Where are we going?
Rock bottom? The
Alabama Crimson Tide Men's Basketball Program continued their crimson slide
last night in College Station, Texas. The final score was 63-48. That's a
pretty good thumping but the score didn't reflect the embarrassing play by the
Tide. In watching Alabama play basketball for 50 years I've never seen such
pitiful play as last night. This has been a horrible season. Last night the
Crimson Tide compiled a highlight reel of everything that is wrong with the team
and program. For 30 minutes the game was competitive. Then in the last 10
minutes of the game the Anthony Grant coached team fell apart. When the ESPN cameras panned the
coaches I suddenly remembered where I'd seen these guys. The moonlight as
zombies on The Walking Dead
television show. Only the coaches are
far less involved with their surroundings.
It's crystal clear that Alabama doesn't
have enough talent to play in league as weak as the SEC. Rock Bottom? Check
with me after the Auburn game later. The Alabama coaches sat with their heads
resting in their hands and watched that last ten minutes of that debacle like
they were thinking about where to submit resumes for their next job. I
have no doubt that Bill Battle will
allow Grant to return for one more season and that decision will set the Tide
program back five years. Recruits will
hear stories about the eminent departure
of Grant. The Tide football
program survived Mike Dubose and Mike Shula. I don't think the
basketball program is that resilient. There will be some real anger among
longtime fans if Grant returns. He may be a great guy, but he can't manage a
basketball program like Alabama. Every player who was on the floor last night
or who has transferred out is the responsibility of the coach. I'll be honest
with you - I just don't get Grant at all. Algie Key shut down Marshall
Henderson and helped the Tide beat Ole Miss. He was a JUCO All-American.
Against TAM he barely played.
Last night was
the first indication that the team has packed it in. I hope I'm wrong but who
can blame them. Only Releford, Hale, and Taylor seemed remotely in touch with
the game. Obasahan has contributed less and less as the season progresses. Levi
Randolph has fallen apart. Rodney Cooper makes the worst decisions of any
player I've ever seen. These three players are killing Alabama. I'm not
surprised that Releford is scoring around 20 ppg. He has the talent. I'm
surprised that other teams can't stop him. It's not like they have anyone else
to worry about on offense. It would be easy to say all teams have bad games.
The TAM gamewas worse than that. It was the first game this season where I
though key players just don't care. Up until Thursday night I thought the team
was trying. Some of the players are hanging in there. Hale played hard. He
almost had a double double and he made the effort to draws some fouls. Jimmy
Taylor played well on defense blocking several shots. Levi Randolph has lost
his confidence and his game. Rodney Cooper is the worst whiner I've ever seen.
Quit complaining and start playing. You are making a fool out of yourself. All
of this must be hard on Trevor Releford. His classy play stands out in the SEC.
If Bama was a contender he'd make some AA teams. You could see his disgust last
night. He's the Captain of the Voyage of the Damned. He deserves better.
Grant has driven this program in the
ground. I supported him. I wanted him at Alabama. He was my first choice. Now,
he needs to leave before he destroys the program completely. Give him one more
year would be unfair to the fans, the players, and the players who came before
him. He'll have more success next season if a few things fall into place. People
will start to hope again. Then...
well, you know the Mark Gottfried story.
Alabama was so inept last night is was staggering. They were so unprepared it
was shocking. I noticed something last night. In team huddles the players were
looking away from their coach at times. That is not a good sign. In fact, there
are no good signs from this team. (I exclude Releford, Hale, and Taylor from
this mix.)
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