Grant's not leaving to go anywhere ...

BAMA COACH STAYING IN TUSCALOOSA...

    

Sweet Home Alabama
for Antony Grant

     I keep hearing Bama fans expressing fear that Grant is leaving Alabama. Now, the school de jour is Miami. Anthony Grant is going to be the first basketball coaching in Alabama history to make more than 2.5 million and the cabinets are loaded for the future seasons. You might have to use duct tape and throw him in the backseat to make him leave.

     Miami is a dead end job. No one has succeeded there. It is the Auburn of the ACC. I'm not saying that Miami is never going to have a good program. Same for Auburn. From time to time both schools will do well for short stretches of time.  Long term prognosis for both? The patient is terminal. Alabama has more money to throw at basketball than Anthony Grant could ever spend. Grant can use that private jet to bring any recruit from anyplace in the world, that's right world, not just the USA, to recruit.

     He can show the recruits the absolute best dressing room in the SEC, maybe the entire NCAA. Bama's strenght area (old time weight room) is the best in the NCAA. Bama's strenght coach is the tops in his profession and he has both the athletes and attitude to prove that. Bama's arena is a great arena and some of the seating changes have made it a pit. It's not a modern arena until you get inside. Then it will rank with anyone. Maybe Bud Walton Arena is better. Lexington has more people but has no adavantage in fan support when the two arenas are sold out. At least that's true in decibels per fan.

     Grant also has a AD who will back him in anything he wants short of paying cash to recruits. I wondered if Vegas has set an over/under on recruiting violations for the next UConn and Kentucky game as far as coaches are concerned. I get the feeling that Bama won't cheat because Grant won't allow it. Any coach that has ties with John Calipari is subject to scrutiny whether fair or not. It is just a matter of time before Kentucky gets in trouble. They can't claim no mea culpa because Kentucky was warned by the NCAA about Calipari for past gigs at UMass and Memphis. The best indicator of future behavior is past behavior. Are you listening AU? Aubie better be careful. When you hire a cheat it also says something about the value system in which you believe.

     Bottom line is that Alabama is going to be one of the most coveted jobs in the NCAA in the next five yeaers. Grant's next move won't be lateral. When you are near the top it is harder to find a better job.

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