TIDE TAKES DOWN OTTAWA 81-71

Sexton sits out this one...

Petty hurts shoulder but is okay...

AJ, jr. played a good floor game...compliments UA

 It is early in the season, but color me unimpressed with our perimeter defense. I'm sure it will get better. Check that. I hope it will get better. The Gee -Gees of the University of Ottawa dribbled around, through, and around the Alabama's perimeter defense. This is obvious after the win over Ottawa. The Tide allows defenders to get into the lane like a someone with a credit card in Paint Department at HOME DEPOT. Three things are obvious about the Tide after three exhibition games. 

Freshman Alex Reese

1. Our perimeter defense is not good at all. Quick passing around the elbow seems to confuse our defenders. Also, it seems as if anyone can dribble penetrate. After penetrating the offense trails a shooter in the lane and he drops in a bunny.

2. John Petty is our best offensive threat. His outside shooting is deadly, and he shoots so quickly a defense can't get set. Petty is well versed in taking it to the hoop. 

3. Our two inside players, despite glowing pre-season chatter, need some real improvement. Neither seems to have drop step to the basket. Neither appears to have a move to the basket. The big men get too deep around the goal and have to lean back toward the outs. Each is very aggressive on defense. Put them on the floor together and a lot of stumbling seems to occur. 

 

Ingram will be fine...

   Let me get one thing out of the way. The term Gee-Gee has to be the worst nickname in the entire history of nicknames. The team colors are garnet and gray. That could be their origin. It is also a well-known term in horse racing for the fastest horse out of the gate who usually fades down the stretch.I'd like to tender my apology to the Campbell College Fighting Camels. I was unaware that camels fought, although I did have one spit at me once, and second, camels are nowhere to be found around Campbell College. Presbyterian was a close second to Campbell. They are the Blue Hose. Really? I also had the Akron Zips up there at one time. Zip seems to hint you are nothing, as in nothing burger. 

   One thing to keep in mind was that Sexton and Ingram did not play. Sexton sat out the game with an injury against Carleton. Ingram hurt a foot and Johnson is taking no chances for an exhibition swing. Both injuries as described as "not serious". Junior took over the point and scored 15 points and showed he can hold down the position when. 

Norris has been Mr. Steady...

 Riley Norris played an aggressive back to the basket on over matches and had three nice inside moves. He also hit a three pointer. Norris continues to impress with his overall play going into his final season. Time flys. Braxton Key also had a good game. I thought Lawson played a good game. It is nice to see him get some extended minutes.

    Alex Reese may dodge a redshirt season. He has shown some toughness inside and plays well within himself. He has a nice touch. Every player on the Bama teams needs to watch him shoot freebies. Once again the Tide had a bad night from the line. 60% won't get it done.

COACHSPEAK: 

       

“For a team that’s just played three games in four nights, I thought we gave an outstanding effort, especially in the second half,” Coach Avery Johnson said in a release. “We were able to get our defense set, guys made the extra pass and we did a great job on the boards. Thankfully, we were able to close it out.

     We wanted to take a look at different rotations because we had a lot of different guys playing tonight. We have a lot of young players and they all got their share of minutes. We looked at a lot of different combinations and I like the different combinations we can utilize this year – we can go big, we can go small or we can spread the floor. We had a chance to look at multiple defenses, so from a video standpoint, we’ve got a lot that we are able to analyze."

GRADING THE TIDE IN CANADA:

Overall Grade:  B - Winning two of three games was okay. I wish we had beaten Carleton. What was that important? The Raens represented the best of college basketball in Canada. In all the games the Tide offense had trouble getting out of the gate. Only an exceptional effort by Braxton Key in game three got the Tide started quickly. Ottawa was not physically imposing. They had no size and their best man didn't play. Of course, winning was probably a secondary concern for the Tide coaching staff. Mixing lineups (three different starting lineups) and rotations don't make for polished play. You have to keep that in mind, yet...

Big 1st quarter sparked Tide

The OffenseLB this swing. The inside game with Hall and Giddens showed potential, but potential is worst thing a player can show. That means he is not fullfilling his game. The big men were just short of horrible on offense. They did get a few offensive rebounds. Was the effort there? I'll leave that for the posters to decide but at best it was spotty. Collin Sexton played well. His injury gives him an ' i ' for incomplete. Riley Norris was steady. Braxton Key was impressive. John Petty was lights out, and he showed us something we haven't seen at 'Bama in a long time. We may have never seen an outside shooter with the quickest release possible. 

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The Defense: D I'm tempted to say what defense but the two inside big men covered up a multitude of sins on the perimeter. If the Tide cannot fix the outside portion of their defense, look for a lot of losses. Granted, Sexton and Petty are freshmen. The big men were aircraft carriers compared to PT Boats they had to defend. As a last line of defense Hall was outstanding. Giddens looked a little lost but he is game rusty. I bet he will okay with a few games under his belt. 

Final Thoughts:  

     I have some real mixed opinion about the Candadian swing. Clearly, Alabama has a lot of talent. The ability to mesh that talent is all that matters. The best five players are not always the best team. We need to keep that in mind. I didn't see but one thing that causes any worry. The Tide's perimeter defense simply not SEC ready. This is not a criticism, but a concern. A harder work ethic should fix this in a few games.

Next Game:

   

Alabama's next scheduled game is with Memphis at the Veteren's Classic in Annapolis, Maryland. The games will be played at the United States Naval Academy. Teams in the field are: Alabama, Memphis, Navy, and Pitt.

Tip-Off: 5:30 PM (CST)

Televison: CBS Sports
Navy vs. Pitt: 1/2 hour later

Highest Ranked preseason team:  Alabama

Overtime: 

     Exhibition games can make you look great or horrible. There is rarely anything in between. The last two games the Tide looked like the KeyStone Kops rumbling and bumbling all over the Court. The lineups are frequently changed to see what a combination looks like in action. One thing should always be present and that is defense. That doesn't take anything but effort. Tide won this game not because they outplayed Ottawa. They won by physical presence. By the way, Ottawa was playing without their best player. Just something to keep in mind. Speaking of physical presence, you have to love those Page Two Canadian young ladies.