Poll: The Future of Alabama Basketball

Ldlane said:

I'll do it for $150,000 a year and free tickets to Football games!

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Me too, IF I had an unlimited budget to hire assistant coaches.

We appear to be better....certainly offensively. We've brought in different players and they seem to be given some freedom to play. Season is just starting so I don't know if a change is needed. It has been ugly in the past. The trigger to signal a change, in my mind, is missing the NCAA post season/year end collapse. I hope we continue to get better as the team gels. Wichita St. got my hopes up. Would have been a nice W but the adversity was significant this early in the season.

Really disappointed with lack of progress; especially in view of turmoil at Alabama Polytech, Miss State, Ewww Tee, and, yes, UAB.

Battle is in a tough spot on this one. Grant has not gotten the job done and we are not it a particularly good position to be finding the home run hire. Here is hoping for a much better season to make a change unnecessary.

Ldlane said:

This is my biggest problem with the situation. The "young" coaching talent just recently received extensions and who wants to come here and "right the ship"? Please don't say Izzo.

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Just out of curiosity, what is the length of CAG's contract?

lorange said:

Just out of curiosity, what is the length of CAG's contract?

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Four more years after this season, so the buyout would be $4 million. Going by an article written this past February, hence the difference in numbers. Link

If Alabama fires Grant next month, it'll owe him $1 million for each of the five years remaining on his contract, or $5 million total. His annual compensation if he returns is $1.9 million.

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Bruce Pearl would have never been hired at Alabama. Way too much baggage.You also give Pearl way too much credit-winning at Auburn is much different than winning at Tennessee. He has had issues everywhere he has ever been. This is why he is perfect for the Barners.

RollTide1017 said:

I voted gone no matter what but, I wanted him gone last year. Should have made a run at Bruce Pearl, Auburn will be elite eight/final four contenders with in 3 years. They got as close to a Saban type hire as you can get in college basketball and I wanted Bama to make a run for him but, the PTB decided mediocracy was good enough. 1-21 vs. top 50 RPI is pathetic. We wouldn't accept that from a football coach so, why do we accept it for basketball? Maybe I'm still upset about Tuesday night's game but, I've lost all hope for an NCAA bid this season.

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Ldlane said:

Maybe A. Pettway would be an alternative if a change is made.

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I think Pettway has the potential to be a very good HC one day. However I would like to see him land a HC job somewhere else to prove himself and then come home when mama calls.

I voted NIT and coaching change.

I HOPE he proves me wrong, and we make the NCAA tournament, but in my own projections I have us sitting at like 20-11/19-12 range going in to the SEC tournament which has us in the NIT. If he doesn't make the dance, I am assuming he is gone. My problem is, as it has been the past couple of years, who is there on the market worth throwing money at?

Ultimately, you are what your record says you are. No doubt we are better this year, but we seem to have reverted to to old habits at WSU. Long scoring droughts and can't get a stop when it counts. If we make a change, don't think of it as getting rid of good guy, think of it as to whether the players deserve better.

Ldlane said:

Maybe A. Pettway would be an alternative if a change is made.

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I hope that was meant to be in blue font. That would be akin to naming Burton Burns head football coach when Coach Saban retires.

I voted "makes NIT and no coaching change". Reason...as an BB season ticket holder who continues to attend games more out of loyalty to the University than actually looking forward to it. My reasons below I think we will continue with the road we are on, despite the mediocre results.

#1 I do not think Coach Battle wants to make a change and will accept mediocrity based on his comments in the Battle Plan and in public statements.
#2 Coach Battle has not seen Coleman to be the place you want to be and the excitement that can be created by WINNING.
#3 In the end, I think the observation will be...the team is better and Coach Battle will see the on court improvement vs looking at the long term results of Coach Grant.

I do expect to beat UCLA (our next true test) and expect to enter conference play at 10-3 (w/3 losses to Iowa St, Xavier, Wichita...all solid teams). But, looking at the conference schedule from 1/17-2/4 it could be ugly (KY twice, Ark, AU, FL, Mizzou). I think 19-10 going in to SEC...which is improvement. But, still on the bubble and NIT bound. Hope I'm wrong.

If we make the NCAA or win the NIT got to give coach Grant another year or it makes no sense in keeping him this season when the same decision was made last year to keep him. One of those two outcomes makes not firing him after last year a good decision and he should be given at least one more year to improve upon that.

Otherwise its sayonara!

I think this poll is part of our problem with basketball in the south, we do not use the correct metrics for success. for example 2 years ago, alabama was 4th or 5th in conference and made it to semifinal in the sec tournament. That team was good enough to be in the ncaa, but perception of the league was not good. We cannot control league perception just results... like in football our goal is sec west champion, anything after that is cake (imho).

all that to say this, finishing no lower than 4th this year (because the sec is really down from what i can see) in the sec and at least playing on saturday in the sec tournament is my hire/fire line for this team, ncaa tourney not withstanding.

It's funny how commentators during games when talking about the sec and the ncaa still think Florida is a lock even after the bad start to the season for them..because "Florida will get better"..but Alabama's win/loss record is better than Florida....in my opinion if Florida gets in with their non conference losses we surely get in....our losses thus far have only came from ranked opponents aside from Xavier....Florida's losses are similar

Now a late question: is this poll for what we would like to see happen based on the listed results or what we think would happen based on the listed results?

I'm not sure I voted like I meant to anyway; dang those hanging chads.

wsims74 said:

I think this poll is part of our problem with basketball in the south, we do not use the correct metrics for success. for example 2 years ago, alabama was 4th or 5th in conference and made it to semifinal in the sec tournament. That team was good enough to be in the ncaa, but perception of the league was not good. We cannot control league perception just results... like in football our goal is sec west champion, anything after that is cake (imho).

all that to say this, finishing no lower than 4th this year (because the sec is really down from what i can see) in the sec and at least playing on saturday in the sec tournament is my hire/fire line for this team, ncaa tourney not withstanding.

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The goal in football is the NC, all of the rest are sub-goals. If we finish 8-4 and win the SEC west I guarantee you no one would consider that to be a successful season based on Alabama standards. Finishing high in the SEC in basketball is never the goal, making the NCAA tourney is the minimum acceptable goal. IMHO, we should make the tourney 4 out of every 5 years and be competitive in the tourney (realistic shot at the sweet 16 or elite 8) at least 3 of those 4 years. If a coach can do that at UA then I think he should be considered a success. The NIT is a building block only, it is not the goal.

Ldlane said:

I'll do it for $150,000 a year and free tickets to Football games!

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I offered to do it for $100K a year and free football tickets