Do you think Coach Grant should be renewed or replaced

Post your opinion and the why

       

Tulane transfer Ricky Tarrant will help.

I have to admit to really struggling with a solid opinion of whether Grant should stay or go. The hard part to me is that I believe he is a very good coach, but a poor recruiter. He might hire someone who can recruit. Lacey and Pollard were not really five star players but everyone recruited the pair like they were. He also signed Jacobs, Randolph, and Cooper. They were all listed as four star players. One or two publications had Randolph as a five. None of that has proven true. Some will argue it is a lack of player development on Grant's part. I just don't know. Trevor Releford was a four and has turned into a real star and will add his name to the legacy of Tide point guards. Is it fair to say he can't develop players when you look at Releford. I think that Taylor and Hale are coming along nicely. We all knew that Taylor wasn't an offensive hoss when we got him. He has been a solid defender and shot blocker. Hale has shown some really tenacity as the season has gone along. You can't argue he hasn't improved. Is it possible, just maybe, that most of his best players weren't as good as some experts thought? I think that is probably the case, and then you see Randolph score 33. Cooper had 28 as a freshman against LSU on the road. The both have had some flashes of brilliance. Jacobs has improved. You can't argue that Randolph, Jacobs,  and Cooper have had lackluster seasons. As juniors you would think they would be solid game in and game out. That has not been the case. Cooper despite horrible shooting and shot selection has been the leading rebounder for the Tide. That is why he plays so much. He now has so little arc on his jumper that it looks a like a line drive double into the gap at the Joe. He has no mid-range shot at all. So how much blame does Grant have to accept? I'm not sure.

    

There are other factors considering Grant. One thing you have to like about Grant is that he will not cheat. There is a saying in basketball - if you don't cheat you don't win. John Calipari has left blood stains wherever he has coached, and it won't be any different at Kentucky before it is all said and done. So  we have this conundrum regarding Grant.  His players graduate and stay out of trouble, but they don't win big. I know that Grant has three twenty win seasons. A closer look at those seasons will indicate just how weak the SEC has been. You can argue that his best SEC record didn't get him in the NCAA. That seemed unfair. I think that would be correct though Bama probably got jobbed that year. While I admire some of Grant's ethical positions I'm not sure you can really win big that way in modern basketball.  I'm not talking about a bag man. But taking some marginal players with academic problems could help. 

      This season he signed three of the best shooters I've seen in the high school ranks. Devin Mitchell is the shooting guard  we need.  Coleman can shoot the lights out, and Norris is a great long distance shooter. But the one thing Grant has not been able to do is get a beast in the middle. Kessons is going to help. He's a good player, but he is really more of a power forward than a post player. It is going to be interesting to see how Tarrant fits in with Mitchell coming on board. Tarrant is a better all round play with experience. Mitchell is a better bomber. Both have their place. 

     Here's my bottom line on Grant, or as close as I can find a bottom line.  He can coach, and he has shown some ability to get higher rated players to Alabama. However; I'm not sure whether he can be counted on to get enough great kids to make Alabama a player in the SEC again. Do his better qualities outweigh his problems? He is going to get another year if what I have been told holds true. He may not believe it but if AU beats Bama in Coleman it might be the straw that breaks him with his strongest supporters. I believe you should support the your coach. For almost five years I've been an avid Grant supporter. I've lost a great deal of faith this season. What I don't see is a strong foundation for the future in place with Grant at the helm. He has had more than an adequate amount of time to have built that foundation. Maybe its time to quit going for all the five stars we can find, and take a Gonzaga approach. Find good players who can improve and keep them four years. Releford is exhibit # 1 to that approach. Stay or go. I can live with either. I'd prefer to find a new coach who can inject some enthusiasm into the program, the fan base, and recognize the contributions of long time supporters of the program. Things haven't worked out the way. I honestly thought they would with Grant. We pay our coach 2 million dollars a year. We've held up our end of the bargain. Here's what I think  for what it is worth. One successful season next year is not going to salvage the program. It might save Grant, but not the program. One additional poor season will set the program back another five years. I said it would take Grant five seasons to straighten out the mess he found when he arrived. I was wrong . If you have four years  to find your own players that is pretty much the forecast of what you can expect in the future. I really like Coach Grant but I'm not convinced he's the man to get the job done viewing the last four seasons. Your fifth season should be a good one. 

       I've turned down dozens of requests to talk on the radio about Grant, but I felt he deserved the benefit of the doubt. Right now i feel like we are in the old Soviet Union. The last five year plan hasn't worked.