we are talking short term, as few of us do, it would be easy to fire the coach. The problem at Bama is much deeper than that. 


Coach Grant cannot build a new facility. He cannot make the Athletic Department give basketball its due. Coach Grant cannot drag the sports media department into the 21^st century. If we were doing all those things and he was losing we might be justified in firing him. The problems are systemic. It isn’t all about the coaching.  One other thing we need to admit. Overall, our basketball fans don’t measure up to other schools. I’m saying that everyone fits that shoe. Far too many do of us just like complain and act like they may know all about the sport of basketball. Hardly any of us really do. I always get the feeling that the main complainers are not supporters. I might be wrong. I frequently am, but the personal attacks on Grant are simply without class. I apprecitate the fans who acknowledge the character of the man. It's a separate issue. The players love him. They know who he is, and what he can do. We should listen to what they say. It matters. 

I have no problem giving him more time to right the ship. The question in mind is always – is he the coach he was a VCU? I new coach doesn’t have enough scholarships available to make any huge changes. Perhaps the Tide is close to getting a quality big man a little older than your usual player. We’ll see. We will know that pretty soon. It’s one of those deals that makes the review of eligibility important, and doesn’t lend itself to an easy yes or no. That is all I know. I do know this. If Florida signed the three players we recruited for next  they would be four star players due to the halo effect. The kids we signed are better than we believe, and certainly better that a lot of fans want to believe. I’ve given a lot of time thinking about the Grant situation.  I’ve called life-long friends that coached and two who still coach NCAA teams.   They know more than me. They know more than all of us. They have no dog in the fight regarding Alabama. I think he’s coming back next year regardless of what fans might want. I’m going to sit back and watch the end of season. Many think Grant should be fired. That’s not my call. It’s not as easy to fire him  as everyone thinks. Money is not an issue. watching the coaching against South Carolina opened my eyes in a lot of way. Bama may still be without three key players for the next three or four games.  
That is formula for losing. It those three kids can’t play the remaining games, then you’ll know whether the man can coach. It will have nothing to do with winning games. It’s far more complicated than “off with his head”. Let’s let it play out. I for one am pulling for the man. I keep having this sense he can succeed. The last time I had similar feelings we hired a guy named Sanderson