TIDE WINS NUMBER SEVEN

COLEMAN BROKE OUT OF HIS SLUMP

      The Tide's seventh win started out slowly, gained momentum, and then buried Winthrop in the second half. Let's not be confused about the quality of our opponent. They are not a top shelf team, but they were well coached and played hard. The absence of Shannon Hale was big, and the Tide missed their 6-8 big man. On the positive side, the Tide devised a way to win without him. The defense was solid, and the offense was good enough to win. Whether Alabama can beat a team like Oregon without Hale remains to be seen, but I doubt it. 


        One great thing was the breakout of Justin Coleman in this game. He made some threes and took the ball to the basket. Tide fans cheered win he hit his first three, and then the bench celebrated on three next two. A hot shooting guard would mean so much to this team. Add a sterling performance by Jimmie Taylor. Dare we say, he looked like an offensive in the paint?  He sure looked better, and I understand he wasn't playing against a quality defender, but his moves were solid and effective. He even snuck in a little right-hand hook. It didn't fall on fridday, but in days to come it will. Retin Obasahan was a one man wrecking crew. The TV announcers, straight out of cookie cutterland, raved about his skill and agreesive play.

        Michael Kessens got the start in lieu of Hale. His numbers were not very good, but he made few mistakes and altered a lot of shots inside. Montgomery's Brandon Austin showed some of his potential. He played well, as did the always steady Authur Edwards who continues to impress.