Time for Bama fans to stick together...
Tide dismantles the Aggies with hard D
I don't know about you, but when Texas A&M was not able to play their top scorer and rebounder, it was a big break. Alabama probably would have won regardless, but it made it easier. I'm not sure that the casual fan understands that keeping a team to less than 50 points is phenomenal. TAM scored only 44 points. In fact, I think they were lucky to get over 40. It was a great defensive effort by the Tide. As predicted, the Tide used a zone the majority of the game, but switched to a man when it appeared the Aggies might find some success. That switch killed TAM. The mixing of defenses seemed to confuse TAM. Alabama came out in the second half and had more energy than I've seen this season. Obasahan supplied the energy in the last 10 minutes. All in all, it was a great win. It was a step forward.
Alabama wasn't a dynamite offensive team themselves. They proved to be good enough. The final was 65-44. 21 points is a huge differential in today's games. Keep in mind there are no bad coaches in the SEC. The "worst" SEC coach is probably much better than anyone who coached any of us. Grant gets some knocks from the fan base, but this game shouldn't fall into that category. I don't know what else a fan could expect from a team or a coach, than a 21 point win. Most people who post of some boards clearly don't have the slightest idea what they are talking about. There are a few who do, and their insight is great to read.
Anthony Grant is our coach this season and will be next year barring a complete implosion by the Tide. I think there is enough talent on this team to avoid a repeat of last season. My knock on Coach Grant has been an inability to recruit great players, and a reluctance (as I see it) to integrate himself with the fan base. Alabama has now won 11 games. The number last year was 13 for the entire season. If I had to rate the teams on a 1 to 14th basis my number would be 6 or maybe even 5. That is a borderline number for an NCAA invitation. Alabama needs to win at least 3 or 4 road games. That's entirely possible. If you watched the Florida-South Carolina game last night, it appeared that ' Bama is as good as those two teams. Two SEC losses at home would be hard to overcome. You have to believe that a win over Kentucky will be tough. The other games will be winnable if Alabama continues to play with the same energy and effort as shown in the TAM game. It seems to me that fans have had their say about Grant. It's time to stop. The point has been made. Bill Battle can read and write. He understands how much of the fan base feels. South Carolina at home will be tough. They'll come in ready to go after the Florida game.
Someone accused me the other day of trying to kill the Alabama basketball program. This came from a poster I really respect. I'm not sure why he thinks I have "almost killed" the basketball program. First of all, I don't have that kind of power. Secondly, that would never be my intent. But it made me think about a few things. What really is wrong with our program? Part of what is wrong is based on what was done correctly in the past. Here's my take:
1. C.M. Newton and Wimp Sanderson set the bar pretty high for any future Alabama coach. What the pair did for our basketball program was miraculous. Newton had the temperament to build a basketball team in a time of change in America. He was the perfect man for the job. Newton was like the learned professor. He was almost above everything around him. He believed that Alabama had the players in state to win, and he set out on a single minded course to prove that. What Newton did was to take almost nothing and make something the State of Alabama should be proud in watching and supporting.
2. Wimp Sanderson took the something that Newton started and built, and infused his unique personality into the program. If Newton was the professor, then Wimp Sanderson was the beloved uncle we all wish we had. He was first and foremost one of us. He was (and probably still could be) the best coach in school history. I admire him greatly, but he spoiled us. Bully, for him. He was indeed the Man.
3. What the two men did was to set a standard. Anyone who followed them would have to live up to those reputations. How long did it take Alabama to find someone to live up to the standards that Coach Bryant brought to the Capstone? I have little doubt that had Wimp remained we might have won a national champions. His '87 team was as good a team as anyone in the nation. CM could match his '76 team with anyone.
4. When that is the test and measurement you have to follow, anyone was going to have a tough time being successful. Mark Gottfried got the Tide ranked # 1 for a brief period. He got to the Elite Eight and that was outstanding. I remember at the end of the Elite Eight season I wrote an article about the "downward spiral tjhat had started in our program. I got laughed at, spit on, and even worse. If you followed Alabama basketball you were aware of some of the problems. I'm not sure anyone but a die hard fan could understand what was happening. I don't think anyone takes any pleasure in seeing a Coach fail. That one extra year that Gottfried stayed was the second worst decision made regarding Alabama basketball. I understand why my friend, Mal Moore, made the choice. I asked him to note my exception, and Mark put himself in the position where he finally was finished. It was a sad day in our program. Almost as sad as the unwarranted decision made in firing Wimp.Sometimes an extra season can be fatal, but not always.
5. David Hobbs got blinded sided when McDyess unexpectedly turned pro. Big Mac had assure d David he was coming back. I don't think Big Mac lied to David. Money is money, and unexpected big money is something most of us can only dream of. He made the correct decision. Even David supported him even as the trap door fell open.
6. The Peanuts character, Charlie Brown was said "potential is worst thing a person can have." That is what is hurting Anthony Grant. Grant came to Alabama with the same fanfare that football fans had for Nick Saban. That is as close as I can explain it. Grant had to win as much as CM or Wimp did, and come close to what Saban was doing in football. For Grant, this was a perfect storm of destruction. He also caught a lot of bad breaks along the line. Getting left out of 2 NCAA's was questionable. Grant had to live with the results. The real problem that Grant has, even today, is living up to what people considered to be his potential. I was doing some numbers the other night and realized that Grant is right on track to have average 20 wins per season since he came to the Capstone. 20 has always been one of those magical numbers on a coaches resume. It may not mean as much as it has in the past, but it's still hard to ignore. Looking back, that was an unrealistic expectation.
7. "Happiness is a warm puppy" is not in Grant's personality. He obviously doesn't read Peanuts. He has always struck me as the kind of guy you like despite his personality. Sounds like another coach we know. But the other coach lived up to his potential, and one has fallen short in the eyes of fans. I think we should note that Grant has not been far from being very successful, until last season. Grant's personality is his personality. It's hard to change. I promise you if he was winning 25 games a year and making the NCAA Tournament he'd be the second most popular person in Alabama. Even then, the Tide fans, as unhinged as we can sometimes be, would demand Sweet Sixteen Rounds, The it would multiply to "we need a Final Four appearance. That is the nature of stupid beast that encompass Alabama fanworld. An extra year for Coach Grant just isn't that important given where we are know.
8. The final thing that makes Grant unsuccessful is that he isn't living up to the expectations of a bunch of people who couldn't set a pick if they weighed three hundred pounds. That's just the damn truth. For years I have hoped that we could be a national power again in basketball. Bad decisions can set off a cascade of even worse results. In fairness to Grant, I think he got to Alabama at the worst possible moment in our basketball history. I'm not sure, Alabama will ever be what we once were in hoops. I'm still hoping and praying, but I'd rather have a couple of Parade High School All-Americans big men to play inside. . I'm starting to curtail my hopes, and temper them, a dawning realization that it may never be the same. And no, I'm not a CEO, but until we build a real facility to attract first rate players, I'm not sure any coach can deliver what we want. This year, or next? What difference does it make until we have an AD who can make hoops a priority. I'm not sure that Battle will not ultimately do that, but I'm not hearing much to make me hopeful. Let me put it another way - when you go to AU and see their facility, and the commitment to basketball, it makes me sick. We should at least do that. Maybe Grant is merely playing the hand dealt him. I don't know. I know enough about coaching to know he's not a bad coach. He's not perfect. He's not Nick Saban. Nick Saban isn't even the Nick Saban people believe exists.
Maybe the time has arrived when even the die hard fans need to question the future of basketball at the Capstone, regardless of what Grant can and cannot do. Or maybe it's time for fans to demand something better. Let's be fair - Grant is not the singular problem we have in basketball. There is a lot of blame to spread around. The fans, the administration, the lack of commitment, are all to blame. I shoulder some of that blame. Maybe my dreams of a national championship were deluded from the start. I'm not giving up. But I am not going to blame Anthony Grant for everything he does. That is just is not true and it certainly isn't fair. I had hoped he could stop the leaking. What if the hole was so large it couldn't be stopped. Look guys, anyone can take cheap shots from behind a screen name. It's just time to stop and support our team. The rest of the problems are beyond our control. Let's be fans for a change.
Tide dismantles the Aggies with hard D
I don't know about you, but when Texas A&M was not able to play their top scorer and rebounder, it was a big break. Alabama probably would have won regardless, but it made it easier. I'm not sure that the casual fan understands that keeping a team to less than 50 points is phenomenal. TAM scored only 44 points. In fact, I think they were lucky to get over 40. It was a great defensive effort by the Tide. As predicted, the Tide used a zone the majority of the game, but switched to a man when it appeared the Aggies might find some success. That switch killed TAM. The mixing of defenses seemed to confuse TAM. Alabama came out in the second half and had more energy than I've seen this season. Obasahan supplied the energy in the last 10 minutes. All in all, it was a great win. It was a step forward.Alabama wasn't a dynamite offensive team themselves. They proved to be good enough. The final was 65-44. 21 points is a huge differential in today's games. Keep in mind there are no bad coaches in the SEC. The "worst" SEC coach is probably much better than anyone who coached any of us. Grant gets some knocks from the fan base, but this game shouldn't fall into that category. I don't know what else a fan could expect from a team or a coach, than a 21 point win. Most people who post of some boards clearly don't have the slightest idea what they are talking about. There are a few who do, and their insight is great to read.
Anthony Grant is our coach this season and will be next year barring a complete implosion by the Tide. I think there is enough talent on this team to avoid a repeat of last season. My knock on Coach Grant has been an inability to recruit great players, and a reluctance (as I see it) to integrate himself with the fan base. Alabama has now won 11 games. The number last year was 13 for the entire season. If I had to rate the teams on a 1 to 14th basis my number would be 6 or maybe even 5. That is a borderline number for an NCAA invitation. Alabama needs to win at least 3 or 4 road games. That's entirely possible. If you watched the Florida-South Carolina game last night, it appeared that ' Bama is as good as those two teams. Two SEC losses at home would be hard to overcome. You have to believe that a win over Kentucky will be tough. The other games will be winnable if Alabama continues to play with the same energy and effort as shown in the TAM game. It seems to me that fans have had their say about Grant. It's time to stop. The point has been made. Bill Battle can read and write. He understands how much of the fan base feels. South Carolina at home will be tough. They'll come in ready to go after the Florida game.
Someone accused me the other day of trying to kill the Alabama basketball program. This came from a poster I really respect. I'm not sure why he thinks I have "almost killed" the basketball program. First of all, I don't have that kind of power. Secondly, that would never be my intent. But it made me think about a few things. What really is wrong with our program? Part of what is wrong is based on what was done correctly in the past. Here's my take:
1. C.M. Newton and Wimp Sanderson set the bar pretty high for any future Alabama coach. What the pair did for our basketball program was miraculous. Newton had the temperament to build a basketball team in a time of change in America. He was the perfect man for the job. Newton was like the learned professor. He was almost above everything around him. He believed that Alabama had the players in state to win, and he set out on a single minded course to prove that. What Newton did was to take almost nothing and make something the State of Alabama should be proud in watching and supporting.
2. Wimp Sanderson took the something that Newton started and built, and infused his unique personality into the program. If Newton was the professor, then Wimp Sanderson was the beloved uncle we all wish we had. He was first and foremost one of us. He was (and probably still could be) the best coach in school history. I admire him greatly, but he spoiled us. Bully, for him. He was indeed the Man.
3. What the two men did was to set a standard. Anyone who followed them would have to live up to those reputations. How long did it take Alabama to find someone to live up to the standards that Coach Bryant brought to the Capstone? I have little doubt that had Wimp remained we might have won a national champions. His '87 team was as good a team as anyone in the nation. CM could match his '76 team with anyone.
4. When that is the test and measurement you have to follow, anyone was going to have a tough time being successful. Mark Gottfried got the Tide ranked # 1 for a brief period. He got to the Elite Eight and that was outstanding. I remember at the end of the Elite Eight season I wrote an article about the "downward spiral tjhat had started in our program. I got laughed at, spit on, and even worse. If you followed Alabama basketball you were aware of some of the problems. I'm not sure anyone but a die hard fan could understand what was happening. I don't think anyone takes any pleasure in seeing a Coach fail. That one extra year that Gottfried stayed was the second worst decision made regarding Alabama basketball. I understand why my friend, Mal Moore, made the choice. I asked him to note my exception, and Mark put himself in the position where he finally was finished. It was a sad day in our program. Almost as sad as the unwarranted decision made in firing Wimp.Sometimes an extra season can be fatal, but not always.
5. David Hobbs got blinded sided when McDyess unexpectedly turned pro. Big Mac had assure d David he was coming back. I don't think Big Mac lied to David. Money is money, and unexpected big money is something most of us can only dream of. He made the correct decision. Even David supported him even as the trap door fell open.
6. The Peanuts character, Charlie Brown was said "potential is worst thing a person can have." That is what is hurting Anthony Grant. Grant came to Alabama with the same fanfare that football fans had for Nick Saban. That is as close as I can explain it. Grant had to win as much as CM or Wimp did, and come close to what Saban was doing in football. For Grant, this was a perfect storm of destruction. He also caught a lot of bad breaks along the line. Getting left out of 2 NCAA's was questionable. Grant had to live with the results. The real problem that Grant has, even today, is living up to what people considered to be his potential. I was doing some numbers the other night and realized that Grant is right on track to have average 20 wins per season since he came to the Capstone. 20 has always been one of those magical numbers on a coaches resume. It may not mean as much as it has in the past, but it's still hard to ignore. Looking back, that was an unrealistic expectation.
7. "Happiness is a warm puppy" is not in Grant's personality. He obviously doesn't read Peanuts. He has always struck me as the kind of guy you like despite his personality. Sounds like another coach we know. But the other coach lived up to his potential, and one has fallen short in the eyes of fans. I think we should note that Grant has not been far from being very successful, until last season. Grant's personality is his personality. It's hard to change. I promise you if he was winning 25 games a year and making the NCAA Tournament he'd be the second most popular person in Alabama. Even then, the Tide fans, as unhinged as we can sometimes be, would demand Sweet Sixteen Rounds, The it would multiply to "we need a Final Four appearance. That is the nature of stupid beast that encompass Alabama fanworld. An extra year for Coach Grant just isn't that important given where we are know.
8. The final thing that makes Grant unsuccessful is that he isn't living up to the expectations of a bunch of people who couldn't set a pick if they weighed three hundred pounds. That's just the damn truth. For years I have hoped that we could be a national power again in basketball. Bad decisions can set off a cascade of even worse results. In fairness to Grant, I think he got to Alabama at the worst possible moment in our basketball history. I'm not sure, Alabama will ever be what we once were in hoops. I'm still hoping and praying, but I'd rather have a couple of Parade High School All-Americans big men to play inside. . I'm starting to curtail my hopes, and temper them, a dawning realization that it may never be the same. And no, I'm not a CEO, but until we build a real facility to attract first rate players, I'm not sure any coach can deliver what we want. This year, or next? What difference does it make until we have an AD who can make hoops a priority. I'm not sure that Battle will not ultimately do that, but I'm not hearing much to make me hopeful. Let me put it another way - when you go to AU and see their facility, and the commitment to basketball, it makes me sick. We should at least do that. Maybe Grant is merely playing the hand dealt him. I don't know. I know enough about coaching to know he's not a bad coach. He's not perfect. He's not Nick Saban. Nick Saban isn't even the Nick Saban people believe exists.
Maybe the time has arrived when even the die hard fans need to question the future of basketball at the Capstone, regardless of what Grant can and cannot do. Or maybe it's time for fans to demand something better. Let's be fair - Grant is not the singular problem we have in basketball. There is a lot of blame to spread around. The fans, the administration, the lack of commitment, are all to blame. I shoulder some of that blame. Maybe my dreams of a national championship were deluded from the start. I'm not giving up. But I am not going to blame Anthony Grant for everything he does. That is just is not true and it certainly isn't fair. I had hoped he could stop the leaking. What if the hole was so large it couldn't be stopped. Look guys, anyone can take cheap shots from behind a screen name. It's just time to stop and support our team. The rest of the problems are beyond our control. Let's be fans for a change.
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