Gripes I have with CMG teams...

[BigAL413]

1. Athletic- he seems to recruit a lot of athletes, some very freakish like Gerald Wallace and Alonzo Gee. Athletecism makes up for a lot, especially since many of his players will never to be asked to do a "Basketball Fundamentals" video for young people. That leads me to my second word..

2. SLOPPY- every team that has taken the court while Gottfried has been coach has been one of the sloppiest teams in the country. Last night vs. LSU they must have turned the ball over 4254254 times in the last 3 minutes. But it is more than just crunch time, it is throughout the whole game. His players try to make the most difficult passes. Everytime a post player catches the ball in the high post I hold my breath wondering what impossible play he is going to try and make.

The players that illustrate my point best are Rod Grizzard and Evan Brock. Both were amazing athletes, could jump out of the gym. However both were left handed players and combined between them, they may have thrown 3 right handed passes, and turned the ball over a lot. Does Gottfried not put an emphasis on teaching fundamentals? Because I think the lack of fundamentals is the reason why they lose by 27 to Arkansas and annualy blow 20 point leads, because when teams start applying pressue to Alabama they are rushed and their sloppy play comes to the forefront.

I think Gottfried is a great coach..his winning percentage shows it, his teams have beaten great teams, NCAA tournament every year, BUT could they go farther if there was more attention paid to fundamentals instead of just athletecism? Thoughts please....

 

[moorav]

Re: There are two words to describe a Mark Gottfried team...

I give LSU a lot fo credit for creating thsoe turnovers last night but I agree sometimes (not all the time) they are very sloppy

a terrific coaching staff and I have to think they try to teach fundamentals

They defintely teach defense and I think the Bama-Ark game at OUR house will be very good. Arkansas is looking a like a decent team - Had the Florida game been in Arkansas's house it may have been different

 

[Tide&True]

Re: There are two words to describe a Mark Gottfried team...

The problems I see consistently are not guarding the perimeter very well, sloppy ball handling, and lack of aggressiveness on defense. Usually it is the other team who cause turnovers by double teaming or being very animated.

Of course these are the faults I see....there are many good things CMG does too.

 

[day-day]

Re: There are two words to describe a Mark Gottfried team...

I think the more recent teams have included more "basketball players" as opposed to good athletes who could play basketball; at least compared to earlier teams. My definition of a "basketball player" is a player who has the skills you are describing and may or may not be on the upper end of speed and jumping ability. These are players who can handle the ball, make good passes, and hit mid-range jump shots or at least rely more on their skills than athletic ability. Winston, Shelton, Walker, Davis, Davidson, Steele are some examples. Dudley and Hendrix may fit this mold as well, more skilled than athletic; however, they have quickness and size that would get them a long way without the skills.

As for some of the bad turnovers, I don't know if that is a lack of skills or just slow reaction or what.

Bama has had the reputation for athletic players way before Gottfried became coach. Some of the earlier teams could shut down others teams with their defense and dominated the boards. This may be why recent Bama teams get into trouble now and then with athletic teams (and the offense Gottfried runs).

 

[Whiz]

Re: There are two words to describe a Mark Gottfried team...

2. SLOPPY- every team that has taken the court while Gottfried has been coach has been one of the sloppiest teams in the country. Last night vs. LSU they must have turned the ball over 4254254 times in the last 3 minutes. But it is more than just crunch time, it is throughout the whole game. His players try to make the most difficult passes. Everytime a post player catches the ball in the high post I hold my breath wondering what impossible play he is going to try and make.

I think the reason you are seeing more turnovers towards the end of games is because steele is not 100%. The point guard is responsible for controlling the flow of the game and keeping our guys in check late in the game. Steele's injury is affecting him a lot more at the end of games. Also, I think our big guys have been making some pretty good passes from the high post.

The problems I see consistently are not guarding the perimeter very well, sloppy ball handling, and lack of aggressiveness on defense. Usually it is the other team who cause turnovers by double teaming or being very animated.

We are leading the league in Field Goal % DEFENSE and we are 2nd in 3pt Field Goal % DEFENSE. So to say that we are not guarding the perimeter that well is a little off base.

 

[TIDE-HSV]

Re: There are two words to describe a Mark Gottfried team...

I made the point last night in the game thread, well I tried to, when I said that I couldn't believe that RS couldn't break the trap. What I meant was that the old Ron would have made mincement of it. Also, I'd say that our handling of the trap has actually improved over the last several years. We used to turn the ball over even more when pressed - a fact that Nolan Richardson too advantage of over and over...

 

[BigAL413]

Re: There are two words to describe a Mark Gottfried team...

We are leading the league in Field Goal % DEFENSE and we are 2nd in 3pt Field Goal % DEFENSE. So to say that we are not guarding the perimeter that well is a little off base.[/QUOTE]


I think that is misleading...when watching the games, Alabama is not doing much to make teams miss, the teams miss a lot of open shots. Notre Dame is not a quick team, but they had wide open threes all day long. When watching the games there doesn't seem to be any urgency to fly at a guy who is about to shoot a three

 

[Whiz]

Re: There are two words to describe a Mark Gottfried team...

I made the point last night in the game thread, well I tried to, when I said that I couldn't believe that RS couldn't break the trap. What I meant was that the old Ron would have made mincement of it. Also, I'd say that our handling of the trap has actually improved over the last several years. We used to turn the ball over even more when pressed - a fact that Nolan Richardson too advantage of over and over...

I was surprised we didn't have some sort of set play that would exploit the trap LSU kept setting on steele... or there may have been one and we just couldn't execute it. I think we can expect more teams to trap steele as long as he is not at 100%.

 

[BamaMan34]

Re: There are two words to describe a Mark Gottfried team...

We used to turn the ball over even more when pressed - a fact that Nolan Richardson too advantage of over and over...

Travis Stinnett recorded a triple-double on one of those nights...

 

[moorav]

Re: There are two words to describe a Mark Gottfried team...

they appeared to trap/double the ball a lot last night. I think CMG makes great substitutions...Jemison gives good minutes - no points but solid minutes

It does appear a lot of opponents get open looks at the 3 point shot.

I think next up is a road game at Vandy which is never fun - their court set up should be illegal - I hate playing at Vandy

 

[hightide5]

Re: There are two words to describe a Mark Gottfried team...

CMG is an awesome recruiter. He brings in some of the best athletes in the coutnry, but he has trouble coaching. I understand that his mentor was John Wooden and I know he likes the UCLA offense with all the high post stuff, but every once in a while you need to run a different offense or a set play and catch them off guard. CMG does not coach really well but he can recruit. I think if he brought in an assistant that knew how to teach fundamentals then we would have a shot in every game.

 

[Whiz]

Re: There are two words to describe a Mark Gottfried team...

CMG is an awesome recruiter. He brings in some of the best athletes in the coutnry, but he has trouble coaching. I understand that his mentor was John Wooden and I know he likes the UCLA offense with all the high post stuff, but every once in a while you need to run a different offense or a set play and catch them off guard. CMG does not coach really well but he can recruit. I think if he brought in an assistant that knew how to teach fundamentals then we would have a shot in every game.

I used to be of the opinion that Gottfried didn't do too well with his offense, but I really like what i've seen this season and at the end of last season. I just don't buy the argument though that he is not a good coach.

I think next up is a road game at Vandy which is never fun - their court set up should be illegal - I hate playing at Vandy

Me too... they always have that one guy that will hit 10 of 13 from the 3pt line and we go 1 for 17 beyond the arc. Happens every time.

 

[TIDE-HSV]

Re: There are two words to describe a Mark Gottfried team...

Last year, after Davis went down, we went to a motion offense and did well at it. I was hoping we'd use it more this season, but I'm not sure Steele is mobile enough at the moment to be able to run it...

 

[TideRoller]

Re: There are two words to describe a Mark Gottfried team...

CMG is an awesome recruiter. He brings in some of the best athletes in the coutnry, but he has trouble coaching. I understand that his mentor was John Wooden and I know he likes the UCLA offense with all the high post stuff, but every once in a while you need to run a different offense or a set play and catch them off guard. CMG does not coach really well but he can recruit. I think if he brought in an assistant that knew how to teach fundamentals then we would have a shot in every game.

I take it that you didn't follow the team after the Chuck Davis injury last year. A big reason last year's team even made the NCAA tournament was because of coaching.

 

[TideRoller]

Re: There are two words to describe a Mark Gottfried team...

Last year, after Davis went down, we went to a motion offense and did well at it. I was hoping we'd use it more this season, but I'm not sure Steele is mobile enough at the moment to be able to run it...

Bingo

 

[graydogg85]

Re: There are two words to describe a Mark Gottfried team...

Gottfried's teams have always been inconsistent defensively. We have improved over the past two seasons, but we're still not a strong defensive team. Our stats this season are a bit misleading. We just never seem to work as hard on the defensive end of the floor as we do on the other side. We've been eaten alive by strong perimeter teams for most of Gottfried's tenure because we just do not defend the arc. If we beat a strong three-point team, it's because they had an off-night, not because of our defense.

Gottfried is a very solid coach overall, and he has many strong points. He is an outstanding recruiter and a solid player developer. Most (not all) of the guys that have played all four years for Gottfried have improved dramatically as basketball players in that time. He seems to be a pretty good motivator, as his teams have rarely had long slumps and tend to play very well in big games. Defense, however, is not his forte. JMO. RTR.

 

[rolltide8755]

Re: There are two words to describe a Mark Gottfried team...

I think the reason you are seeing more turnovers towards the end of games is because steele is not 100%. The point guard is responsible for controlling the flow of the game and keeping our guys in check late in the game. Steele's injury is affecting him a lot more at the end of games. Also, I think our big guys have been making some pretty good passes from the high post.



We are leading the league in Field Goal % DEFENSE and we are 2nd in 3pt Field Goal % DEFENSE. So to say that we are not guarding the perimeter that well is a little off base.

great points

 

[BigAL413]

Re: There are two words to describe a Mark Gottfried team...

Gottfried's teams have always been inconsistent defensively. We have improved over the past two seasons, but we're still not a strong defensive team. Our stats this season are a bit misleading. We just never seem to work as hard on the defensive end of the floor as we do on the other side. We've been eaten alive by strong perimeter teams for most of Gottfried's tenure because we just do not defend the arc. If we beat a strong three-point team, it's because they had an off-night, not because of our defense.

Gottfried is a very solid coach overall, and he has many strong points. He is an outstanding recruiter and a solid player developer. Most (not all) of the guys that have played all four years for Gottfried have improved dramatically as basketball players in that time. He seems to be a pretty good motivator, as his teams have rarely had long slumps and tend to play very well in big games. Defense, however, is not his forte. JMO. RTR.

Everything here is spot on, especially the development aspect. The perfect example is Jemareo Davidson. He, in my opinion, was awful his freshman year. He couldn't pass out of a double team, was too weak to be a big time player in the SEC, and couldn't shoot nearly as well as he does now. Having now been in the program 4 years I wouldn't trade him for another big man in the country...his development of his outside shot is remarkable and makes him lethal, the only downside is he is at a weight that would have been good as a freshman to have so that now he could continue to add weight and muscle and dominate everyone on both sides of the court.

 

[TideRoller]

Re: There are two words to describe a Mark Gottfried team...

Everything here is spot on, especially the development aspect. The perfect example is Jemareo Davidson. He, in my opinion, was awful his freshman year. He couldn't pass out of a double team, was too weak to be a big time player in the SEC, and couldn't shoot nearly as well as he does now. Having now been in the program 4 years I wouldn't trade him for another big man in the country...his development of his outside shot is remarkable and makes him lethal, the only downside is he is at a weight that would have been good as a freshman to have so that now he could continue to add weight and muscle and dominate everyone on both sides of the court.

I don't know that I would characterize Davidson's play his freshman year as awful, but Alabama has developed some strong post players recently. Chuck Davis was on the verge of transferring his freshman year...and ended up being an absolute stud.

 

[CajunCrimson]

Re: There are two words to describe a Mark Gottfried team...

He sucks at coaching??? But he's great at recruiting??? He's gotten us to the NCAAs 5 years in a row.....working on 6.....we very seldom have ranked recruiting classes......but he knows how to develop the talent he has..... AND he knows how to assemble a team.

As far as his teams playing sloppy........ALL TEAMS PLAY SLOPPY sometimes.... especially in the SEC...just the pace of the game, if you watched Florida/Arkansas the other night, it was just as sloppy as the Bama/LSU game. Strong athletes have alot to do with making it look sloppy....there are no breaks in an SEC game you have to constantly be at your best..

(heavy sigh) I really let naysayers get me grumpy sometimes!!

arrrrgh!