CRIMSON HOOPS - THINGS JUST GOT HARDER FOR AVERY JOHNSON

 DAZON INGRAM OUT FOR THE SEASON

    

OUT FOR THE SEASON

   If it weren't for bad luck, the Tide basketball program would have no luck at all.  Now, that streak continues for Dazon Ingram and Avery Johnson.  Johnson saw his freshman star end his season with badly broken football suffered in practice.  Flame me if you want, but Anthony Grant had the same type bad luck last season when he lost Ricky Tarrant and  Shannon Hale down the stretch when Bama had a  chance to make the NCAA. That 19 win last season were some of the best coachings I’ve ever seen regardless of what the great unwashed masses wanted to believe.  Imagine Alabama losing Derrick Henry and Jake Coke in the span of few days and hoping to make the playoffs. It wouldn’t happen.

      Now Avery Johnson is going to face a similar situation. He loses Dazon Ingram for the season. Ingram is an outstanding prospect and was the Tide’s leading rebounder with almost six per game. That in itself should tell you about the Tide program. He’s a point Dog Grant, all you want, but I’ve talked with several SEC coaches who said what he did was the almost unbelievable job the latter part of the season.  I’m not going to argue with anyone of you whether he should have been fired. I suspect he should have. His recruiting wasn’t getting the job done, but the man could coach. He was also the best defensive coach I had seen.  I’ve been around for quite a while. I think Johnson is going to do a better job, but defense isn’t at the to of his list.  

      It’s the coaches decision, but I’d start Retin Obasashan at the point and move Norris to the shooting guard. Let’s bring Justine Coleman off the bench. Justine has started the season just short of an ice age. I’m not sure how to characterize the Southern Mississippi game? How about a playground game with next up? It was as just not good basketball by either team. The redeeming factor is the Tide won and in March, the score or sloppy play won’t matter. It is merely a win.   The Tide has a 53-50 lead and promptly saw Ingram miss two free throws. The Eagles were able to get off two good looks at the basket which could have sent the game into overtime. Both missed and Bama won the game. That puts the Tide at 5-2 and a decent RPI of 45. That’s down from 36  because Southern Mississippi is now 0-6. Unfair to lower an RPI basketball on the team you scheduled two seasons ago.

        We got not points from Jimmie Taylor in that game. Southern Miss had no one who could match up with him or Michael Kessens. That won’t work. Luckily, we made enough baskets offsetting the lack of paint presence.  I think that will come back to hurt us, and if my guess is correct, it has been a key to this weeks presence. Justine Coleman is going to play a lot more. Now is his time to shine or he might find himself forgotten. Let’s hope our fans take the negative impact of Ingram in better light than the losses of last season.

    

CRIMSON HOOPS - TIDE HITS THE ROAD

CRIMSON TIDE TAKES ON SOUTHERN MISS IN HATTIESBURG...

Dazon Ingram is learning quickly

     It's been quite a while since the Tide bumped off two top twenty teams back to back. Now the Tide hits the road as a favorite over Southern Mississippi who has started the season 0-5.  Alabama is 4-2, and his won their last two.  Regardless of who the opponent is and what their record might be, the road is a cold place to play. For an Alabama team that is in the process of finding themselves, it will be interesting to see how they play in Hattiesburg. Will they continue to play like they did against Witchita State and Notre Dame or will they have a Dayton/Xavier relapse?  I'm betting they continue to improve. Coach Avery Johnson has got a big game out of Michael Kessens in the last game. His 9 rebounds offset the time that Jimmie Taylor was riding the pine. Taylor must find a way to find a way to keep from committing those cheap fouls. Riley Norris is expected to return which will be a boost for the Tide. 

      Southern Miss hasn't been able to get anything going. Over the years, the Golden Eagles have had some good teams. Their last game was a lost to Troy State University. The other teams that beat them weren't any better. I believe that the Tide should beat Southern Mississippi going away. It is, however, basketball on the road. Southern Miss is coached by the highly respected Doc Sadler, but the NCAA did a number on the school after Donnie Tyndall got finished with his cheating. 

     Tip off is at 7PM on the Fox Sports Network and the Alabama Sports Network.

BAMA: By 12

TIDE BEATS TWO TOP TWENTY TEAMS IN THE ADVOCARE...

        
Bama shows they are better than predicted...







    

OBASAHAN HITS THE WINNER

   Alabama knocked off another top 25 team in the Advocare Invitational while no one was looking. Seriously, the game was not televised, and live-streaming was the only way to see the game. That's a shame for the fans because Avery Johnson’s gallant little band of warriors beat #17 Notre Dame 74-73. With ten seconds on the game clock, Retin Obasahan took the ball and magically wove his way through heavy traffic to make a lay-up. It was quite a play. It was the second time this week that ‘Bama has beaten a top 25 team. Wichita State was victim number one, and the fighting Irish of Notre Dame were number two.  I wonder who is next? The Tide moved to 4-2. Significantly, Alabama has 2 quality wins and 2 “quality losses”. The Tide got thumped by Dayton and beaten by Xavier. In both games, the Tide hung around in the first half only to fall on its face in the second half.

HALE HAS 19 IN BIG WIN

        On Sunday afternoon, Alabama put together one of those gutsy performances we all love. It is amazing to this writer that Avery Johnson beat two ranked teams with the lineup he has. That’s not to be disrespectful to the players. They are playing to the utmost of their ability. They have become a team. And a team is better sometimes that five guys with more talent.

 

        One the good things coming out of Sunday’s game was a strong performance by 6-9 Michael Kessens. Kessens banged with the big boys inside to pull down 9 rebounds. The improvement of Michael is another key to the Tide’s future. Shannon Hale had another strong game. The Junior seems to be finding a groove. Hale is so versatile. He loves to shoot the long ball, but he’s not hesitant about going inside the in the paint. That inside-out game is something that a lot of players can’t do. His foot injury seems to be well. His stamina is obviously better, and he is taking on a leadership role. Leadership is big in basketball. When you start a freshman point guard who is learning his role, someone has to step up and lead the team. Give Hale credit for doing so.

 

       Retin Obasahan played his best game of the year. He did it in several ways. He scored 19 points, hit the winning basket, and played like the devil on defense. He is Alabama’s best player in my opinion. He has unlimited physical skill. He learned a lot from Anthony Grant about defense, and now is learning a lot more about what he should do on offense from Coach Johnson. Obasahan gave us some insight about Johnson's coaching as well. "In time outs, it seems that Coach knows exactly where the other players (opposition) are going to be."

 

       You might have noticed that Riley Norris got hurt and did not return to the floor after the injury. He got jabbed in the eye. He is fine now. Norris is a deadly shooter and has a lot of basketball floor sense. I love to watch his square up to shoot, but it is all around game that is most impressive. A lot of players can shoot. Not a lot of players can shoot and have a good floor game. Johnson uses him perfectly. Kudos to the coach and the team for a great weekend at the Advocare. The Tide didn’t win the tournament but they come home as the biggest winner in the eight team field.

Bama guts through to top 20 Witchita State in upset 64-60 ...


   

  Alabama just beat Witchita State, a top 20 team.  What a great win for first-year head coach Avery Johnson. How ironic is that? It was almost burlesque as the clock hit zero. The coach that Alabama wined, dined, and prayed would take the job as head basketball coach was on the other bench. At the end of that offensive series of events, it became apparent that he played Alabama. Hindsight is always 20-20 and for the Tide it proved to be a blessing in disguise. I have no idea of how many the team might win this season, but to me this one will be the most satisfying.

        I’m well aware Fred Van Fleet didn’t play. I’m sure the Shocker fans will use that as an excuse for the loss. Fair enough, but it isn’t the reason why Alabama beat WSU.  Hard play on the defensive end of the court delivered the victory. Johnson is supposed to be an offensive guru. He’s not bad at teaching defense either is he?  The final score was 64-60. Riley Norris knocked in two free throws to make it a two-possession game, and the Tide got its first signature win this season. It was also Norris who shadowed Doug Baker the last few minutes of the game, making him a non-factor.  The sophomore from little Albertville, Alabama also knocked in a big three-point basket in the last five minutes to help Bama take the lead.

        I’m happy for the team. This one was for loyal Alabama hoop fans all over the world. Be assured one thing, however, the team played hard for Avery Johnson and not against Greg Marshall. The Tide’s record are now 3-2. The Tide will play Notre Dame, who beat Big Ten Iowa. The winner of this game will win fifth place in the tournament.  I felt if ‘Bama could win one game in the Advocare it would have been a successful trip. Two wins will give the team something to do a little chest bumping. 

      Alabama shot only  41% from the floor but held the normally hot shooting Shockers to 31%.  Give credit to Alabama defenders who contest almost every shot. WSU loves the three. The made on 10-30 and virtually every shot had a hand in their face. Doug Baker, the best outside shooter on the Shocker team, made only 3-9 from behind the arc. The Tide did an excellent job of the jump-switch on the high screen and denied the Shocker open shot.

     The night belonged to Shannon Hale who had a big 20 points. Hale was 6-10 from the floor and knocked down 2-4 three-pointers.  His biggest two baskets game in the last four minutes when he drained a three, and later muscled his way to the basket to score a highly contest basket He was also 6-7 from the line. The Crimson andd White were red-hot from the line making 25-30. The game was well played with few turnovers. Each team hung on to the ball and didn’t waste many opportunities on the offensive end.

         Alabama looked much better when they couldn’t fast break or get a quick shot. The pulled the ball out to midcourt, ran their offense. The spacing was good with a lot of down screens and player movement. This was an incredible win for the new Tide. Dazon Ingram had five turnovers and looked like a freshman at times, but he looked good most of the night. Once again, Ingram was the Tide’s leading rebounder with eight. A successful night following a couple of tough second halves is always nice. This time, the Tide didn’t let the second half ruin the night. What a way to start the weekend.

                                     ,

Tide wilts in second half...

     TIDE PLAYED WELL FOR A HALF...    

     

       I really have no idea about the things to say about games like Alabama’s 64-45 loss to Xavier today. We held the Musketeers to only 64 points. They were ranked #23 going into the tilt. For the first half and part of the second it appeared the Tide might hang around. Shannon Hale hit a three-pointer deep from the corner as time expired in the first half. The score was 27-24 for Xavier. Bama cut the Xavier lead to 30-28 in the half number two. Then the Tide just fell apart. It wasn’t pretty. You know root canal feeling? That’s about as good as I can describe it.

      We’ve said before this is going to be a learning process for the Tide. The process also involves the fanbase. How long is this type play going to continue? You are all smart guys. Do the math. How many recruiting seasons will it take for Johnson to get better players into the system? New players need to be the type player that fits the system. Think NBA is style. That means the Tide is going to need a great point guard, a great two guard, a small forward who can shoot it outside, and some power inside to rebound to start the break. How many of those do we have right now?  We’ve got some talent but not great talent. I’m not going to sell our young players short, though. Half a season will tell us a lot.

     I’m still not clear how you can commit to a team, recruit for them, and then not sign your letter of intent. However, Terrance Ferguson says he is firmly committed. I’ve heard a myriad of reasons why he chose not to do so. None of the stories I have heard makes a lot of sense. He says he is coming. We’ll see. He is the type player the Tide needs. We need to keep in mind we lost some good players last season. How much better would this team be with Randolph, Cooper, and Tarrant. Better for sure, but would we be an NCAA team? Doubtful. I’m going to watch the process and understand it is going to take some real time.  We all need to be patient. Patience is not one of the Tide Nation’s stronger attributes. The Tide plays Witchita State who lost to Southern Cal 72-69. How ironic is that?

TIDE SHOOTS LIGHTS OUT IN WIN OVER RAGIN' CAJUNS

HOT SHOOTING WIN OVER Sun Belt OPPONENT...

   

 Alabama went into last night's contest a two-point underdog. The left a double-digit winner with no resemblance of the team who got shellacked by Dayton. Jack Nicklaus, the king of golf, once said that good putting covers up a multitude of sins. So does good shooting. That made 15-25 from downtown to help the Tide put a good Sun Belt team 105-93. When this season is over that is going to be a good win over a team that is likely to make the NCAA field. 

    For the night the Alabama hit 55% from the floor, 60% from the three-point line, and made 75% of their free throws. Those are all numbers that mean you should win a game. The only thing that Bama lacked was better rebounding. The Cajuns beat the Tide 40-30 on the boards. It's difficult to believe that Jimmie Taylor got zero rebounds, but he did record 3 blocked shots and at least a half-dozen pressures to cause misses. 
   
 

  I think Bama should be pretty happy with a win for the Cajuns. They are picked to win the Sun Belt Conference and have a legit first round NBA player in Shawn Long. They can shoot the lights out. They played a team that shot even better.  Hats off to the Tide from returning from the land of the walking dead. Whatever Avery Johnson did to prepare his team for Friday night's game worked. Let's hope he saved some for future games. I thought the biggest factor on the Tide's offense was shooting, of course. To get those shots, Johnson put his two point-guards on the floor at the same time. The result was 28 points and 13 assists from Coleman and Ingram. Ingram showed us why he was Mr. Basketball last season, and clearly was under ranked by the so-called experts. When you have a 6-5 point guard, who can handle the ball you've got a weapon. I like how Ingram can post low against smaller players. Ingram led the Tide with 7 rebounds for the night.

       

Shannon Hale made 5 three pointers. The Tide had 5 players in double figures. Shot of the game had to be Edwards shot from the corner. It was off balance but still managed to beat the shot clock for three. The Tide had over 80 points with ten minutes left, and they seemed to ease up a bit in the final quarter of the game. If Louisiana-Lafayette made a run, the Tide had an answer and stormed back. What a difference a couple of days can make for a team. It's going to be a wild season, and Bama gave some notice to the rest of the SEC they won't go down quietly. I'd give the Player of the Game nod to Justin Coleman. But a couple of other Tide players were equally deserving.