Bama Game Thread: MBB Bama v Illinois 11.20 8p CST SECN

[DzynKingRTR]

Roll Tide! Great win! It is bedtime for me.

 

[bamamc1]

Come watch an Auburn game. Newton would have LOVED Johni lol.

He most definitely would have. That guy is a player for sure.

 

[AUDub]

He most definitely would have. That guy is a player for sure.

He’s the best pure 5 we’ve ever had and there’s no one I’d trust more with his back to the basket in America right now. He’d slot right into any era.

 

[AUDub]

I’m looking forward to the Omoruyi vs Johni match and hope the refs eat their whistles because it will be a brawl.

 

[imauafan]

RTR. Good win. I’m curious about Sears. I think he’s under the weather.

I noticed in the Purdue game that he was extremely winded early on. Last night he looked out of sorts the entire game. That was my exact thought that perhaps he has been sick recently and it's affected his conditioning.

 

[AlistarWills]

Sears went back to the gym and took over 600 shots. The clock on his Instagram pic shows 2:41 AM

 

[BAMAVILLE]

Illinois will win A LOT of games this season.

Illinois should make a solid run in the tourney so this was a good matchup for us

 

[oskie]

Sears must be ill.

If Sears is healthy, I think Coach would have him out there right now.

Good bounce back win, even though it was a bit ragged at times. Can't believe Sears didn't have a single point. He has to be a bit under the weather or something.

RTR. Good win. I’m curious about Sears. I think he’s under the weather.

Sears went back to the gym and took over 600 shots. The clock on his Instagram pic shows 2:41 AM

Grant Nelson reveals Mark Sears' unique, selfless decision amid off night vs. Illinois

Mark Sears made a unique, selfless decision amid his off night against Illinois, according to Grant Nelson in the postgame press conference.

www.on3.com

Why Mark Sears didn’t play much in second half vs. Illinois for Alabama basketball

Alabama basketball scored 100 against Illinois, and Mark Sears didn't have any of those points. Nate Oats explained why Sears didn't play much in the second half.

www.al.com

 

[Bama Shoals]

I watched the game late last night after we got in. Sears body language was terrible. He made some lazy passes, half-hearted cuts, and stood around a lot on defense. You almost hope he was sick to help explain all of that. Because the alternative wouldn't be good. He came back to work on things based on feedback from the NBA. I'm sure he feels a lot of pressure to demonstrate improvement in those areas. Now, these younger guards are kind of showing him up, especially Philon. He's getting a lot of hype right now as a potential first round pick. I hope jealousy from Sears is not playing into this as that could potentially cause a huge rift in the team. Yeah, he might have waved off Oats when he tried to put him back in out of the goodness of his heart, but it could also be a sign of pouting. To be determined.

 

[BhamToTexas]

Solid win last night. It felt like we beat them by more than the score indicates.

I know we don't want to mess with what works for this team, but man it feels like we would have 10-20 points more if we would just slow down on some shots. Feels like we rush so many easy layups going so fast.

 

[BamaMoon]

I haven't read any other comments, but that was a very good win last night. That's definitely a tourney team which just toyed with. It felt like they were never going to win even when we'd let them get it down into single digits.

I've commented on the rotations. I think CNO has got to get Sherrell more minutes at the 5 instead of Nelson. Sherrell is a beast in the making as a true freshman!

I know Sears will bounce back, but what we saw last night is we don't need him to score 20 a game for us to win. Man, what depth at guard we have!

Finally, what is up with Stephenson? He's gonna lose minutes to Mou if he's not careful.

And if Reid starts showing what he showed last night....

 

[Coach D]

Philon is looking like a one and done right now but long way to go. Holloway keeps improving. Maybe Sears should stay at the 2 or at least until his funk is over cause we all know he is a beast. Youngblood still to come back for conference play is exciting. Stevenson will be losing minutes got to think. Mo and the fresh hopefully keep coming on. Lot of potential. Fun to watch and remember losses to come but it’s basketball so no freaking out lol

 

[CrimsonNagus]

I don't have a lot to say except that was a fun game to watch. Fewest turnovers of the year so far, I hope that trend continues.

 

[Ledsteplin]

I haven't read any other comments, but that was a very good win last night. That's definitely a tourney team which just toyed with. It felt like they were never going to win even when we'd let them get it down into single digits.

I've commented on the rotations. I think CNO has got to get Sherrell more minutes at the 5 instead of Nelson. Sherrell is a beast in the making as a true freshman!

I know Sears will bounce back, but what we saw last night is we don't need him to score 20 a game for us to win. Man, what depth at guard we have!

Finally, what is up with Stephenson? He's gonna lose minutes to Mou if he's not careful.

And if Reid starts showing what he showed last night....

Sears was intentional. He was being unselfish, letting the others play. He told Oats they're doing great.

 

[day-day]

Interesting that Coach Oats wanted to put "Coach" Sears back in during crunch time. I've got to think Sears is providing leadership to the newer players the way that Quinerly did during his last season. The way things worked out may be the best thing that could happen to get Holloway to his best playing level and staying there.

Wrightsell had a very good game as well.

 

[AlistarWills]

Interesting that Coach Oats wanted to put "Coach" Sears back in during crunch time. I've got to think Sears is providing leadership to the newer players the way that Quinerly did during his last season. The way things worked out may be the best thing that could happen to get Holloway to his best playing level and staying there.

Wrightsell had a very good game as well.

I noticed Wrightsell didn’t like trying the layup in the land of the trees.

 

[BamaMoon]

Sears was intentional. He was being unselfish, letting the others play. He told Oats they're doing great.

Yeah, I read that too. But the point is we can afford that when he's off.

 

[BamaMoon]

I noticed Wrightsell didn’t like trying the layup in the land of the trees.

He may have PTSD over some of his head injuries.

 

[day-day]

I noticed Wrightsell didn’t like trying the layup in the land of the trees.

Yes, that was a nice little pull up baseline shot about 6-8 feet out.

 

[BAMARICH]

Couple of thoughts after watching about a fourth of the game last night. One, we won't win many games against teams with quality inside players if we keep insisting on playing Nelson at the 5. To offset that weakness, we have to insert our best octane on offense and when that happens the defense will get even worse. IMO, you need either Cliff or Sherrell at the 5 throughout the game when facing a team with good bigs. Two, while defense improved last night, our perimeter defense in the last 10 minutes wasn't very good. Too many guys overrun plays, don't switch off effectively, and allow blow bys way too often. Granted, this was what I saw in the last part of the game - it could have been better earlier. Hopefully, Youngblood's return will help shore up this area, but the other guys have to be better.