VCU is showing us what we'd like to become...

Tides_of_Change · Mar 21, 2013

Even though they're playing an Akron team that is a couple players down with the flu, they're still giving it to a tournament team wire-to-wire.
They don't do it with the huge post players we think we need, as they appear bereft of anyone over the 6'8" Club.
They don't HAVE to do it with 3-point precision apparently; they only made 5 attempts in the first half.
They do it with a two-plus deep of relentless ball demons that refuse to give another team's offense a moment's peace and substitute so liberally it doesn't affect their offensive spacing/sets/passing, which leads to energetic dribble drives and high percentage mid-range jump shots.

For anyone who wonders how close we are... I'd say about 6 or 7 guys. That brings some peace of mind to me that Grant's philosophy isn't lacking as much as his bench, and I think that's something that can be changed rather quickly.

TIDE-HSV · Mar 21, 2013

Tides_of_Change said:
Even though they're playing an Akron team that is a couple players down with the flu, they're still giving it to a tournament team wire-to-wire.
They don't do it with the huge post players we think we need, as they appear bereft of anyone over the 6'8" Club.
They don't HAVE to do it with 3-point precision apparently; they only made 5 attempts in the first half.
They do it with a two-plus deep of relentless ball demons that refuse to give another team's offense a moment's peace and substitute so liberally it doesn't affect their offensive spacing/sets/passing, which leads to energetic dribble drives and high percentage mid-range jump shots.

For anyone who wonders how close we are... I'd say about 6 or 7 guys. That brings some peace of mind to me that Grant's philosophy isn't lacking as much as his bench, and I think that's something that can be changed rather quickly.

Let's wait until they play someone further up the food chain...

BamaMTA06 · Mar 22, 2013

Tides_of_Change said:
Even though they're playing an Akron team that is a couple players down with the flu, they're still giving it to a tournament team wire-to-wire.
They don't do it with the huge post players we think we need, as they appear bereft of anyone over the 6'8" Club.
They don't HAVE to do it with 3-point precision apparently; they only made 5 attempts in the first half.
They do it with a two-plus deep of relentless ball demons that refuse to give another team's offense a moment's peace and substitute so liberally it doesn't affect their offensive spacing/sets/passing, which leads to energetic dribble drives and high percentage mid-range jump shots.

For anyone who wonders how close we are... I'd say about 6 or 7 guys. That brings some peace of mind to me that Grant's philosophy isn't lacking as much as his bench, and I think that's something that can be changed rather quickly.

Juvonte Reddic is 6'9. He averages 14 ppg and 8 rebounds per game. Last year he averaged 10 points and 7 rebounds per game. Two years ago they had Jamie Skeen. He was 6'9. Skeen averaged 16 ppg and 7 rebounds per game. They always have a post player that is effective and hits the boards.

BamaFanatJSU · Mar 22, 2013

Tides_of_Change said:
Even though they're playing an Akron team that is a couple players down with the flu, they're still giving it to a tournament team wire-to-wire.
They don't do it with the huge post players we think we need, as they appear bereft of anyone over the 6'8" Club.
They don't HAVE to do it with 3-point precision apparently; they only made 5 attempts in the first half.
They do it with a two-plus deep of relentless ball demons that refuse to give another team's offense a moment's peace and substitute so liberally it doesn't affect their offensive spacing/sets/passing, which leads to energetic dribble drives and high percentage mid-range jump shots.

For anyone who wonders how close we are... I'd say about 6 or 7 guys. That brings some peace of mind to me that Grant's philosophy isn't lacking as much as his bench, and I think that's something that can be changed rather quickly.

Come on, bro. They're playing Akron. I don't care what their RPI is: they play in the MAC, only played one ranked team all year (and got shelled), and three of their five wins over teams in the RPI Top 100 came against Ohio.

The flu argument simply underscores what can happen to a team. Think about it: if we don't lose Carl and Andrew in December, there's no way we lose to Mercer, Dayton, and Tulane. Even if we still lose to Auburn, take out those losses and we're 23-9 and dancing right now.

RTR91 · Mar 22, 2013

Alabama can't play the press like VCU because VCU doesn't get called for fouls as often as they should.

Tides_of_Change · Mar 22, 2013

Good points by many of you, even the dude who took the 6'8" observation a little too seriously, but VCU was one of the few teams that beat us handily at season long, leading us almost from start to finish, and they principally did it by wearing us out.

I had them going to the Elite 8 since they're in a bracket with almost perennially underachieving Kansas, and now that Georgetown in obliterated, I mean eliminated, it's not a stretch to see them making Atlanta at all.

beatthemtigers · Mar 23, 2013

Posted this a few days early. Just got stomped 78-53 by Michigan.

Alasippi · Mar 23, 2013

beatthemtigers said:
Posted this a few days early. Just got stomped 78-53 by Michigan.

Lol...I was about to post "Uh no....I don't want to become the team that I watched get blown away today"

CajunCrimson · Mar 23, 2013

TIDE-HSV said:
Let's wait until they play someone further up the food chain...

I bow in your presence......

rgw · Mar 23, 2013

Michigan was a bad matchup for VCU. It happens in the tourney...the matchups really dictate your ability to get deep into the bracket. Michigan is a really stingy team with steals and bad passes, so a lot of what VCU relies on to generate offense was negated.

It's really no difference than us. When teams can control possession and get high percentage looks, we struggle because a lot of our offense is built on getting easy baskets off turnovers.

bamanix · Mar 23, 2013

cant believe any fan can criticize bama basketball at this time. they have one of the top defensive teams in the country, and compete with a 7 or 8 man roster void of major talent left on the bench. they still should have been in the big dance. this is the only way that the sports community can get even with the sec. they beat tenn twice, to get to the dance. and in basketball we are seeing more lower seeds making an impact than ever before. we have one big man. and this is his first year at 6ft 8inches to really compete. we play basically 3 and 4 guards. the big help in the nit has been the play of levi. his confidence level has finally increased and he is taking more shots, and driving to the basket. coach grant is maybe one or two shooters away, and the incoming freshman next year will be a big help. pollard is starting to get more playing time as well. leave grant alone. he is well respected by the legitimate coaches like bobby knight, and his mentor billy donavan of fla. each game recently has complimented the tide on their defense. when you press full court the whole game, it will take a lot out of a short bench.

TIDE-HSV · Mar 23, 2013

bamanix said:
cant believe any fan can criticize bama basketball at this time. they have one of the top defensive teams in the country, and compete with a 7 or 8 man roster void of major talent left on the bench. they still should have been in the big dance. this is the only way that the sports community can get even with the sec. they beat tenn twice, to get to the dance. and in basketball we are seeing more lower seeds making an impact than ever before. we have one big man. and this is his first year at 6ft 8inches to really compete. we play basically 3 and 4 guards. the big help in the nit has been the play of levi. his confidence level has finally increased and he is taking more shots, and driving to the basket. coach grant is maybe one or two shooters away, and the incoming freshman next year will be a big help. pollard is starting to get more playing time as well. leave grant alone. he is well respected by the legitimate coaches like bobby knight, and his mentor billy donavan of fla. each game recently has complimented the tide on their defense. when you press full court the whole game, it will take a lot out of a short bench.

There are legitimate criticisms, one of the biggest being that Grant's recruiting hasn't been able to fill our holes. When that's true - and we have the key injuries we've had this season - we're bound to struggle at times. My feeling is still that we have overachieved, given where we are personnel-wise. We're still overachieving. The rest of the story is that the Bama fan base suffers from a dearth of fans who are knowledgeable about basketball. Many of them post here little or none until football season has drawn its last gasp. Then, when they migrate, they bring football expectations and principles and try to apply them to basketball. Of course, they don't fit. Several times a season, I'm reduced to rubbing my eyes and asking myself if the poster really just typed that statement. There are many sports which I like, but I realize about which I only have a rudimentary knowledge. Soccer, bicycling racing and many Olympic sports come to mind. When I visit forums on those sports, I'm very careful about opening my mouth. However, many an American football fan (this is not just about Bama fans), with many hours devoted to watching and being educated by ESPN, feels expert enough to pontificate (it does seem that the new pontiff is more savvy than to comment on basketball

) on basketball, players, coaches. You name it. Ah well, message boards are for opinions and everyone has one...

BamaMTA06 · Mar 23, 2013

TIDE-HSV said:
There are legitimate criticisms, one of the biggest being that Grant's recruiting hasn't been able to fill our holes. When that's true - and we have the key injuries we've had this season - we're bound to struggle at times. My feeling is still that we have overachieved, given where we are personnel-wise. We're still overachieving. The rest of the story is that the Bama fan base suffers from a dearth of fans who are knowledgeable about basketball. Many of them post here little or none until football season has drawn its last gasp. Then, when they migrate, they bring football expectations and principles and try to apply them to basketball. Of course, they don't fit. Several times a season, I'm reduced to rubbing my eyes and asking myself if the poster really just typed that statement. There are many sports which I like, but I realize about which I only have a rudimentary knowledge. Soccer, bicycling racing and many Olympic sports come to mind. When I visit forums on those sports, I'm very careful about opening my mouth. However, many an American football fan (this is not just about Bama fans), with many hours devoted to watching and being educated by ESPN, feels expert enough to pontificate (it does seem that the new pontiff is more savvy than to comment on basketball ) on basketball, players, coaches. You name it. Ah well, message boards are for opinions and everyone has one...

That's very legit, but shows just how important recruiting in college basketball can be. In the 2012 class we couldn't convince a true big man to sign and Pollard wasn't able to slide in the PF role. That was the only class our needs weren't addressed. B/c of that Carl's injury was huge.

Ldlane · Mar 23, 2013

Well you know Earle, if we can't beat EVERYONE by 20 pts. a game we either need to fire the coach or just scrap basketball altogether! I mean, I want 150 pts. a game and 10 overtimes! I am a fan!!!!

TIDE-HSV said:
There are legitimate criticisms, one of the biggest being that Grant's recruiting hasn't been able to fill our holes. When that's true - and we have the key injuries we've had this season - we're bound to struggle at times. My feeling is still that we have overachieved, given where we are personnel-wise. We're still overachieving. The rest of the story is that the Bama fan base suffers from a dearth of fans who are knowledgeable about basketball. Many of them post here little or none until football season has drawn its last gasp. Then, when they migrate, they bring football expectations and principles and try to apply them to basketball. Of course, they don't fit. Several times a season, I'm reduced to rubbing my eyes and asking myself if the poster really just typed that statement. There are many sports which I like, but I realize about which I only have a rudimentary knowledge. Soccer, bicycling racing and many Olympic sports come to mind. When I visit forums on those sports, I'm very careful about opening my mouth. However, many an American football fan (this is not just about Bama fans), with many hours devoted to watching and being educated by ESPN, feels expert enough to pontificate (it does seem that the new pontiff is more savvy than to comment on basketball ) on basketball, players, coaches. You name it. Ah well, message boards are for opinions and everyone has one...

Tides_of_Change · Mar 23, 2013

I hope no one is suggesting what I first posted to be "criticism" of our team, just some perspective in relation to the team Grant helped cultivate at one time which hasn't really diverged far from its philosophy since that time.

That said, today was brutal. I don't know of many teams in the field that would've been able to dictate the pace against Michigan today, and that's largely what VCU relies on. Michigan is performing much better than I thought they would at the beginning of the tournament. I had them going stone cold and getting ousted by the very Jackrabbits we opened our season with... If anybody has had a steady hand on the pulse of this tournament without consistently being fooled, he or she is either incredibly and randomly lucky or a liar.

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