Tide seasons comes to end in the NIT

Hats off to Wichita State...

The man couldn't muster enough offense tonight...

      Wichita State is a fine basketball team, and Alabama fans can take nothing away from these Shockers. The inability to score finally caught up to Alabama. A late 13-1 run when the game was anyone's to win killed the Tide. Regardless of how great your basketball team plays defense you still have to make some baskets from the outside. So poor outside shooting, that little devil, who followed us  everywhere our team played finally won out in one.  Bama missed 12 of their last 13 three point attempts. The inability to score from the outside and State's ability to hem up Green was the difference.

       This was going to happen sooner or later. I wish it had been later, but I guess since this is the last game of the season it was later. Final score was State 66 - Bama 57.  Bama's streak of losing NIT championship games remains intact. The Tide lost to a superior team. You have to feel sorry for the guys. But this team finished 21-7 after the chaos of the early season subsided. The ground work is set for of greatness in the future. We have the best coach we could ever have. We have the hardest working team in show business. 


     If you read my recent post on Green and Grant it gives you some insight into the character of our coach and our players. I'm not going to sulk about the loss. I'm going to dream about the future. No more nightmares. No more 30 point blowouts on the road. No more inability to get the ball in-bounds. No more lackadaisical efforts. No more excuses from a coach or a player. Releford, Mitchell, and Green are the pyramid of a great upcoming future. Throw in Cooper, Randolph, Jacobs, and Gueye and we have more than enough to win an SEC West race, and to compete with Kentucky for the top spot in the SEC next year.  Next season we will be a national player. Please write that down.

      I have some recruiting news that I said would not break. That is for the family to do.  It is big news and will make a bunch of Tide fans happy. But more than more one player this season, it is the impressive list of top 50 prospects who have Alabama on their short list that makes me happy. We have four great recruits for the upcoming recruiting fall season that will blow your mind. We already have a comittment from the best point guard in the Northeast and more will follow. Just a few tidbits to make Tide fans happy:

1. The drought in Huntsville is over. Levi Randolph was the top player in the 6A classification.
2. Rodney Cooper is by far our recruit with the best upside. He is a five star player who is ranked a three star. I'm not puffing or inflating his ability. He was just named 1st Team Parade All-American. 
3. Nick Jacobs will be a first team Atlanta Constitution Player. A late season injury hurt his chances to be Mr. Basketball. 
4. Mousaa Gueye - Our 7 foot something Juco player was hurt this season.  He was a pre-season Juco All-American first team. This kid is a force. Here's what he will do other than block everything around the basketball, get tons of rebounds, and do a little scoring, he will also allow on JaMichael Green to become a power forward again. Think about that all summer long. All the other SEC coaches will be doing the same thing.
5. Mr. X - a deadly outside shooter who can play two guard positions. Now I'll admit this might change but I don't think so.  
6. Andrew Steele - will be back with his solid all around play.  
7.  Kendall Durant and Jason Carter are both freshman medical redshirts. Don't forget about either. 
8. Ben Eblen proved he is a valuable assist despite a lot of negative posting by Tide fans.  
9. Charles Hankerson, Jr. is about to prove just how good he is. Very impressive late in the year when Steele went down. He is a deadly outside shooter.  
10.Carl Engstrom - Abe Lemons was said he could teach kids to shoot and play defense. He could teach someone to be 7 feet. You will not believe how much Engstrom will improve in he summer fighting against Green and Gueye.  
11. The coaching staff appears ready to remain intact. That is big. I think they sense good things in the near future. We don't write much about them. I'll change that next season though. They are great coaches. 

     I want us to remember that this the NIT run was without Steele, the first man off the bench and probably the Tides most steady player. Earlier I tried to tell us all how good Releford was going to be. Do you believe it now?  Now imagine TR with an outside shot. He will shoot a couple a hundred a day this summer. No sophomore slump for the little man with a big attitude and heart to match.  

     I hope we can understand just what a great season this has been. And I hope at the Awards banquet everyone will come out and show some real love for the most fun team I've ever watched grow up.  Grant can coach. I mean he can really, really coach, and he can recruit. And he can win us a national championship. Roll Tide Roll