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.