Post Game Analysis

[BamaMan34]

Next year will be the same as this year and the past nine years. These guys don't get the coaching to play the game to win. They look lost and confused most of the time. Compare our play to UMASS. They had a game plan, know the finer points of the game, how to attack and play defense, work the clock, etc. How many times has Gotfried "said we must learn from this--and we played hard but were one play short?" Time to get a new teacher. Maybe Ford from UMASS. He showed that he knows the game of BB and how it should be played and how to teach the game to his team. We never had a chance and should not have been there. Playing hard is necessary but so is playing with a purpose. Look for the same next year.

We fixed football, now it's time to fix BB. I am tired of being the doormat of conference. Fl is on a roll in its athletic program and is committed to winning in every sport. Bama is doing ok in a few sports but is lagging in BB. We may need to evaluate the baseball program too.

The difference between losing and winning is commitment to winning and providing all of the ingredients needed to win. We haven't reached that point at Bama and it is time we did.

You clearly watch a lot of ball in this conference.

Commitment to defense? Really? UMass gave up 87...
Doormat in basketball? I don't even know how to respond, we may have had some bad losses but we are not a doormat in this conference
Evaluate baseball? We lost to the national runner-up in the super regional last year (which we hosted by the way) and then managed to keep our coach even though LSU came calling

 

[wtbryant]

You want him to shoot 7 3's...not me

All I did was correct the statement that he missed a bunch of 3 pointers. He was 3 for 7. That's a great percentage that I'd be glad for any player to have. If Brandon can do that all the time, then, yes...I want him to shoot them. Last night, he shot well. That's not debatable.

 

[TIDE-HSV]

That's 42% from behind the line, which is equivalent to 64%, disregarding other factors such as long rebound, from two point land. Not bad...

 

[rpeastep]

That's pretty good shooting where I came from.

 

[drjamesm]

My thoughts were the team played hard,and mostly showed good effort at least on the offensive side. However,still fundamentally unsound with passing,blocking out(almost nonexistant),and on D. To be honest,they are a very poorly coached team with many good atheletes that play as such.I will say one thing why not stop the ball with a half court press at least at the end and not give up an almost uncontested free throw type of shot to lose the game.The game was sadly predictable for a MG coached team.

 

[GrandBayTider]

One stat which jumped out at me:

UMass FTs
1st Half 3
2nd Half 30 ?

Guess the Technical on Ford before the half was worth it. Early in the season people complained we weren't agressive and cited the stat that we lead the nation in fewest FTs by an opponent to illustrate the aggressiveness. I guess the increase in aggressiveness last night lead to the huge increase in FTs?

One other note, RH uses his body and positioning very well. However he is not an explosive athlete. A lot of times he gets the ball, and can't jam it home unless he gathers himself first. He ends up putting it up and it bouncing off the rim or backboard. Something to work on over the Summer I'm sure.

 

[JHHALL1]

All I did was correct the statement that he missed a bunch of 3 pointers. He was 3 for 7. That's a great percentage that I'd be glad for any player to have. If Brandon can do that all the time, then, yes...I want him to shoot them. Last night, he shot well. That's not debatable.

We were short handed at the PG position last night but Hollenger has business shooting the ball without trying to get into some sort of offense. He tried WAY TOO MANY TIMES last ngiht to do things on his own.
too small
not enough PT at PG for him to take over a ballgame
and simply not that good to carry the team on his back
sorry B Holl lovers and friends but its true

 

[wtbryant]

JHHALL,

Brandon only took 14 shots from the field all night. I'm sorry, but, that's just not too many for a point guard. He was 3 for 7 on three pointers and 4 for 4 on free throws. He had 19 total points. Where I come from, that's pretty good stats when you weren't the regular starter. I'll freely admit that we had some uncalled for throwaways. But, his stats are nothing to knock. Take his stats and prove what you're saying. I don't think you can.

That said, I don't want you to get the idea I'm happy with the teams performance this year. I am not. But, BH's performance in the final game was pretty good...except for the turnovers in the first half.

 

[Ldlane]

JHHALL,

Brandon only took 14 shots from the field all night. I'm sorry, but, that's just not too many for a point guard. He was 3 for 7 on three pointers and 4 for 4 on free throws. He had 19 total points. Where I come from, that's pretty good stats when you weren't the regular starter. I'll freely admit that we had some uncalled for throwaways. But, his stats are nothing to knock. Take his stats and prove what you're saying. I don't think you can.

That said, I don't want you to get the idea I'm happy with the teams performance this year. I am not. But, BH's performance in the final game was pretty good...except for the turnovers in the first half.

14 shots is LOT for a PG. A PG's job is to create shots for other players. Drive, Draw the defense and Dish the ball. I did like his performance though, at least on offense.

 

[Leeroy]

Deja Vu.

Poor performance at critical times = we lose once again.







Roll Tide

 

[Bama-94-00]

14 shots is LOT for a PG. A PG's job is to create shots for other players. Drive, Draw the defense and Dish the ball. I did like his performance though, at least on offense.

Few if any of those shots came without BH making a pass or two first. But yea, create more for his teammates. He did handle the ball better and was more aggresive.

 

[JHHALL1]

Few if any of those shots came without BH making a pass or two first. But yea, create more for his teammates. He did handle the ball better and was more aggresive.

This guy didnt watch the game...........but he might have seen highlights of BH getting his shot blocked while driving to the hole

 

[Bama-94-00]

This guy didnt watch the game...........but he might have seen highlights of BH getting his shot blocked while driving to the hole

?? I watched the whole game. Where did I say anything about shot blocks? I thought he played a fine game, which I think I said already. I was replying to particular comments.

 

[gdodds]

You clearly watch a lot of ball in this conference.

Commitment to defense? Really? UMass gave up 87...
Doormat in basketball? I don't even know how to respond, we may have had some bad losses but we are not a doormat in this conference
Evaluate baseball? We lost to the national runner-up in the super regional last year (which we hosted by the way) and then managed to keep our coach even though LSU came calling

I have followed Bama sports for over 50 years. I graduated from Bama in 1954--and lived through the years prior to Coach Bryant. He was devoted to winning--as he said in an interview on ABC "Everything we do at Alabama is directed at winning." And he did. The fact is losing to the eventual championship team is still a loss. The goal is to win in the end--not moral victories--Bryant said there is no such thing as a moral victory. I do not recall any basketball championships lately. Losing some tough games is still losing. Our goal should be to win-- and show progress toward that end. We haven't and the track record over the past nine years is we wont. After the fourth football game last year it was obvious Shula did not have the ability to coach a major college team. Great guy? Yes. But it was clear we were dead in the water and needed to make a change. Mal Moore did a great job of bringing in Coach Saban. He has shown without question he knows the game, knows how to win, recruit and outcoach the opponent. Something that has been missing in BB the past nine years--in spite of "some tough losses." What we need is some tough wins. That is the objective of any sport--to win. We do not have the coaching skills needed to win in BB. Nice guy? Yes. Making progress? No, we are dead in the water. The typical Bama fan wants to win the tough ones and the easy ones. I watched the goal line stand against Penn State in the Sugar Bowl in 1979. There would have been a tough loss and most felt we did not have a chance. But Bryant and the team had prepared for that situation every year. The team had a toughness and ability to stop Penn State four times beginning at the on foot line. Tough loss for Penn State and the National Championship for Bama. Gen Patton told his troops early on in WW11 that the objective is not to die for your country, the objective is to make the other SOB die for his. Just like we did Penn State. Too many Bama fans have reached the point where losing is acceptable as long as it was a "tough loss." It is time we hand out some tough losses. It is much more enjoyable and, after all, is the objective in sports. By the way, UMASS isn't exactly a BB giant. Playing them close isn't a moral victory. It was embarassing, but it fit the mold, didn't it?

 

[BamaMan34]

I have followed Bama sports for over 50 years. I graduated from Bama in 1954--and lived through the years prior to Coach Bryant. He was devoted to winning--as he said in an interview on ABC "Everything we do at Alabama is directed at winning." And he did. The fact is losing to the eventual championship team is still a loss. The goal is to win in the end--not moral victories--Bryant said there is no such thing as a moral victory. I do not recall any basketball championships lately. Losing some tough games is still losing. Our goal should be to win-- and show progress toward that end. We haven't and the track record over the past nine years is we wont. After the fourth football game last year it was obvious Shula did not have the ability to coach a major college team. Great guy? Yes. But it was clear we were dead in the water and needed to make a change. Mal Moore did a great job of bringing in Coach Saban. He has shown without question he knows the game, knows how to win, recruit and outcoach the opponent. Something that has been missing in BB the past nine years--in spite of "some tough losses." What we need is some tough wins. That is the objective of any sport--to win. We do not have the coaching skills needed to win in BB. Nice guy? Yes. Making progress? No, we are dead in the water. The typical Bama fan wants to win the tough ones and the easy ones. I watched the goal line stand against Penn State in the Sugar Bowl in 1979. There would have been a tough loss and most felt we did not have a chance. But Bryant and the team had prepared for that situation every year. The team had a toughness and ability to stop Penn State four times beginning at the on foot line. Tough loss for Penn State and the National Championship for Bama. Gen Patton told his troops early on in WW11 that the objective is not to die for your country, the objective is to make the other SOB die for his. Just like we did Penn State. Too many Bama fans have reached the point where losing is acceptable as long as it was a "tough loss." It is time we hand out some tough losses. It is much more enjoyable and, after all, is the objective in sports. By the way, UMASS isn't exactly a BB giant. Playing them close isn't a moral victory. It was embarassing, but it fit the mold, didn't it?

Thanks for the history lesson and for the record I have two degrees from the University (since that apparently makes posts more credible). I believe if you reread my post you will find that nowhere did I claim a moral victory against UMass. I was simply refuting your statements about how well coached they were and how tenacious they were on defense and how we are a doormat in the conference.

So was Gottfried "dead in the water" when we advanced to the Elite 8 or won the conference? Please stop with the Shula and Gottfried comparisons, they are laughable at best. Since you seem to understand football analogies better, did the University fire Coach Bryant in response to some subpar seasons in '69 and '70?

If you go back and read some of my previous posts you will see that I make it clear changes need to be made but the first step should not firing the head coach.

 

[BamaSteve999]

Statement about Elite 8 appearance

This is NOT intended to be an attack on any poster, it is simply my opinion.

I see most of the posters on here who unabashedly support Gottfried cite his Elite 8 appearance apparently to mean that he is a good coach. I do not take anything away from that appearance in the Elite 8, the first in Bama history, but I think it is being used to support far more than it actually can.

For example, if memory serves, that team was 16-11 going into the tournament that year, which is hardly the hallmark of a great team. In fact, I would say that the main reason we got in that year was the response to the scheduling issue that had denied Alabama an appearance a couple years before.

Further, if we were good enough to make it to the Elite 8, and if that really means as much as some posters seem to think, shouldn't we be a little angry that a great team got coached to a 16-11 regular season mark? I don't recall any injuries that year or players we got back late in the season (but please correct me if I am wrong, the memory isn't what it used to be), so if going ot the Elite 8 automatically makes you a good coach, or at least one who deserves the benefit of the doubt, what does coaching a team good enough to get to the Elite 8 to a 16-11 regular season get you?

Again, JMHO on this. Feel free to disagree.

 

[Bama-94-00]

OK post except for a couple small points. Shelton was out with an injury for a couple weeks in 2004. Bama had 17 wins after the SEC tourny that year, as I recall.

 

[LegionField]

Re: Statement about Elite 8 appearance

This is NOT intended to be an attack on any poster, it is simply my opinion.

I see most of the posters on here who unabashedly support Gottfried cite his Elite 8 appearance apparently to mean that he is a good coach. I do not take anything away from that appearance in the Elite 8, the first in Bama history, but I think it is being used to support far more than it actually can.

For example, if memory serves, that team was 16-11 going into the tournament that year, which is hardly the hallmark of a great team. In fact, I would say that the main reason we got in that year was the response to the scheduling issue that had denied Alabama an appearance a couple years before.

Further, if we were good enough to make it to the Elite 8, and if that really means as much as some posters seem to think, shouldn't we be a little angry that a great team got coached to a 16-11 regular season mark? I don't recall any injuries that year or players we got back late in the season (but please correct me if I am wrong, the memory isn't what it used to be), so if going ot the Elite 8 automatically makes you a good coach, or at least one who deserves the benefit of the doubt, what does coaching a team good enough to get to the Elite 8 to a 16-11 regular season get you?

Again, JMHO on this. Feel free to disagree.

I agree. That is exactly what I was thinking. "Much ado about nothing" is citing his Elite 8 appearance.

 

[TideHead]

Re: Statement about Elite 8 appearance

This is NOT intended to be an attack on any poster, it is simply my opinion.

I see most of the posters on here who unabashedly support Gottfried cite his Elite 8 appearance apparently to mean that he is a good coach. I do not take anything away from that appearance in the Elite 8, the first in Bama history, but I think it is being used to support far more than it actually can.

For example, if memory serves, that team was 16-11 going into the tournament that year, which is hardly the hallmark of a great team. In fact, I would say that the main reason we got in that year was the response to the scheduling issue that had denied Alabama an appearance a couple years before.

Further, if we were good enough to make it to the Elite 8, and if that really means as much as some posters seem to think, shouldn't we be a little angry that a great team got coached to a 16-11 regular season mark? I don't recall any injuries that year or players we got back late in the season (but please correct me if I am wrong, the memory isn't what it used to be), so if going ot the Elite 8 automatically makes you a good coach, or at least one who deserves the benefit of the doubt, what does coaching a team good enough to get to the Elite 8 to a 16-11 regular season get you?

Again, JMHO on this. Feel free to disagree.

The 2004 team went 8-8 in SEC play. Of those 8 losses, four of them (at South Carolina, at Ole Miss, home vs LSU, home vs Florida) came when Ernest Shelton was either out or not 100% with a knee injury. I'm not saying we would have won all four of those games with a healthy Shelton, but I do feel pretty confident that we would have least beaten LSU and proably would have found a way to have won one of those other two.

Of the other four, two were on highly controversial calls. The MSU loss at home likely never happens if the ref gives Ernest Shelton a replacement free throw for a lane violation. Later at a golf tournament in which CMG and the ref were playing, the ref sought out CMG and apologized. Then, against Vandy, we made an incredible come back in the second half and while trailing by two with thirty seconds left, we had a great defensive possession, Kennedy Winston pulled down the rebound, and the Vandy guy came down on his back. KW should be going to the line shooting two free throws to tie the game, but instead, the refs call a jump ball, and the AP arrow is in Vandy's favor.

So, with a healthy Shelton and proper officiating, I believe that team would have gone 12-4 in the league and 21-7 overall.

There is a lot being said about the lack of CMG's coaching ability, and I do agree with some of what is being said. But, the 2004 team is one team that I don't look at for evidence. That was a special team.