Green's flagrant foul was turning point...
Anthony Grant is too much of a gentleman to say anything negative about officiating. However, I am under no constraint in saying the flagrant foul which sent JayMikal Green to the bench for most of the first half was uncalled for on the part of both Green and the Officials. Green certainly shoved a Dayton player in a scrape for a loose ball rebound. There is no doubt he pushed the man, but equally true is the fact that it was not done in flagrant manner. It was a reaction, and I suppose depending on your personal view it was either intentional or not. What it wasn't however was flagrant under the rules of NCAA basketball.
Regardless of how you viewed that little push-shove deal it showed what Alabama fans have feared all along. Bama cannot win with Green on the bench for long stretches of time. The six minutes he sat out in the Georgetown game beat the Tide. His first half absence sealed Bama's fate as well. Earlier in the year we said that 'Bama would be as good as their bench inside. I think we know get the picture. Nick Jacobs is going to be a good player. But he is a freshman and last night he was still a freshman on his first road trip. It showed. It showed for all of Bama's freshmen until Trevor Lacy "caught fire" to score eight points. Catching fire is a relative term however and had Lacy's fire been a 20 blazing fire it might have made a difference. Once again, the Tide was ineffective from the outside. Mitchell and Releford got their points but that was about it. Releford got all his in the second half to lead the Tide from 17 down to 6 down, but the hole was to deep.
I have read that many are questioning the 'Bama full court pressure. That press put Alabama back in the game. When you start 2 freshmen and your next 3 of the bench are two other freshman and a sophomore you are going to have some really bad stretches. Anthony has two choices - he can reign the freshman in and hope to win now, or he can let them go and win bigger later. I think he is second and it will pay off. One thing we need to remember that when a team plays aggressive defense they tend to shoot poorly from the outside. Alabama is not an exception. The shooting will still get better.
What Bama has to do is learn to protect Green inside. That is a double edged sword however. To do that the team will have to give up some of the man to man in your face defense on the perimeter. Grant will not do that. Green is going to decide to pick his battles inside, and everyone needs to pray that Guye comes back early. The Tide is so thin inside there is no margin for error. When you play four freshman there is going to be a lot of error. That is just a basketball fact of life. A lot of people thought that Hillman and Hines would be easily replaced. Not this writer. I suspect that the coaches knew that as well. H and H did all the dirty little jobs that win games. I see Randolph picking up some of the slack. Will Cooper or Jacobs chip in to help. Big question. The answer will likely define the Alabama basketball season.
Green needs to lead with his hook and not his jabs. If he is going to be a leader it is time to step up and do so. I believe he can get the job done. Alabama still shot over 50% despite hitting only 4 of 16 from the outside. As long as Green was in the game the Tide won those minutes. It's very simple - Bama can beat some teams with Green on the bench. They can win some games shooting poorly, but they can't win with poor shooting and Green not on the floor. I have been surprised at some of the posts by "fans" about Green and the team. Not only were they not flattering but they were not truth either. The pieces are there for the Tide to have a good season. The team is so much ahead of last year we should all recognize how much last year's team improved in the second half of the second half of the year. The same is probably going to be true this season also. Mark this prediction - before the season is over we will know we can be an NCAA a team and couple of freshmen step up their game to help that come true.
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| Grant looking for answers |
Regardless of how you viewed that little push-shove deal it showed what Alabama fans have feared all along. Bama cannot win with Green on the bench for long stretches of time. The six minutes he sat out in the Georgetown game beat the Tide. His first half absence sealed Bama's fate as well. Earlier in the year we said that 'Bama would be as good as their bench inside. I think we know get the picture. Nick Jacobs is going to be a good player. But he is a freshman and last night he was still a freshman on his first road trip. It showed. It showed for all of Bama's freshmen until Trevor Lacy "caught fire" to score eight points. Catching fire is a relative term however and had Lacy's fire been a 20 blazing fire it might have made a difference. Once again, the Tide was ineffective from the outside. Mitchell and Releford got their points but that was about it. Releford got all his in the second half to lead the Tide from 17 down to 6 down, but the hole was to deep.
I have read that many are questioning the 'Bama full court pressure. That press put Alabama back in the game. When you start 2 freshmen and your next 3 of the bench are two other freshman and a sophomore you are going to have some really bad stretches. Anthony has two choices - he can reign the freshman in and hope to win now, or he can let them go and win bigger later. I think he is second and it will pay off. One thing we need to remember that when a team plays aggressive defense they tend to shoot poorly from the outside. Alabama is not an exception. The shooting will still get better.
What Bama has to do is learn to protect Green inside. That is a double edged sword however. To do that the team will have to give up some of the man to man in your face defense on the perimeter. Grant will not do that. Green is going to decide to pick his battles inside, and everyone needs to pray that Guye comes back early. The Tide is so thin inside there is no margin for error. When you play four freshman there is going to be a lot of error. That is just a basketball fact of life. A lot of people thought that Hillman and Hines would be easily replaced. Not this writer. I suspect that the coaches knew that as well. H and H did all the dirty little jobs that win games. I see Randolph picking up some of the slack. Will Cooper or Jacobs chip in to help. Big question. The answer will likely define the Alabama basketball season.
Green needs to lead with his hook and not his jabs. If he is going to be a leader it is time to step up and do so. I believe he can get the job done. Alabama still shot over 50% despite hitting only 4 of 16 from the outside. As long as Green was in the game the Tide won those minutes. It's very simple - Bama can beat some teams with Green on the bench. They can win some games shooting poorly, but they can't win with poor shooting and Green not on the floor. I have been surprised at some of the posts by "fans" about Green and the team. Not only were they not flattering but they were not truth either. The pieces are there for the Tide to have a good season. The team is so much ahead of last year we should all recognize how much last year's team improved in the second half of the second half of the year. The same is probably going to be true this season also. Mark this prediction - before the season is over we will know we can be an NCAA a team and couple of freshmen step up their game to help that come true.
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