****Bama vs. UF Postgame Thread***
- Thread starter TIDE-HSV
- Start date
It doesn't take raw speed across the team to run up tempo. One or two fast guards can make it work. We simply don't have the numbers to do it for an entire game. So, we're into a position of running what we can. As I said above, the roster is on Grant, whether it's injuries, recruiting whiffs or what, the buck eventually stops with him...
True. But, either Florida was too quick or we were too slow on offense. Because we couldn't beat their half-court offense. One thing we do is that we dribble too much. You beat the zone by passing.
I'll take the optimist stand...
I expected this team to finish, at best, around 5th or 6th in the SEC...and be a VERGE bubble team (I had us behind Mizzou, UF, UK, UT, Miss, and battling with LSU/Ark bringing up the bottom half of the top part of the SEC). So to me, not singling out specific games, we over achieved. Now, looking back at bad losses (Tulane, Mercer, Dayton, AU), then I get a bit disappointed. We should have those four wins in our pocket, and be on the way to the dance. We aren't though, and we'll have to live with a 1 or 2 seed in the NIT. I'll take it... We can use the extra time and exposure, the extra practice and play, and build on it. We only lose one player (Steele) unless we have some defections (I hope not). Jacobs, over his last 6-7 games, consistently gave us double figures down low (now for some defense), Obasohan looks like another in a great line of PG we have had, and will be our spark guy next year. Randolph looked like the light came on in the SEC Tourney. I expect Pollard to progress. We add a couple of key big guys, and have our top two scorers (Releford and Lacey) returning, plus a healthy Carl Engstrom. Whether you want to agree or not (for the pessimists), to me the future seems bright. I feel much more confident about the direction of our team now, more than anytime during the CMG era. Year five is where several great coaches (Coach K, Dean Smith, just to name a few) really began to show progress, and started to come together. Let's try to win the NIT, and finish the season like we started...on a roll.
RTR
I expected this team to finish, at best, around 5th or 6th in the SEC...and be a VERGE bubble team (I had us behind Mizzou, UF, UK, UT, Miss, and battling with LSU/Ark bringing up the bottom half of the top part of the SEC). So to me, not singling out specific games, we over achieved. Now, looking back at bad losses (Tulane, Mercer, Dayton, AU), then I get a bit disappointed. We should have those four wins in our pocket, and be on the way to the dance. We aren't though, and we'll have to live with a 1 or 2 seed in the NIT. I'll take it... We can use the extra time and exposure, the extra practice and play, and build on it. We only lose one player (Steele) unless we have some defections (I hope not). Jacobs, over his last 6-7 games, consistently gave us double figures down low (now for some defense), Obasohan looks like another in a great line of PG we have had, and will be our spark guy next year. Randolph looked like the light came on in the SEC Tourney. I expect Pollard to progress. We add a couple of key big guys, and have our top two scorers (Releford and Lacey) returning, plus a healthy Carl Engstrom. Whether you want to agree or not (for the pessimists), to me the future seems bright. I feel much more confident about the direction of our team now, more than anytime during the CMG era. Year five is where several great coaches (Coach K, Dean Smith, just to name a few) really began to show progress, and started to come together. Let's try to win the NIT, and finish the season like we started...on a roll.
RTR
I agree. But, I have high expectations for next year and at least a round of 32 appearance.
As a FSU Grad and Die Hard Bama fan, I don't have to give them anything! 
They do have a good hospital!
They do have a good hospital!
Hope you had a good walk. Upon reflection, I believe that we got just about everything out of this team. But I remain surprised that three key players have not measurably improved over their two years here. I'll go into year three hoping -- but no longer expecting -- that they'll realize their potential.
Gueye and Jacobs have improved markedly. Releford is about the same or maybe marginally improved, because so much of his game is God-given, I don't know how much coaching could have an impact on it. Lacey is improved. All you have to do is look at his 3 pt % to see that. At any rate, our guard play is crippled by the total lack of an inside game. Cooper is about the same and Randolph has regressed. I don't know why. Next year will tell us a lot, IMO...
I tend to agree with Charles Barkley on the progression of the college basketball player. Long story short, his analysis is that you know what you have when he is a junior. B/c of all these one and done we tend to think that every 4 and 5 star should be day one contributors. I think that tends to taint our point of view with certain players. I look at Releford and Carl as examples. Before his injury we started to see the type of player that Carl could be. He was miles ahead of where he was as a freshman. Releford was alway a good player, but for his first two year we always said, "if he could just get a dang three point shot." Look at what happened this year. Releford has even turned into a better leader. Tony Mitchell was having a great junior season until his emotional instability took over. IMO, this is why teams like Alabama, Vandy, and mid majors are really good when they have a lot of juniors and seniors.
I know we play four guards, but Cooper is the one that ends up playing the power forward spot. I pray that we can move him back to perimeter with the arrival of Hale and Pollard being in the program for a 2nd year. I'm not a coach, but the advantage of having a guy like Cooper in the college game is matching him up against smaller guards. We lose that advantage when he is basically playing the four. Our offense isn't one that would allow him to take the taller defender off the dribble. When he gets it on the post he is too small. I've seen a few times where we have run plays that posted Lacey up on the low black against a guard. Imagine if we ran that same play with Cooper posting up a guard 6'3 or smaller. I assume he gets an easy shot or they double with a big leaving Jacobs open under the basket. To top it off he's 2-3 inches shorter than the guy he's guarding and attempting to block out.
I think Levi just needs to shoot more. Instead of looking to pass he should pull up for the mid range jumper when he turns the corner and gets near the FT or in the paint.
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I see it from other teams who are just as young or younger. College basketball has sadly become a young sport. You've gotta have guys who can adapt and adapt quickly or you'll be left in the dust of a broken press. This isn't a situation where "these are the new guys who are finally taking over for the vets". These guys have been starting games for two full seasons now at least. When you leave high school, you enter the real world. There's no coddling and shielding from criticism. You take it and do something about it or you lay down. Long story short, no, I expect better from these guys against Mercer and up by 17 against Georgia at home. If I didn't, it would actually be an insult to their potential.
This team exceeded expectations, which tends to cause excitement within a fan base. However, the December losses without Steele caused this season to be worse than it should have been.
Well shoot, might as well just cut all the players at Kansas and Michigan. They laid down against TCU and Penn State. They're too inconsistent against some inferior teams to make the cut. I would rather have us have to face adversity in our rebuilding year and learn from it so that we can be a tougher team mentally next year. And football is the same way with kids leaving early and freshman being able to make the impact they do but you don't see Saban giving up on players that don't get it immediately. It took Jerrel Harris forever to understand but he played a big roll in our 2011 championship.
I think one thing that has improved with Releford is his 3-pt shooting. I think Dykes pointed that out yesterday also.
Statsheet TR
BTW - You can check the stats of current and former players at this website.
Statsheet TR
BTW - You can check the stats of current and former players at this website.
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Chuck, though it's always unclear whether that's coaching or the kid. I've never been a fan of CMG, but I do wonder how the modern player spends the offseason, particularly if he has family members telling him the coach may be costing him an NBA career.
As for Releford, he carries the team. Every opposing coach knows it, he has much less help and he's still productive.
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