‘Bama can’t hang on to second half lead…

Two inside players and we’ll be very good next season

 

       We didn’t beat Florida because we don’t have enough good players. There is no shame in that. If that’s the problem Grant can recruit a fix. We signed two national top75 players who play center and power forward. That will help. Carl Engstrom returns and that will also help. And is it possible that we might sign at least one big juco inside player, and an experienced player from Europe. I believe we will. One thing that we do have is a good head coach. If you still don’t believe that you don’t know basketball worth a flip. Luckily, getting a couplle of players can improve a team very quickly. Next season everyone on our roster, except the gutsy Andrew Steel will be back for another season. We are so close to being a great basketball team you can almost smell it. Ask Billy Donavan if he thinks Alabama can be a great team next season – he’ll tell you they will be and maybe more. I bet he thinks they are pretty good right now. The better team won, but only because a great player got read hot. We built a ten point lead by doing all the gritty little things that talent short teams have to do.  In the end the team with the best players usually win. We have defied that logic several times this season. Today the odds caught up with us.

 

        I’m seen our two signees play several games this season. Hale is 6-8 and he can jump and shoot. He needs some weight. Jimmie Taylor is not a great scorer. But he’ll knock you sideways on defense. He is as strong at finishing a play as I’ve seen in some time. He’s not pretty on offense, but he is an assassin on defense.  He is quick and agile. He can jump to the rafters. Hale is smooth as silk type inside player who has good range.  Both are comparable to each other but at different positions.  I think Hale will add some much needed offense.

    

The season is not over by any stretch. Anyone who thinks otherwise might not understand the value of post-season in any venue. I hope we get in the NCAA but for our development and exposure it might be better to have a chance to play a few games.   I have no problem with our team not getting an invitation as long as Tennessee or Kentucky aren't selected. We are better than those two teams.  Ole Miss is playing well right now and could help the league imagine. I’ll tell you a coach that doesn’t want an NCAA invitation. John Calipari knows his team is not ready for prime time and could use some competition where they might be competitive. They are 4-4 after the loss of Nerlens Noel.

 

It is never great to see your team lose in a tournament. Today is the day I get to open the envelopes of two sports writers who predicted the season. Names shall remain unrevealed out of agreement. I picked us to win 19 in the regular season. The other to picks stood at 17 and 21.  We were not highly rated going into the season and in my opinion we milked the year for about all we could. The only game I regret is the AU game.  Whether that cost us a bid would be conjecture. Whether we got a bid after a win today would be conjecture. In all honesty we really aren’t a highly competitive NCAA Tournament team except in our Crimson hearts. If we make it to the NCAA we can be highly surprised and happy. If we don’t we understand why. We could be the top seeded team in the NIT and that would give us a chance for more basketball.  But this season had some things to remember

 

·         Trevor Releford is a great point guard and that’s where you start building a team

·         Nick Jacobs found his way in the latter part of the season.

·         Moussa will never be great on offense but he will be much better next year.

·         Retin Obasahan  was  a major surprise

·         Pollard was a major disappointment but he did make some real improvement toward the end. He can rebound and block shots. He plays solid defense, and the physical talent is undeniable. He’ll work hard this off-season and gain some strength and weight. Then we may see the real Pollard

·         Grant will never satisfy everyone but he can coach. He has at least two more years, and I he’ll get an extension next year.

·         Carl Engstrom may actually be more than a role player. His rehab is going well.

 

We finished second in the SEC when we were picked 6th in the pre-season. And a lot of negative fans will tell you we underacheived. No way. Our early season surge raised expectations which were simply not realistic. Despite all that we were close to being a really good team. I think the players and coaches should be commended. I think a lot of our fans should look themselves in the mirror and reconsider some of the offensive things they have said about this team. I find it particulary unfair from fans whose basketball IQ would be a quarterbacks number.

I also wanted to say something about our offense. It was the only offense we could play. We had to play mud ball because he had no real inside game. I think our outside shooting improved despite the fact the other team knew what was coming.