When Trevor Lacey went to bed last night he was down to Alabama and Kentucky but still wasn't sure what he was going to do. Early Wednesday morning I got several calls from people I know who said, "We got him"? They were a little vague on how they knew, but it was clear they thought they knew. I made two calls. I knew we had him. So as it turned out Lacey was not a much closed mouthed about where he was going as he was undecided. My fear that he was a Prima Dona was wrong. Sorry Trevor. He just didn't know. His close friend Levi Randolph always thought he'd end up as his teammate at Alabama.
I thought Kentucky would get him. It must have hard to turn down the Wildcats who offered the young man everything he said was important to him. Please pass me the salt and pepper. I need a little flavor to eat crow. I've never been happier to be wrong. Alabama's signing class went from very, very good to exceptional. If you take the highest ratings that any service ranked the class Alabama signed two five stars in Randolph and Lacey, the Pre-Season number one Juco player who would be a five, a four star power forward who was almost a five star, and Rodney Cooper who ended up a four because the national ranking services were probably embarrassed to misjudge a player so badly. People ask me all the time which of the recruiting services I think is more accurate. Here's what I tell them. Rivals is probably closer to where a player is the day they ranked him. Scout is invariably better in factoring in up side of players. The one most important to me is the one my own eyes tell me. We did better than good. This is the best class since Gottfried's first class.
Alabama shut out every D-1 program in the state in getting the best players. Then to win a highly publicized battle with Kansas and Kentucky for Mr. Basketball in Alabama was icing on the cake. More than that it shows Tide fans and the nation that Anthony Grant is not just talking about winning a national championship he is quietly building a team that could do it. That is just what he did at Florida when he was the big dog pulling in all those great players who did win a national championship.
Lacey's signature is more important than just his skills...
The signing of Trevor Lacey is a lot more that the how good he plays. It is who Alabama beat to get him. Let me also say this. Had Cooper and Randolph waited until the last tick of the clock to sign the excitement over them would have been every bit as great. In Cooper and Randolph the Tide as two superior players who can shoot and defend. It never hurts to have a third one. Now Lacey has to beat out those two to win a starting position. As Lacey knows all to well that is not a given. That is how good this signing class really is. Lacey is like a microwave. Instant offense from the perimeter. He is also splendid in coming off the pick and shooting. Lacey and Cooper will use their lenght to accomplish the same thing. In Huntsville the argument persisted for five years about who was the top player in Huntsville. Both camps are right. The players are hard to compare. Each is great in his own way. And then there is Cooper, who one day is going to cause a lot of comparisons. Remember Keith Wilkes? After all that hoopla let's remember Bama has done as well inside the paint as well as they did outside the perimeter. Guys, this is uncharted waters for the Tide. I can't wait.
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