Unfortunately, Alabama basketball at times has resorted to primarily recruiting in-state kids (not that in-state kids are bad, but you can't build the whole program around that), and even then missing out on some of the top in-state kids. Now, I understand that Alabama basketball isn't Duke or Kentucky, but they are the most accomplished basketball program in the area.
I think a lot of us forget the amount of talent that comes out of the area, and tend to have the think small approach that recent recruiting seems to have had, in that if a kid isn't within the state of Alabama he's out of reach, and even some in-state kids are out of reach to. The state itself does produce lots of talent though. I was watching ESPN for a period of about 30 minutes and I saw Antonio Lang, and DeMarcus Cousins highlighted during the period. Those are two guys that didn't just play basketball in Alabama, they played basketball at the same high school and both ended up leaving the state for college. The talent is there within the state, but it shouldn't end there either.
When Alabama is performing at a high level, they are going to successfully recruit Mississippi as well. For instance, Antonio McDyess and James Robinson both were from Mississippi. Alabama can and should be able to cherry pick Mississippi and if they do so, they are virtually guaranteed to have the talent to compete at a high level. For example, some people say the Alabama class this year was weak, and it was, but Mississippi had the #3 player as well as #128 and #131. The previous year Mississippi produced the #29 and Alabama produced the #71 player, but Alabama didn't get in on the action until #90 (Justin Coleman). While I'm happy they got Coleman, going 0-5 on the top talent from those two states is nothing to brag about.
Now, you might ask why I'd get it into my head that Alabama has some sort of a claim to players in the state of Alabama and Mississippi? Well, Miss. State, Ole Miss, and Auburn combine for 26 NCAA appearances. Alabama has 20 NCAA appearances, and they've only gone once since 2006. Their rightful place is as the dominant force in basketball in the area. To further illustrate this, Alabama's athletic department earns more than Miss. State and Ole Miss combined. It's not a fair fight and if Alabama isn't dominating it's likely a sign of ineptitude on their part.
Of course we can't expect Alabama to rival Kentucky in the north, or really to move east. However, west? There's not much in the way of resistance. The state of Mississippi is there for the taking, and someone like Avery, with ties in New Orleans can open up Louisiana a little as well. LSU has had more recent success, and in some ways they rival Alabama in basketball, however much like Nick Saban has been able to do, the right coach at Alabama can make inroads into the area.
When we're talking about Alabama, Ole Miss, Miss. State, LSU, and Auburn we're talking about programs that have never won a NCAA championship. None of these programs have achieved anything particularly remarkable, so when and if a program does, I think they will rewarded. It's hard to get too enthused about basketball when none of the regional programs are doing anything very interesting. Alabama is certainly in the best position to finally take that step and become a contender.
Also, I don't see the emphasis on football as being a problem. The SEC Network really needs quality programming, and already reaches a lot of households. Basketball is an integral part of this because of the amount of games that can be broadcast. SEC basketball will be seen by a lot of people and the more nationally relevant it is the more people will tune in. The other aspect is that there are basketball fans, they just don't have anything to hold their interest. Finally, with LSU, Auburn, Ole Miss, etc... being so football crazy, they won't resist Alabama success in basketball (the latter two going on spending sprees to counter in football). It seems to me that Alabama becoming a basketball power would meet with less resistance.
We'll see how Avery does at Alabama, but there's no doubt in my mind at all that the right coach can have a lot of success. The talent is there, the resources are there, everything is in place, it's become my belief that all Alabama has ever really lacked is the proper people in place to take things to the next level.
I think a lot of us forget the amount of talent that comes out of the area, and tend to have the think small approach that recent recruiting seems to have had, in that if a kid isn't within the state of Alabama he's out of reach, and even some in-state kids are out of reach to. The state itself does produce lots of talent though. I was watching ESPN for a period of about 30 minutes and I saw Antonio Lang, and DeMarcus Cousins highlighted during the period. Those are two guys that didn't just play basketball in Alabama, they played basketball at the same high school and both ended up leaving the state for college. The talent is there within the state, but it shouldn't end there either.
When Alabama is performing at a high level, they are going to successfully recruit Mississippi as well. For instance, Antonio McDyess and James Robinson both were from Mississippi. Alabama can and should be able to cherry pick Mississippi and if they do so, they are virtually guaranteed to have the talent to compete at a high level. For example, some people say the Alabama class this year was weak, and it was, but Mississippi had the #3 player as well as #128 and #131. The previous year Mississippi produced the #29 and Alabama produced the #71 player, but Alabama didn't get in on the action until #90 (Justin Coleman). While I'm happy they got Coleman, going 0-5 on the top talent from those two states is nothing to brag about.
Now, you might ask why I'd get it into my head that Alabama has some sort of a claim to players in the state of Alabama and Mississippi? Well, Miss. State, Ole Miss, and Auburn combine for 26 NCAA appearances. Alabama has 20 NCAA appearances, and they've only gone once since 2006. Their rightful place is as the dominant force in basketball in the area. To further illustrate this, Alabama's athletic department earns more than Miss. State and Ole Miss combined. It's not a fair fight and if Alabama isn't dominating it's likely a sign of ineptitude on their part.
Of course we can't expect Alabama to rival Kentucky in the north, or really to move east. However, west? There's not much in the way of resistance. The state of Mississippi is there for the taking, and someone like Avery, with ties in New Orleans can open up Louisiana a little as well. LSU has had more recent success, and in some ways they rival Alabama in basketball, however much like Nick Saban has been able to do, the right coach at Alabama can make inroads into the area.
When we're talking about Alabama, Ole Miss, Miss. State, LSU, and Auburn we're talking about programs that have never won a NCAA championship. None of these programs have achieved anything particularly remarkable, so when and if a program does, I think they will rewarded. It's hard to get too enthused about basketball when none of the regional programs are doing anything very interesting. Alabama is certainly in the best position to finally take that step and become a contender.
Also, I don't see the emphasis on football as being a problem. The SEC Network really needs quality programming, and already reaches a lot of households. Basketball is an integral part of this because of the amount of games that can be broadcast. SEC basketball will be seen by a lot of people and the more nationally relevant it is the more people will tune in. The other aspect is that there are basketball fans, they just don't have anything to hold their interest. Finally, with LSU, Auburn, Ole Miss, etc... being so football crazy, they won't resist Alabama success in basketball (the latter two going on spending sprees to counter in football). It seems to me that Alabama becoming a basketball power would meet with less resistance.
We'll see how Avery does at Alabama, but there's no doubt in my mind at all that the right coach can have a lot of success. The talent is there, the resources are there, everything is in place, it's become my belief that all Alabama has ever really lacked is the proper people in place to take things to the next level.
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