The potential of Alabama basketball

KrAzY3

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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.
 
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Rama Jama

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Alabama needs to recruit Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and some of Tennessee to be successful. We need to get kids from Memphis, anywhere below probably Jackson in Mississippi( it is closer for them to come to Bama than to go to Ole Miss, or State), Atlanta area kids, and obviously the top kids in state need to stay in state. I think Coach Johnson will get the occasional blue chip kid that could be from anywhere.

We have a lot of potential, but do I think we can get better classes than Duke? NO, at least not while Coach K is there, but we can compete for the SEC and be a fixture in the tourney. We will have the opportunity to be in a final four if we recruit the way I think Coach Johnson will and who knows after that.

As far as fan support, I think if he gets the students involved, and there every indication he will, we'll start having sellouts again in pretty short order. I think the fans have embraced him and will support the team in droves. The only thing that is a potential problem is Coleman. It is just not the type of arena where you feel up close to the action. That is what fans want now these days. We can change the seating priority and shift fans and students, but what is that really accomplishing? The fans are still going to be 15 to 20 feet away from the court. You can't physically fix the issues structurally so we need to find a place to build a new facility in my opinion. Coach Johnson also said as much as he saw Coleman.
 
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KrAzY3

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Alabama needs to recruit Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and some of Tennessee to be successful.
I think, if Alabama realizes their potential they can go into the Memphis and Atlanta area in the future, but I don't think it's a necessary or realistic goal in the short term. I don't agree they need to do that to be successful, they just need to not drop the ball locally.

In terms of Alabama, when you let the top in-state kid go to Purdue, or when the top two in-state kids are considering UAB but not Alabama, you know something isn't right. Really though, Alabama could just recruit the state of Alabama and be competitive with a good coach.

I see Mississippi as the low hanging fruit, and being all it takes to make the NCAA tournament on a nearly annual basis. Look at the kids coming out each year, you'll have trouble finding years in which there just isn't talent between those two states. Alabama has done it in the past, they just need to assert themselves. I think this goes beyond recruiting to, if Alabama basketball is exciting, people in Mississippi will pay attention.

The third stage, the one that really Alabama doesn't have much of a history of us really going into other major population centers. I think Avery makes New Orleans more realistic, but with Tennessee, Vanderbilt, and Memphis around, I don't see Memphis for example as being easy (and my main point is that it's really not that hard for Alabama to recruit a NCAA tournament capable team). Same with Atlanta really, you're going into ACC territory, but if Alabama actually, finally, realizes their potential? Yeah, they can move into those areas and producer title contenders, but it's not at all necessary to me.
 

KrAzY3

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It appears 2017 is the year for all the elite talent in the state.

http://www.al.com/sports/index.ssf/..._head_coach.html#incart_2box_sports_index.ssf
That certainly appears to be the case, according to Rivals Alabama and Mississippi have 1 recruit each in the top 150 in 2016. 2017? Alabama has 3 pretty highly ranked guys.

I wanted to take a look at what was successful for Alabama in the past. At one time, Alabama has 5 first round draft picks on their team, Roberty Horry (Alabama), James Robinson (Mississippi), Roy Rogers (Alabama), Latrell Sprewell (Maryland), and Jason Caffey (Alabama).

If you look at key guys on their Elite 8 team, you had Winston (Alabama), Davis (Alabama), Thomas (Alabama), Pettway (Alabama), and Shelton (Tennessee). Despite getting guys like Antonio McDyess and Mo Williams from Mississippi, I'm finding it harder to argue Alabama needs to do more than just recruit the state and coach those guys properly. I'd like to see them do more, but it doesn't take anything particularly special for Alabama to have a good team. You just have to not screw up.
 

bama579

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With a roster down to nine players, and maybe more leaving before 2015 tips off, 2015-16 could be very bumpy ride. CAJ needs at least one big and two guards on board before this season. This assumes Kessens, Taylor, and Hale stay. If one of that trio leaves . . ouch!
 

lorange

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Alabama has great potential. It's going to take a lot work. There is a lot of competition surrounding us with many new well known coaches. The new asst. coaches are going to need to be excellent recruiters. It's an exciting time. Let's hope for the best.
 

NationalTitles18

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Alabama is traditionally the #2 team in the SEC behind Kentucky. If you are going to be #2 that's not a bad team to be behind.

Alabama has a losing record against only 2 SEC schools: The aforementioned Kentucky and Arkansas. Despite losing 7 straight against Florida, Alabama still owns a winning record against the Gators.

Only Kentucky has more SEC Tourney Championships. Only Kentucky and LSU have more regular season titles.

The state of Alabama has produced a number of recent players that went on to play and star at other schools that were successful in the NCAA tourney. In the past Alabama was able to get those players on campus. A number went on to good NBA careers. A few were superstars. 2 won multiple NBA championships. Now those star players get away to other teams.

Alabama has amazing potential to be a force in not only the SEC but also the nation. If the Tide can recruit in-state well and add a few from out of state then at the very least the school will be competing for SEC championships and getting into the sweet 16 on a relatively frequent basis. That formula worked very well in the not too distant past.

To get that extra umph to get beyond that consistently will take some superior coaching - better than what we've seen in the last 23 years - and a more national recruiting effort.

Alabama has failed to market the tradition of the basketball program itself or the successes of its former players in the NBA in a manner similar to what the football program has. It has also failed to bridge the tradition of the football program into a recruiting tool. Perhaps Johnson, Saban (to a lesser extent), and Battle can somehow solve some of these marketing issues through joint efforts.

Johnson certainly has a pedigree and brings excitement to the program. If he can get some momentum going and build on that then the potential is there for some great things. In any case, Alabama has to show more commitment to the program as a whole and to upgrading the infrastructure for basketball.

I hope we see all this happen and soon. It's frustrating to watch a program falter when it could be at the top of the conference consistently.
 

KrAzY3

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It could be better with some JUCO talent.
I'd hope that is part of the short term solution. Anthony Grant just didn't seem to manage the roster well, if Avery can recruit some JUCO guys to fill in the gap before he really gets a chance to go after some top tier recruits, it sure seems like it would help a lot.

Alabama has amazing potential to be a force in not only the SEC but also the nation. If the Tide can recruit in-state well and add a few from out of state then at the very least the school will be competing for SEC championships and getting into the sweet 16 on a relatively frequent basis. That formula worked very well in the not too distant past.

To get that extra umph to get beyond that consistently will take some superior coaching - better than what we've seen in the last 23 years - and a more national recruiting effort.
I agree with what you are saying. A lot of people sell Alabama short and don't seem to realize how idiot proof the formula is. Decent coaching, recruit the state, and the team will perform well. It doesn't take anything particularly special, I just think the bar is so low, and the coaches for the most part so unproven, that people don't seem to realize that it doesn't take all that much.

For instance, I really like what Wimp did, but I do not believe he was that great a coach. He was a great recruiter, but his teams never really lived up to their potential (kind of like Barnes). Having 5 first round draft picks on one team for instance, and not making a deep run in the NCAA tournament seems like under-performing, however I also believe that you can't disparage someone overall as a coach for being a great recruiter/average coach. I think that was a big part of the appeal for Marshall, the idea that if he could beat Alabama with clearly inferior talent, with superior talent it would become foolproof.

With proper backing from the university it should just take any combination of a great recruiter and a good coach, or a good recruiter and a great coach to take Alabama basketball to new heights (not just going back to what they accomplished in the past).
 

Con

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I'd hope that is part of the short term solution. Anthony Grant just didn't seem to manage the roster well, if Avery can recruit some JUCO guys to fill in the gap before he really gets a chance to go after some top tier recruits, it sure seems like it would help a lot.


I agree with what you are saying. A lot of people sell Alabama short and don't seem to realize how idiot proof the formula is. Decent coaching, recruit the state, and the team will perform well. It doesn't take anything particularly special, I just think the bar is so low, and the coaches for the most part so unproven, that people don't seem to realize that it doesn't take all that much.

For instance, I really like what Wimp did, but I do not believe he was that great a coach. He was a great recruiter, but his teams never really lived up to their potential (kind of like Barnes). Having 5 first round draft picks on one team for instance, and not making a deep run in the NCAA tournament seems like under-performing, however I also believe that you can't disparage someone overall as a coach for being a great recruiter/average coach. I think that was a big part of the appeal for Marshall, the idea that if he could beat Alabama with clearly inferior talent, with superior talent it would become foolproof.

With proper backing from the university it should just take any combination of a great recruiter and a good coach, or a good recruiter and a great coach to take Alabama basketball to new heights (not just going back to what they accomplished in the past).
I really like this post krazy. It makes a lot of sense.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

PlanoBamaDad

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Avery Johnson going hard after SMU Asst Coach and former Laker George Lynch - he's big time. He was a major part of Larry Brown's major turn around at SMU. Avery is rolling!
 

CajunCrimson

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I'd hope that is part of the short term solution. Anthony Grant just didn't seem to manage the roster well, if Avery can recruit some JUCO guys to fill in the gap before he really gets a chance to go after some top tier recruits, it sure seems like it would help a lot.


I agree with what you are saying. A lot of people sell Alabama short and don't seem to realize how idiot proof the formula is. Decent coaching, recruit the state, and the team will perform well. It doesn't take anything particularly special, I just think the bar is so low, and the coaches for the most part so unproven, that people don't seem to realize that it doesn't take all that much.

For instance, I really like what Wimp did, but I do not believe he was that great a coach. He was a great recruiter, but his teams never really lived up to their potential (kind of like Barnes). Having 5 first round draft picks on one team for instance, and not making a deep run in the NCAA tournament seems like under-performing, however I also believe that you can't disparage someone overall as a coach for being a great recruiter/average coach. I think that was a big part of the appeal for Marshall, the idea that if he could beat Alabama with clearly inferior talent, with superior talent it would become foolproof.

With proper backing from the university it should just take any combination of a great recruiter and a good coach, or a good recruiter and a great coach to take Alabama basketball to new heights (not just going back to what they accomplished in the past).
In Wimp's defense.....one year, he hit the emotional rollercoaster of Loyola Marymount -- and we lost by a bucket.....10 NCAA tournaments in 12 years. 5 Sweet 16s. 5 Conference Championships.....

In 1982 - as a 4 seed lost to the #1 Seed UNC Tarheels by a score of 74-69 -- our starting 5 were Whatley, Eric Richardson, Mike Davis, Bobby Lee Hurt, and Eddie PHillips. We played a rotation of 8 (Phillip Lockett, Terry Williams and Cliff Windham) -- and they lost to a team that won the NC and included Sam Perkins, James Worthy, Matt Doherty, Buzz Peterson and someone named Michael Jordan.

In 1985 - as a 7 Seed, he beat Arizona, #2 Seed VCU, and lost to NC State in the Sweet 16. He lost by 6. That lineup featured Buck Johnson, Bobby Lee Hurt, Terry Coner, Mark Gottfried, Jim Farmer, Derrick McKey....NC State was coached by Jim Valvano - and featured Chris Washburn, Charles Shackleford, Nate McMillan and a young Vinny Del Negro.

In 1986 - Is the year the NCAA put LSU, Kentucky and Alabama all in the same Regionals. Bama was a 5 Seed, Kentucky was a 1 and LSU was an 11. Bama beat Fairfield and #4 seed Illinois before falling to #1 Kentucky (who fell to #11 LSU). Our staring 5 were Buck Johnson, Derrick McKey, Jim Farmer, Terry Coner, and Gottfried. We had Michael Ansley coming off the bench. UK coached by Eddie Sutton went 32-4. They featured Kenny Walker, Winston Bennett, James Blackmon, Ed Davender and Roger Harden.

In 1987, as a 2 Seed - fell to Rick Pitino's Providence team (starring Billy Donovan) - who went to the Final 4 after beating #1 seed Georgetown.

In 1990, as a 7 seed, Bama beat the #2 seed in the second round by 22 points -- before falling to Marymount by 2 on a last second shot that wouldn't fall.....Wimp held Marymount to 62 points....(their other 3 tournament games they scored 111, 149 and 101.....)

In 1991, as a 4 seed (again the NCAA put Arkansas, Bama and Georgia all in the same regional.....and Bama fell to #1 Seed Arkansas in the Sweet 16.....

I think Wimp was a pretty good X's and O's coach.....especially when you figure that his bench was usually very short..... (his own doing, I agree) -- but the man knew how to coach.....

267-119 back when the SEC was at it's peak. One bad year in 1987-88 where he had to rebuild.....take that year out and the other 11 years he was 253-102.....and this was when teams were playing 32-35 games....now they play 40.

Finally - one of the main reasons that Buck Johnson, Derrick McKey, Robert Horry, Latrell Sprewell, etc.....got drafted was because of Wimp, not in spite of him. At one point in his tenure he had 9 guys playing in the NBA at one time......he had an eye for talent, but he also developed that talent.....very effectively during their time on campus....
 

imauafan

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In Wimp's defense.....one year, he hit the emotional rollercoaster of Loyola Marymount -- and we lost by a bucket.....10 NCAA tournaments in 12 years. 5 Sweet 16s. 5 Conference Championships.....

In 1982 - as a 4 seed lost to the #1 Seed UNC Tarheels by a score of 74-69 -- our starting 5 were Whatley, Eric Richardson, Mike Davis, Bobby Lee Hurt, and Eddie PHillips. We played a rotation of 8 (Phillip Lockett, Terry Williams and Cliff Windham) -- and they lost to a team that won the NC and included Sam Perkins, James Worthy, Matt Doherty, Buzz Peterson and someone named Michael Jordan.

In 1985 - as a 7 Seed, he beat Arizona, #2 Seed VCU, and lost to NC State in the Sweet 16. He lost by 6. That lineup featured Buck Johnson, Bobby Lee Hurt, Terry Coner, Mark Gottfried, Jim Farmer, Derrick McKey....NC State was coached by Jim Valvano - and featured Chris Washburn, Charles Shackleford, Nate McMillan and a young Vinny Del Negro. Spud Webb was the PG on that team. I believe this was the year after NCState had defeated Georgetown for the NC.

In 1986 - Is the year the NCAA put LSU, Kentucky and Alabama all in the same Regionals. Bama was a 5 Seed, Kentucky was a 1 and LSU was an 11. Bama beat Fairfield and #4 seed Illinois before falling to #1 Kentucky (who fell to #11 LSU). Our staring 5 were Buck Johnson, Derrick McKey, Jim Farmer, Terry Coner, and Gottfried. We had Michael Ansley coming off the bench. UK coached by Eddie Sutton went 32-4. They featured Kenny Walker, Winston Bennett, James Blackmon, Ed Davender and Roger Harden. We lost to UK 4 times that year. We had a great team but definitely had a mental block with UK because I felt like we better than they were. Maybe we weren't but I felt like we were. The selection committee did not want to risk more than 1 SEC team in the final 4 so they put 3 teams in the same regional. Had they put us in a different regional that might have been our year to make the final 4.

In 1987, as a 2 Seed - fell to Rick Pitino's Providence team (starring Billy Donovan) - who went to the Final 4 after beating #1 seed Georgetown. As I recall Providence barely made it out of Birmingham that year by knocking off Austin Peay with a buzzer beater. We caught them at the wrong time because they came into our game red hot. We actually were a little flat. I think our success had either made the team a little over confident or perhaps were feeling the pressure because they seemed to be a bit flat in the tourney. Regardless, that loss crushed me because I was certain that team would make a run to the final 4.

1989. I still get furious when I think about this game. We were red-hot and could have knocked off Michigan (the eventual NC) in the 2nd round. The refs cost us that game. I don't normally say that but in this case I believe it very strongly. The second half was the most biased officiating I have ever seen in any sport.

In 1990, as a 7 seed, Bama beat the #2 seed in the second round by 22 points -- before falling to Marymount by 2 on a last second shot that wouldn't fall.....Wimp held Marymount to 62 points....(their other 3 tournament games they scored 111, 149 and 101.....) Tourney pairings killed us again, being in the same bracket as a red-hot, very emotional, Loyola Marymount team. And we almost beat them. There are different opinions on this but I agree 100% with Wimp's strategy to not run with them because IMHO they would have run us out of the gym. We were very talented and could have played that style but they were accustomed to that and wanted teams to fall into their trap. They would wear you out and then run you off the court. Wimp never went very deep with his bench so I think he did the right thing by slowing them down and getting into their heads. It almost worked. We could have given UNLV a tough game but they would have beaten us the next round.

In 1991, as a 4 seed (again the NCAA put Arkansas, Bama and Georgia all in the same regional.....and Bama fell to #1 Seed Arkansas in the Sweet 16.....

I think Wimp was a pretty good X's and O's coach.....especially when you figure that his bench was usually very short..... (his own doing, I agree) -- but the man knew how to coach.....

267-119 back when the SEC was at it's peak. One bad year in 1987-88 where he had to rebuild.....take that year out and the other 11 years he was 253-102.....and this was when teams were playing 32-35 games....now they play 40.

Finally - one of the main reasons that Buck Johnson, Derrick McKey, Robert Horry, Latrell Sprewell, etc.....got drafted was because of Wimp, not in spite of him. At one point in his tenure he had 9 guys playing in the NBA at one time......he had an eye for talent, but he also developed that talent.....very effectively during their time on campus....
Good post. I added a few comments.
 

Hoot30

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In Wimp's defense.....one year, he hit the emotional rollercoaster of Loyola Marymount -- and we lost by a bucket.....10 NCAA tournaments in 12 years. 5 Sweet 16s. 5 Conference Championships.....

In 1982 - as a 4 seed lost to the #1 Seed UNC Tarheels by a score of 74-69 -- our starting 5 were Whatley, Eric Richardson, Mike Davis, Bobby Lee Hurt, and Eddie PHillips. We played a rotation of 8 (Phillip Lockett, Terry Williams and Cliff Windham) -- and they lost to a team that won the NC and included Sam Perkins, James Worthy, Matt Doherty, Buzz Peterson and someone named Michael Jordan.

In 1985 - as a 7 Seed, he beat Arizona, #2 Seed VCU, and lost to NC State in the Sweet 16. He lost by 6. That lineup featured Buck Johnson, Bobby Lee Hurt, Terry Coner, Mark Gottfried, Jim Farmer, Derrick McKey....NC State was coached by Jim Valvano - and featured Chris Washburn, Charles Shackleford, Nate McMillan and a young Vinny Del Negro.

In 1986 - Is the year the NCAA put LSU, Kentucky and Alabama all in the same Regionals. Bama was a 5 Seed, Kentucky was a 1 and LSU was an 11. Bama beat Fairfield and #4 seed Illinois before falling to #1 Kentucky (who fell to #11 LSU). Our staring 5 were Buck Johnson, Derrick McKey, Jim Farmer, Terry Coner, and Gottfried. We had Michael Ansley coming off the bench. UK coached by Eddie Sutton went 32-4. They featured Kenny Walker, Winston Bennett, James Blackmon, Ed Davender and Roger Harden.

In 1987, as a 2 Seed - fell to Rick Pitino's Providence team (starring Billy Donovan) - who went to the Final 4 after beating #1 seed Georgetown.

In 1990, as a 7 seed, Bama beat the #2 seed in the second round by 22 points -- before falling to Marymount by 2 on a last second shot that wouldn't fall.....Wimp held Marymount to 62 points....(their other 3 tournament games they scored 111, 149 and 101.....)

In 1991, as a 4 seed (again the NCAA put Arkansas, Bama and Georgia all in the same regional.....and Bama fell to #1 Seed Arkansas in the Sweet 16.....

I think Wimp was a pretty good X's and O's coach.....especially when you figure that his bench was usually very short..... (his own doing, I agree) -- but the man knew how to coach.....

267-119 back when the SEC was at it's peak. One bad year in 1987-88 where he had to rebuild.....take that year out and the other 11 years he was 253-102.....and this was when teams were playing 32-35 games....now they play 40.

Finally - one of the main reasons that Buck Johnson, Derrick McKey, Robert Horry, Latrell Sprewell, etc.....got drafted was because of Wimp, not in spite of him. At one point in his tenure he had 9 guys playing in the NBA at one time......he had an eye for talent, but he also developed that talent.....very effectively during their time on campus....
Thanks and Like! There's no doubt in my mind that he was a great coach. He absolutely worked his tail off.
 

NationalTitles18

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I agree with Wimp being a much better x and o coach than he is given credit for by some. He may not have been the best of tournament coaches, but don't confuse that with x's and o's. Alabama also seemed to always draw the hot hand in the NCAA tournament. But Alabama was nearly always competitive with top tier teams and consistently won the games it should have won. Wimp was also a master at understanding the talent he had and the limitations of that talent and strategizing to get the best results and put them in a position to win.
 

KrAzY3

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In Wimp's defense.....one year, he hit the emotional rollercoaster of Loyola Marymount -- and we lost by a bucket.....10 NCAA tournaments in 12 years. 5 Sweet 16s. 5 Conference Championships.....
I ruffled a lot of feathers by incessantly defending Barnes. The guy went to 19 tournaments in 20 years, made the final four, did everything he could really except win a championship. I also compared him to Wimp, I stood up for what he accomplished, and I do think Wimp overall was one of the better things Alabama has ever had going for it. I'm not saying as a whole Wimp is a bad coach. I'm saying (like Barnes) he didn't demonstrate an ability to be an elite Xs and Os coach. Not bad, I wouldn't call him bad, but the team didn't go around beating a lot of teams it had no business beating either. I think the recruiting aspect spills over a bit into things like development and talent evaluation and clearly Wimp was good at that part. Why knock a guy for having good talent on his team?

I'll give my own anecdote. On one team (and this was around the time of the Fab 5 at Michigan, so no reason you can't play even true freshman) he had Caffey, Horry, Rogers, Sprewell, and Robinson. Not saying that should have been the starting five either, but they could have been used differently. Robinson ends up leading that team in scoring and Horry lead the team in blocks. I just can't buy that was the best possible use of the talent (and years ago I recall hearing a pundit pondering how Alabama didn't win more with those guys).

A lot of my thoughts on the matter came when I was looking into things prior to the Grant hiring. I started looking over things and two things really stood out. First, Alabama never had a truly great coach. No one made it to the Final Four anywhere, much less a national championship. Now, that's not easy to do, but recently Miss. State, Texas, and Tennessee all hired coaches that have been to the Final Four. The fact that Alabama has never had a coach who did that before or after his time at Alabama speaks to the fact that Alabama might never have had anyone that actually knows how to get from where Alabama basketball has been, to there.

I think this is further emphasized by the habitual hiring of assistants. I mean, you can go combine the previous experience of Alabama hires in my lifetime and then some, and you don't even come up with half a career. It's kind of ridiculous, these were not all bad coaches, but they were darn sure learning on the job. Take Gottfried for example, whatever he is now, he learned what not to do (on and off the court), at Alabama. So, it's ridiculous to me that a program like Alabama made a habit of being a place for coaches to try to figure out how to coach, that Alabama never could go out and get someone who has a resume that says he deserves to be at a top level job. This isn't an indictment of Wimp, I liked Wimp, it's just an indictment of the overall approach, and who would expect Alabama to have done more with a string of inexperienced assistants?

Ironically, the knock on Avery now is lack of college experience, well he has more head coaching experience than virtually every Alabama hire, and only a tiny bit less college experience than most Alabama hires. I really do believe the job was made to look harder it actually is.
 
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