****Official Post Game Thread - Bama vs. UGA****

ptw1961 said:

This many close last possession losses has nothing to do with fate or luck. They are the result of the coaching currently at the Capstone. Feel bad for the kids but how long do the real fans of Alabama basketball have to tolerate this torture? How many ways can a team lose close games? 15 missed free throws and 51 percent from the line? Just unbelievable- and it never ends. It is time for a change- even if it a wrong change.

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7-22 Free Throw shooting was one of the reasons Bama lost this game and it makes me sick to my stomach..

But I have to question Coach Grant's substitution patterns. The turning point of the game was this:

Early in 2nd half, Bama was playing really good and up by 5 (Retin, Levi, Shannon, Jimmy and Coop), this 5 was playing good offense and defense and rebounding the ball and I thought about to pull away. Hale was hot from outside with back to back good looks. All of the sudden, Kessens and Norris enter the game...Grant takes out Hale and Taylor. Bama then cant make a shot, cant rebound as Kessens was getting pushed around. Before you know it, Bama is down by 8. Grant realizes too late and makes a sub to get Taylor back in for some inside support. Bama then had to make too much of a run to get back in it...they did, but my point is they should have not had to.....that substitution was at a bad time in the game and that is on Coach Grant. Ifs ands and buts, but if that sub pattern didnt happen so early in that Bama run...this game would have been won even with the poor FT shooting. I scratched my head when he made the changes when he did. Norris was playing good and I know he wanted to get him back in the game, but Kessens wasnt and his team was making a run and a push, and you dont make changes at that point, just to make a change...and Coach Grant screwed that up IMO.

CrimsonForce said:

No idea why you don't go to Retin or Levi on the last play..

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I appreciate Riley's optimism, but, no, we can't play with anybody in the league.
We're pretty bad.
I watched Trevor Lacey light it up for NC State tonight, and then I thought about Tony Mitchell and Jamaichael Green.(sp?) One, an NBA prospect, and two, already in the NBA.
Then there's Nick Jacobs, and the kid who transfered to North Carolina and started(Can't remember his name)
Is it Grant's intent to run off every kid who has any talent whatsoever?
I stood by the man for a long time, but he's not a good or even average basketball coach.
It's time for him to accept an unbelievable buy out and depart the Capstone.
I feel for him, I respect him, but it's time for him to go.
Who do we hire? I don't care. Somebody other than who we have.
He's not good.
sip

Tides_of_Change said:

I think it is very telling personally I watched the last sequence silently, changed channels right after like it was no big deal and went to put another log on the fire. I remember back when a game like that would ruin a night.

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I had the exact same thought after the game. I do not get emotionally involved in the games any more. I watch the games, hope we win, but do not get excited one way or the other. I felt bad for the players, the did play hard, just too many mistakes especially at the FT line. I knew with every miss that it was going to come back to bite us in the rear-end.

Alasippi said:

I appreciate Riley's optimism, but, no, we can't play with anybody in the league.
We're pretty bad.
I watched Trevor Lacey light it up for NC State tonight, and then I thought about Tony Mitchell and Jamaichael Green.(sp?) One, an NBA prospect, and two, already in the NBA.
Then there's Nick Jacobs, and the kid who transfered to North Carolina and started(Can't remember his name)
Is it Grant's intent to run off every kid who has any talent whatsoever?
I stood by the man for a long time, but he's not a good or even average basketball coach.
It's time for him to accept an unbelievable buy out and depart the Capstone.
I feel for him, I respect him, but it's time for him to go.
Who do we hire? I don't care. Somebody other than who we have.
He's not good.
sip

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I disagree, we can, and have, played with every team in the league except for UK (obviously). That is what is so frustrating is that we do have the talent to have a better record and we should be solidly 'in' the NCAA tourney at this point. It's been painfully obvious for the past 3 years that Grant is like Shula, he does not know how to instill mental toughness into his players/teams so that they can win the majority of these close games. You almost never win all of the close games but mentally tough teams will win the majority.

imauafan said:

I disagree, we can, and have, played with every team in the league except for UK (obviously). That is what is so frustrating is that we do have the talent to have a better record and we should be solidly 'in' the NCAA tourney at this point. It's been painfully obvious for the past 3 years that Grant is like Shula, he does not know how to instill mental toughness into his players/teams so that they can win the majority of these close games. You almost never win all of the close games but mentally tough teams will win the majority.

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We are an average team of great kids who play hard and love each other but find ways to lose. Last night it happened to be missed free throws. You can't blame those on the coach. You can wonder, however, why this team is not improving. Some of these players have been on the court together for a long time now.

I stopped watching after the Florida debacle. Just could not watch any longer. And I have been a loyal fan since I was 12. (40 years). Not proud that I have stopped watching- will check the score on the computer at half time and toward the end. Just easier that way. Have just grown too frustrated with the pRogram's lack of direction.

imauafan said:

I had the exact same thought after the game. I do not get emotionally involved in the games any more. I watch the games, hope we win, but do not get excited one way or the other. I felt bad for the players, the did play hard, just too many mistakes especially at the FT line. I knew with every miss that it was going to come back to bite us in the rear-end.

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CajunCrimson said:

That loss was strictly on the Coaching......

The problem last night was more about who was getting the FT attempts.....

But....overall, that was a horrible coaching effort....

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While it does make a difference on who shoots the free throws, all players except Norris and Coleman shot below their season averages on free throws in this game. Obasohan and Taylor have the worst season averages and they only took 9 of the 31 attempts. I don't remember which players missed the front end of 1-and-1's (costly) but Randolph was one.

I confess to a similar attitude. My wife is surprised not only not going to games but just not much interest. I watch the games but it doesn't bother me either way any more. Might just be age; I still like the team; hope they do well, and change something sometime, anytime, anyway.

Tides_of_Change said:

This one didn't have quite the same tenor that recent close ones have had in that it wasn't a collapse. Just a back-and-forth game with a team of comparable talent and better proportion. It's just additionally frustrating in that when you get some clutch shots and (somewhat) better rebounding, we falter in something that has been a strength at home in FTs.

I think it is very telling personally I watched the last sequence silently, changed channels right after like it was no big deal and went to put another log on the fire. I remember back when a game like that would ruin a night.

Nice to see Norris finding some confidence in his shot, and hopefully Obosahan finishes strongly and consistently given the last few.

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CajunCrimson said:

That loss was strictly on the Coaching......

The problem last night was more about who was getting the FT attempts.....

But....overall, that was a horrible coaching effort....

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Crummy FT shooting is a longtime 'Bama tradition - Throckmorton's (C.M. Newton's) teams were always working to stay above 50%. But they found other ways to get started another tradition called winning. I personally don't feel Grant could coach at apple bobbing, much less D1 NCAA tournament level basketball. Which makes Throckmorton's (C.M. Newton's) apparent steadfast belief in him all the more mystifying.

Was at the game last night. That was a very good crowd, surprised me a little. And they got in the game near the end of the first half when we made our run to pull even at the half.

Riley Norris was the spark plug to that rally and he really played his best game to me.

Shooting 16 of 31 from foul line will get you beat everytime.

Radio crew was talking about losing all these close games and that it was a different reason each time. I disagree a little with that; in that lone constant is the man on the bench.

Entertaining game, good food at Baumhower's = good weekend.

Thanks for the report; wondered about the crowd; good to hear a nice crowd there.

ReturnToGlory said:

Was at the game last night. That was a very good crowd, surprised me a little. And they got in the game near the end of the first half when we made our run to pull even at the half.

Riley Norris was the spark plug to that rally and he really played his best game to me.

Shooting 16 of 31 from foul line will get you beat everytime.

Radio crew was talking about losing all these close games and that it was a different reason each time. I disagree a little with that; in that lone constant is the man on the bench.

Entertaining game, good food at Baumhower's = good weekend.

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