Alabama in Joe Lunardi's FIRST FOUR OUT...
Joe Lunardi is very good at picking brackets. Alabama has lost six of its last eight games, many in an embarrassing manner. Lunardi still has Alabama as one of his first four teams out of the NCAA Tournament. I heard him say that this is because of an early season win over Kentucky and Mississippi State. How Lunardi thinks this year's Tide team is remotely qualified to play in the Tournament is beyond me. Don't get me wrong, I want Alabama to make it to the NCAA Big Dance almost as much as Avery Johnson and AD Greg Byrne. It might help Tide fans be more patient with the pair. It isn't just that Alabama has lost those important games, it is the way they lost.
I think that watching the Crimson Tide self-destruct is one of the most amazing things I've ever seen. It seems that Alabama just couldn't play offense, and then the defense followed. The Tide couldn't make a field goal, couldn't make a free throw, made far to many turnovers, and the coach had no answers. It is a mystery to me how that happened. Looking back at the season you could see signs of real problems. The inability to win close games was clear. Losing at home to inferior teams was concerning. The Tide offset that with wins over MSU and Kentucky at home. The almost nailed Tennessee on the road. It seemed the team was just around the corner from success. They just couldn't put it all together, and then... the team just fell apart. You could look at Avery Johnson and see he had no answers. Honestly, maybe no coach had the answer. The old saying of an enigma wrapped in puzzle seems true about this team.
Alabama is just a bad team. Why the media continued to believe in this team was equally puzzling to me. I honestly think that Alabama can't beat Ole Miss now. Ole Miss hasn't played great basketball in the last ten games either. So what if Alabama beats Ole Miss? Is Lunardi saying that might be enough to get them in the Dance? Or does the Tide have to wait for one of the last eight teams to lose? The eight teams above the Tide are capable of losing their next games.
I don't think this Alabama team believes that they can win now. In a sport where competitiveness is so obvious, it appears this squad doesn't want to compete. Surely, the players haven't just given up have they? Winning is a strange thing. Sometimes a team wins and the players just sense they are winners. Perhaps this team has done the opposite and believe they are losers. Again, it is isn't the losses are amazing, it is how they lose them. Like you, I'll watch the Ole Miss game and cheer for the Tide. Somehow, this season I've lost some of my enthusiasm to even watch their games. I have to wonder how the players feel right now? Do they know they are going to have a second-half meltdown and feel it can't be stopped?
Joe Lunardi is very good at picking brackets. Alabama has lost six of its last eight games, many in an embarrassing manner. Lunardi still has Alabama as one of his first four teams out of the NCAA Tournament. I heard him say that this is because of an early season win over Kentucky and Mississippi State. How Lunardi thinks this year's Tide team is remotely qualified to play in the Tournament is beyond me. Don't get me wrong, I want Alabama to make it to the NCAA Big Dance almost as much as Avery Johnson and AD Greg Byrne. It might help Tide fans be more patient with the pair. It isn't just that Alabama has lost those important games, it is the way they lost.
I think that watching the Crimson Tide self-destruct is one of the most amazing things I've ever seen. It seems that Alabama just couldn't play offense, and then the defense followed. The Tide couldn't make a field goal, couldn't make a free throw, made far to many turnovers, and the coach had no answers. It is a mystery to me how that happened. Looking back at the season you could see signs of real problems. The inability to win close games was clear. Losing at home to inferior teams was concerning. The Tide offset that with wins over MSU and Kentucky at home. The almost nailed Tennessee on the road. It seemed the team was just around the corner from success. They just couldn't put it all together, and then... the team just fell apart. You could look at Avery Johnson and see he had no answers. Honestly, maybe no coach had the answer. The old saying of an enigma wrapped in puzzle seems true about this team.
Alabama is just a bad team. Why the media continued to believe in this team was equally puzzling to me. I honestly think that Alabama can't beat Ole Miss now. Ole Miss hasn't played great basketball in the last ten games either. So what if Alabama beats Ole Miss? Is Lunardi saying that might be enough to get them in the Dance? Or does the Tide have to wait for one of the last eight teams to lose? The eight teams above the Tide are capable of losing their next games.
I don't think this Alabama team believes that they can win now. In a sport where competitiveness is so obvious, it appears this squad doesn't want to compete. Surely, the players haven't just given up have they? Winning is a strange thing. Sometimes a team wins and the players just sense they are winners. Perhaps this team has done the opposite and believe they are losers. Again, it is isn't the losses are amazing, it is how they lose them. Like you, I'll watch the Ole Miss game and cheer for the Tide. Somehow, this season I've lost some of my enthusiasm to even watch their games. I have to wonder how the players feel right now? Do they know they are going to have a second-half meltdown and feel it can't be stopped?
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