Johnson Rolls the Dice on Big Time Recruits...
You have to love Avery Johnson. He is an enthusiastic coach and leader who believes in his ability to recruit the best players in America. He is dealing with a classic zero sum game. He is going to be highly successful, or someone else is going to be highly successful, and there is no room between the two. He either wins big, or he loses big. He is doing what Nick Saban does in football. Whether he is successful remains to be seen.
Tide has a decent basketball history...
Let's be honest with ourselves. Alabama is not a big name in college basketball. We have been historically more successful than most people realize. In Alabama, there is only room for one theory of recruiting - go big or go home. Tide fans will only accept winning. I have no idea of whether Coach Johnson will succeed in his big game hunt. I've talked with several recruits, and they have some real interest in Alabama. The recruits have more interest in whether Johnson can help them get to the NBA as quickly as possible. The Tide might grab a few kids who grew up Bama fans, but the Tide is now casting a wider net to attract big name players.
The Tide needs a great class to jumpstart the program...
One good recruiting will bring in the next class. I liked what Johnson did with the team last season. He had some talent, but a lot of it was just gutsy basketball coupled with overachievements. One thing is sure - if Alabama is going to be a national player in basketball again, Johnson is doing the best thing possible. There is another road I hope he won't forget. It's what I call the Gonzaga method. Gonzaga became a player in the NCAA by hiring a great coach and then recruiting good players who hung around four or five seasons. I think that Johnson will look toward the Gonzaga example, and he has done so already. Donta Hall is the obvious example. He has some talent. Hall is a good athlete, but Donta isn't a good player yet. I stress the yet because he can end up being a superb basketball player. Right now, he has demonstrated that he will clean your chops on the inside with his shot block ability. Hall is a player to watch to judge Johnson's coaching ability. By the end of last season, I thought Hall was the best post player on the squad.
Johnson is drawing national attention...
One thing that leans in Bama's favor is the national reputation of Avery Johnson. He is well respected, and admired by a lot of AAU coaches. That is generally a recipe for success. We can talk about the recruits themselves another day, but we need to give Coach Johnson a pat on the back for his putting together a great staff and a couple of excellent recruiters. Someone asked me the other day where is Bama recruiting? One word answer on that one - everywhere. Johnson as divided up his staff to send them to any camp where the big named recruits migrate to in the summer. The Tide has made the final cut for a lot of big name recruits. More on them later and what i learned from them...
Tide's Pre-SEC schedule...
Tide has a decent basketball history...
Let's be honest with ourselves. Alabama is not a big name in college basketball. We have been historically more successful than most people realize. In Alabama, there is only room for one theory of recruiting - go big or go home. Tide fans will only accept winning. I have no idea of whether Coach Johnson will succeed in his big game hunt. I've talked with several recruits, and they have some real interest in Alabama. The recruits have more interest in whether Johnson can help them get to the NBA as quickly as possible. The Tide might grab a few kids who grew up Bama fans, but the Tide is now casting a wider net to attract big name players.
The Tide needs a great class to jumpstart the program...
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| Five Star Troy Brown has Bama in his final cut... |
Johnson is drawing national attention...
One thing that leans in Bama's favor is the national reputation of Avery Johnson. He is well respected, and admired by a lot of AAU coaches. That is generally a recipe for success. We can talk about the recruits themselves another day, but we need to give Coach Johnson a pat on the back for his putting together a great staff and a couple of excellent recruiters. Someone asked me the other day where is Bama recruiting? One word answer on that one - everywhere. Johnson as divided up his staff to send them to any camp where the big named recruits migrate to in the summer. The Tide has made the final cut for a lot of big name recruits. More on them later and what i learned from them...
Tide's Pre-SEC schedule...
Faulkner (exhibition) on Nov. 3
2015 record: 20-14, 11-7 SSA Conference
Coastal Carolina (season opener) on Nov. 11
2015 record: 21-12, 12-6 Sun Belt
Dayton on Nov. 15
2015 record: 25-8, 14-4 Atlantic-10
Ball State on Nov. 18
2015 record: 21-14, 10-8 MAC
Valparaiso on Nov. 21 (tournament in Las Vegas)
2015 record: 30-7, 16-2 Horizon League
Charleston Southern on Nov. 29
2015 record: 9-21, 5-13 Big South
at Texas on Dec. 2
2015 record: 20-13, 11-7 Big 12
at Oregon on Dec. 11
2015 record: 31-7, 14-4 Pac-12
USC Upstate on Dec. 15
2015 record: 10-22, 4-10 Atlantic-Sun
Clemson on Dec. 18 (Birmingham)
2015 record: 17-14, 10-8 ACC
Arkansas State on Dec. 21 (Huntsville)
2015 record: 11-20, 7-13 Sun Belt
Stetson on Dec. 29
2015 record: 12-22, 4-10 Atlantic Sun
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