Auburn at Bama - A Second Look
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The team Alabama had on the floor in the last 6:20 played pretty darn well. Levi Randolph has excellent hands. He stole a backdoor pass when Harrell was open. I have no idea why Bruce Pearl was running back door plays for a guard. But, thank you Bruce. Alabama played with a sense of urgency down the stretch but they weren't forcing shots. Anyone who has ever played the game of basketball knows how hard that is to do. Credit to the Tide for running their offense and taking good shots. More credit to Levi Randolph for creating some good shots.
Putting Cooper on Harrell was a smart move. That was a coaching move and credit to the staff. Coopers length caused the Tigers leading scorer to alter shots. He missed more than he made. He also played out of control in the last three minutes. That's the time of a close game where the brain quits working for most players. It's also the time of the game where great players see things in slow motion. I bet Levi would tell you that himself. Randolph played with a composure and confidence lacking last season. I wish he'd double his shots. It was a great comeback. It also happened with Tarrant on the bench.
After watching the last 6 minutes Coach Grant made a couple of defensive and offensive moves I failed to see while watching the game. On offensive, Grant effectively thinned out an area in the paint for Randolph to operate. When the Tigers moved up to stop him he dumped a pass down low. After that, the Tigers seemingly decided to give up the easy baskets and concentrate on shutting down Randolph. They did neither.Randolph scored 11 points. And Cooper and Kessens had a couple of easy chances down low. Cooper's rebound off a missed shot was the winner. The Auburn players were watching the ball in the air, but Cooper was looking for position. That is smart play under a lot of pressure. Auburn committed the same error that Alabama made Fayetteville to lose that game.
It was pretty clear that the Tide was leg weary the entire game. Sloppy execution is usually the result of fatigue. The purpose of a full court press to to tire the other team down. It's not to force turnovers per se. I hope we get to look back at the game and see it mattered a lot for post season play. Next is Florida. At least the Gators don't get an extra day of rest. I'm not sure how Florida is going to react after losing to Ole Miss. They are out of NCAA competition. Donovan is a great coach. If anyone can get the ready he's the man. One thing the Tide learned from the game on Saturday. You have to play hard from the start. If Alabama starts off with a lackluster beginning I'd bet they don't have enough to beat the Gators.
The team Alabama had on the floor in the last 6:20 played pretty darn well. Levi Randolph has excellent hands. He stole a backdoor pass when Harrell was open. I have no idea why Bruce Pearl was running back door plays for a guard. But, thank you Bruce. Alabama played with a sense of urgency down the stretch but they weren't forcing shots. Anyone who has ever played the game of basketball knows how hard that is to do. Credit to the Tide for running their offense and taking good shots. More credit to Levi Randolph for creating some good shots. Putting Cooper on Harrell was a smart move. That was a coaching move and credit to the staff. Coopers length caused the Tigers leading scorer to alter shots. He missed more than he made. He also played out of control in the last three minutes. That's the time of a close game where the brain quits working for most players. It's also the time of the game where great players see things in slow motion. I bet Levi would tell you that himself. Randolph played with a composure and confidence lacking last season. I wish he'd double his shots. It was a great comeback. It also happened with Tarrant on the bench.
After watching the last 6 minutes Coach Grant made a couple of defensive and offensive moves I failed to see while watching the game. On offensive, Grant effectively thinned out an area in the paint for Randolph to operate. When the Tigers moved up to stop him he dumped a pass down low. After that, the Tigers seemingly decided to give up the easy baskets and concentrate on shutting down Randolph. They did neither.Randolph scored 11 points. And Cooper and Kessens had a couple of easy chances down low. Cooper's rebound off a missed shot was the winner. The Auburn players were watching the ball in the air, but Cooper was looking for position. That is smart play under a lot of pressure. Auburn committed the same error that Alabama made Fayetteville to lose that game.
It was pretty clear that the Tide was leg weary the entire game. Sloppy execution is usually the result of fatigue. The purpose of a full court press to to tire the other team down. It's not to force turnovers per se. I hope we get to look back at the game and see it mattered a lot for post season play. Next is Florida. At least the Gators don't get an extra day of rest. I'm not sure how Florida is going to react after losing to Ole Miss. They are out of NCAA competition. Donovan is a great coach. If anyone can get the ready he's the man. One thing the Tide learned from the game on Saturday. You have to play hard from the start. If Alabama starts off with a lackluster beginning I'd bet they don't have enough to beat the Gators.
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