'BAMA GETS A COMMITMENT FROM JOSH PRIMO...

Primo picks the Tide.

    Josh Primo, the five-star combo guard from Toronto-Royal Crown Academic School, narrowed his two choices down to Creighton and Alabama. He picked the Tide. Josh is 6-6 and weighs 170 pounds, and he is a five-star student as well. RC accepts four-hundred students. Royal Crown, Josh's school, has the highest acceptance into the premier colleges and universities in Canada. Primos isn't just a basketball player, he is a true scholar-athlete.  Nat Oates has already proven that education is as important as basketball with his players. 

Josh will be a key player for Alabama from the moment he hits the floor.  He is a John Petty type shooter from downtown. His ball-handling is above average, but his defense needs some work. It is rare to see a true freshman come into the SEC and be a stud on defense but Primo is a hard worker with an exceptional wingspan. Kudos to Oats and his staff for getting this young man to ink with Alabama. I expect he will be next year's version of Shackford. 

Jordan Bruner has 'Bama as one of his six 

        Let's assume that Lewis and Petty leave for the NBA. The Tide is still in a good position to be better next season. We will have Q at the point. Shackleford will be back. Primo might start in Petty's position. Alabama has Rojas and Gary coming in. I know that Oats loves the upside for both players. Knee injuries are tricky. If both are 100% the Tide will be a good team. Except... the Tide needs a rim protector. Davis showed some skills. A name we need to remember is Jordan Bruner of Columbia, S.C. who played at Yale. If Bruner signs with Alabama he will start and he will star. He is 6-9. He has the hops and he will finally give Alabama some size inside. 

      Next season I think Bama will have a better record.  The NCAA will give us a bid. I thought that Oats did a great job considering all the injuries and lack of depth. I know that he is looking everywhere for the type player that can sustain his system.   

What's next for sports?

     I don't have a crystal ball. Do we need one to predict the immediate future of sports in America?  The NCAA has declined to allow fans to come to the games in the Tournament. The NBA has shut down for the "immediate future." My guess is the SEC Tournament may not finish. That won't matter if the NCAA shuts down the Tournament. That may or may not happen, but we can tell which way the wind is blowing. If the CDC experts are correct (and I bet they are), things are going to get decidedly worse before getting better. Some pandemic experts believe that as many as one-hundred million Americans might contract the virus. The estimated death rate (as of now) is 3 or 4 percent. That could be 330,000 deaths. If the number is 1%, that is over 100,000 deaths.

     Don't be surprised if Alabama announces that the A-Day is canceled. I'm not saying I know anything, but adaptation is the keyword for all of our upcoming sports lives. Sadly, that might happen. When the NBA shuts down the schedule, it is going to cost owners a ton of money. My bet there is some sort of insurance for the cancellation of games. But there is no insurance for those who will die to bring them back to life. We shouldn't forget that. Above all, we must remember that. Things are going to change.

     What about Spring football. Are we looking at that getting suspended? Will, the University of Alabama, shut down if the virus spreads. I'll be honest. The fact that Alabama hasn't reported a single case of Covid 19 is more suspicious than surprising. The State of Alabama may have been very lucky. What is the over and under on the spread of Covid 19 that doesn't affect our hometowns? 

    What about Nat Oats and Nick Saban's staffs recruiting new players? How will that be affected by the virus? If US citizens can travel overseas, are we allowed to go to Canada to recruit basketball players? Will prospective players be allowed to come for on-campus visits? I'm not sure anyone knows the answers to any of these questions? I'm not really projecting, but I'm tossing out these questions for our posters to discuss.

MARCH MADNESS WITHOUT FANS PER NCAA...

     In a move that is sure to be controversial, the NCAA has decided to keep fans from attending games for the National Championship. Mark Emmert, President of the NCAA, made the announcement on Wednesday afternoon. This is an unprecedented decision that will be met with derision by fans and the cities which stand to lose millions of dollars in revenue. In reality, the Board of Governors had little choice in making their decision.

While many fans will be disappointed and will disagree, it will safeguard thousands of Americans from the Covid-19 Virus. The World Health Organization has just declared the outbreak as a World Pandemic. There is no way to ensure fans would not be exposed to a virus that is exploding across the United States at this time. It is a high moral conclusion given all intendant circumstances. This isn't going to popular, but the NCAA deemed it necessary. 

Part of the reason the NCAA reached this decision is to avoid litigation for exposure to the virus. This isn't a political decision, although it is likely some will paint it that way. This was an unprecedented decision in a unique situation.

It is what it is. This was a decision not made lightly. I was in Italy 10 days ago. This is a severe virus. It is killing thousands of people. We should respect what the NCAA has done, in my opinion. 

 It will not be surprising if the Tournament is shut down entirely.

Tide was just horrendous, but...

     It was a logical end to the illogical season.  Alabama finished the year at 16-15. Disappointing for sure. Some liken it to the apocalypse of Crimson basketball. Seriously? What did we really expect from a team that had no inside game, and injuries to numerous to count. Before the season began, some cautioned fans to be patient. Patience is not a part of the Alabama supporter's vocabulary. Nate Oats saw his team wither at the end due to fatigue, and too many minutes played. The coaching staff attempted to put a bandage over a hemorrhage. With 31 games played, it came as no surprise too many. It was misunderstood by casual fans.

    The record doesn't mean that Nat Oats is a poor coach. We shouldn't come to the conclusion that Alabama basketball will be stuck in the mud forever. There is plenty of reason to believe that Alabama's future will get better. I think that we should understand the coaching staff did all they could do given their limitations. Alabama will have a lot of talent back next season. There are reasons to believe that Oats started to build a foundation. Year two will be better. It takes time to build a program unless you take the Coach Wiretap route or you have an assistant coach who is, shall we say,  is familiar with cash transactions. In all fairness, it was disappointing to see a defense that had no teeth, poor rebounding, and far too many turnovers. The fact that Alabama won 16 games might have been their limit. 

    Alabama landed a four-star commitment early on, and there is reason to believe that a five-star two-guard will commit next month. Is Alabama looking in Europe for a quality big man? Let's say that the staff will leave no stone untouched. I think the future is bright for the Tide. 

Will Petty play today?

You have to admire John Petty. The junior shooting guard says he is suiting up today and play against Missouri. When Petty was injured during the Mississippi State game, it appeared his season was over. I don’t think there is much doubt that the Alabama run for an NCAA bid ended when Petty was hurt. Alabama has very little depth. The loss of John Petty was a bridge too far for the Tide.  After gutting out a win over South Carolina, the Tide played a horrible game against Vanderbilt and lost in TTown. That ended the Tide’s hope for an NCAA bid.

   I kept wondering how effective Petty would have been against Saban Lee. Petty had the quickness and wingspan to keep Lee’s scoring down. It wasn’t just Petty’s offense, which was missed. His defense and rebounding were outstanding as well. Today,  Alabama expects Petty to play. I think the term we should keep in mind is “cautiously.” Oats wants Petty in the SEC Tournament. That means that Petty might not get a lot of minutes, but he will get some vital minutes. Look for John to play some hard defense.

Oats was upset at the lack of hard play against Vandy. That won’t happen today, I’d bet. If you don’t play hard, you might find yourself on the bench. I’m in Columbia to watch the game. My heart says Bama, but Missouri is tough at home. The Tigers are 14-16 and are fighting for an NIT berth. Missouri has a big 6-11 big man inside. That has been real trouble for Bama all season, but Davis has had his moments this season. Will Oats modify his offense to take advantage of Davis and his size? I doubt it. I think we’ll see the same offensive philosophy and spacing as we used the last two games. But that comes with an unless. Unless John Petty is full speed.

TIDE STRIKES OUT FOR THE NCAAT...

Must now turn their attention to SECT

     Mercifully, the Crimson Tide's quest for an NCAA Tourney bid died when Vanderbilt beat the Tide on Tuesday night in Coleman. In another season of seeing the bubble burst, it gets to be old. Next year in Jerusalem seems to be the Tide mantra. That game was a perfect storm for what happens when a team has too many injuries to compete.  The loss of John Petty was a killer. The damage to Herb Jones was a killer. Hats off to Jones for playing when he is injured. Preseason injuries to players and the godawful NCAA robbing a player of the right to play likely cost the Tide a berth.  In retrospect, how many more games could 'Bama have won with a full crew on board. When we look back on the season, I'd like to think we really did much better than we thought they'd do. I thought Bama might win 18 games this season. That was before the injuries and taking into account a new system on offense. All in all, the team has done an excellent job, and the season has games yet to be played. 

    Alabama can nail down an NIT home game with a win over Missouri in Columbia this Saturday. I have not been able to get an answer about Petty this weekend. It might well be that Alabama will wait until the SEC Tournament. Jones should be out of his soft case very soon. Ironically, if Petty and Jones are back to full speed, the Tide could be a team no one wants to play in the SEC or NIT. 

    Alabama is coming off the worst defensive game of the year against Vandy. The cellar-dweller of the SEC embarrassed the Crimson Tide and ended the dwindling hope for the NCAAT. Oats wasn't happy and made that clear in the post-game press conference. It will be interesting to see if Alabama can get off the deck and show some guts. I believe they will. Oats needs to get his inside game revved up like the Carolina game. 

Sorry for my absence. I've been in Italy looking at a few players.