Tide runs out of steam in second half...
Randolph has 32 in last home appearance...
Cooper has solid game before the home town fans...
Dakota Slaughter played well...






 

Randolph score 32 in last home game

      Watching Alabama play basketball without Shannon Hale and Ricky Tarrant reminds me of the poem about the charge of the light brigade. The players know at some level they can't win. They have almost no bench at all. Kudos to Dakota Slaughter. Where has this guy been? Clearly, he's needed some minutes. Last night, the Tide played great basketball almost the entire first half. The Tide was up 6 and Justin Coleman was shooting a one plus. He missed. Ole Miss takes the ball the length of the floor and drains a 3 at the buzzer. An 8 point lead turned into an uneasy 3 point lead. That sounds just like the Vandy game. 

    I think the frustrating part about all this is that there is little the coaches can do.. For me, Grant is doing as good as he can with what he has left. Once again a season with fairly high expectations is drawing to an end. Alabama has Texas AM on the road, and then the opening game in the SEC. I don't expect us to beat AM on the road. I'm not sure we can beat anyone in the SEC tournament at this point either. Teams can fool you though. 

 

Coop and Grant 

   Last night was a sad goodbye for Levi Randolph, Rodney Cooper, and Dakota Slaughter. Randolph played an excellent game. He loaded the team on his shoulders and helped the Tide mount a comeback that was doomed. Cooper finished off his best season as a Tider with a solid performance. Slaughter wowed the crowd. He also broke his nose in a collision near half-court.. He put on a mask and came back in to play. Alabama fans showed their appreciation for the trio by staying at home. I must have grown up in a different America. Times were you were in attendance to express your acknowledgement for a four year career playing for your University of Alabama. I find the whole lack of attendance sickening. Let's just stay at home and blame the players. For a University that prides itself on class we should admit we don't always act that way. Attending the game last night had nothing to do with how you feel about Grant. 

     Levi put on a show last night. He finished with 32 points including 17-17 from the line. I thought that Teddy Valentine game Alabama a few calls last night in the first half that led to a small Bama lead. In the first half, Obasahan did a great job on Moody. He hit his first three point shot and then went off for 22 in the second half. Ole Miss made two adjustments that changed the game. First, the used their two guards to force penetration into the heart of the Tide defense. Second, they go physical around the basketball. This caused Bama to pick up more fouls, expend a lot more energy, which ultimately ran the wheels off the Tide. 

 

Dakota Slaughter plays well against Rebels

   You watch the game and you can't help but think - we win this game with Ricky and Shannon in the lineup. We have not lost being competitive. We continue to play hard. It just isn't enough. Depth will always wear down lack of depth in the long run. Alabama players are playing some long minutes. They get tired. Obasahan wore himself out on Moody. When he got his third foul the game was over. Moody did whatever he wanted. Another way that Moody beat Bama was Obasahan was also a non-entity on the offensive end. Their dual in the first half was really fun to watch.No one else could match with mighty mite except Retin.  Coleman just isn't big or strong enough to play SEC defense yet. Norris didn't score a lot of points but his flashing up on the elbow caused Ole Miss to tighten up and that gave Bama a lot of good looks from the outside. We finished with 7-20 from outside. Cooper  couldn't get a few to drop like he normally does. He was 2/3 from outside, and that's not bad. I sure he wanted to do more. What a great young man. 

     I imagine the forum boards will have named Grant's replacement by the time I post this article. Every negative thing that happened last night will be discussed in great detail. People who rarely attend a single game will be at the forefront of the discussion. I'm seeing a not of names on the board that I haven't seen before. That's old hat for fans. I have seen the best coaching from Grant since his initial season this year. A lot of you have, and just won't admit it. Just like you, I'd like more wins. Just like Grant, I'd like to see healthier players. The future of Anthony Grant will be known in 10 days. One thing for sure - all this has turned a lot of focus to the basketball program. It's a shame that none of it is productive. We now have two of our three recruits saying they hope Grant stays because he's the reason they signed with Alabama. The negativity of all us is starting to effect people we've already recruited. Can you imagine what it will do for those we hope to sign. One of Coach Grants hallmarks is that he recruits prospects to come to Alabama. He doesn't just recruit them to play for him. Say what you want about the coach (and at one time or the other it seems we all have) he is a  hell of a man.

Thank you Levi, Rodney, and Dakota for all your hard work in representing all of us...