Crimson Red Sports

Early into the game last night I glanced toward the reserved seating for University of Alabama dignitaries and saw Bill Battle sitting with a lady and immediately my curiosity got the best of me, was the lady President Judy Bonner. It was just the two of them with 3 other folks sitting two rows in front of them in that area so it was easy for me to sit and observe the two of them. When I say curiosity, I'm saying that I have been wondering like so many of the Tide nation about the status and future of the Alabama basketball program since the team has seemed to regress to a very mediocre team since about the middle of the season. Even more is the case of Coach Anthony Grant and his status of being a capable coach that can lead the team back into a level of competition that is highly regarded and competing in the top twenty teams in the NCAA.

Bill Battle sat very still and not too emotional with his eyes glued to the court for the most part of the game with an occasional applause for a good play by a player. I was wondering what he might be thinking as this game was very important for the Alabama team to win in order to have any chance for NCAA consideration for the upcoming tournament. I will say that his attention to the game was firm and there seemed to be very little of anything that distracted his eyes from the play of the game. Was this his usual demeanor to watch a game or was he there for a certain reason last night? Could it be that he was there to fulfill an upcoming decision that he will have to make concerning the future of the basketball program?

One thing is certain to happen though, Bill Battle will have to address the Alabama nation with a decision of whether Coach Anthony Grant is staying or leaving very soon. While strolling around Coleman last night and chatting with a few friends before the game and at halftime, there is a lot of disappointment with the fans and season ticket holders. There has been one sellout this year we all know who that was, Kentucky. Other than that game the fans have been very sparse, especially the ticket holders at the center court area on both sides of Coleman. There have been no booing toward the players at all at their sometimes lack luster play but the empty seats are what is sending the big message to the University. This is a warning signal that something about the program is very wrong and something needs to be done by Bill Battle, but the next message by the fans could be even stronger if Battle doesn't take some action, the long time season ticket holders do not renew their tickets for next season. All of these empty seats were sold for this season but I doubt that will happen next season if there is not a change in the program.

It's a shame any of this has to happen but Alabama is a proud school and winning is a tradition for them regardless of the sport. Right now I would say there are two of the programs with coaches on hot seats, basketball and baseball. Mitch Gaspard needs to have a good season this year, with all of the money that is being spent on his team, or there may be another big decision coming very soon.

All of what I have written is purely speculation on my behalf and by no means is it something that the University has indicated will happen but I do feel pretty good about my speculation and only time will tell. By the way, I could never tell if the lady sitting with Bill Battle was President Judy Bonner or not. RTR!!!       

This is Home-Page worthy, Jamos.  Excellent observations!

Have an e-cred.   #+

Thanks for the insight, J. I really feel at this point that Grant is dead man walking. It's a shame, because he seems to be such a good person, but a change is definitely needed. I don't think it will happen before the end of the season, though. Having said that, Battle needs to start the process of looking for Grant's replacement.

I think the program is ready for a change. The bottom line is wins and losses but Coleman Coliseum has no energy. The next coach needs to do a better job of promoting the program in addition to recruiting and coaching.

When they run the ad for the position one of the requirements should be "Coaches unable to recruit a big man need not apply". 

Recruiting is a problem, but I feel bigger problems are player development and offensive strategy.  I think Bama has the talent to show more success than we are seeing.

I agree, player development has been almost zero under Grant & the offense involves dribbling excessively, running the clock down, then taking a wild prayer of a shot. TV announcers have been making this point for most of the season. I have been calling it the "dribbling offense" for a while.

Thanks J for this thoughtful write-up.  I would change the title of this thread from "Is it time..."  to  "It is time...."  As I said in another thread, there comes a time when failure is obvious and change is needed. I can't believe CBB doesn't see it.

Glad you mentioned that. Another disaster which should have been addressed last year. I hate seeing our once proud, SEC-winning baseball team unravel.


 :'(

Done.

For future reference, any moderator can put stuff on the home page by clicking on the Blog link that is located all the way to the right of the post title.

Good to see you posting. Did you see the game & if so what are your thoughts & observations?



 :dog:

I watched the game.  In my opinion it is time for a new coach.  I like CAG, and wish him well at his next stop.  I just hope the next guy doesn't waste 6 years, I'm ready for the return of March Madness.

I think it is pretty much a crap shoot.  It is about time we rolled a 7.

Did you see my list of possible candidates? What did you think? The list is just a sample of the coaches out there which might be considered.

That was a great writeup, J, and a little sad, too. I remember going to the Coliseum as a kid and watching that place rock when Wimp was coaching and we had guys like Bobby Lee Hurt, Terry Coner, Michael Ansley, Derrick McKey, Ennis Watley, Buck Johnson, and Craig Dudley. It hurts now to see the CC so empty.

If it eases your pain a bit, at least the gymnastics team can fill CC up...  ;)

Stop it! You're killing me with this flood of great memories & the sad reality of now.


 :stop: :stop: :stop:

Sorry! I just wanted to reflect on some great memories from my youth.

Yeah, I saw the list.  I have no idea if any of those guys will pan out.  Remember CAG was at his first HC gig (VCU) for 3 years and they went to the tournament twice.  Everyone was very excited when he came.  You just never know how it is going to turn out.

Maybe we can put some of that 33M surplus to good use though and get a sure thing this time.

$7 million buyout makes the decision less than 100%.  Everyone had high hopes for CAG, he went to the NCAA Tournament twice, and beat Duke.  But then his successor had even more success with those players.

Very true on the buyout.  You don't have a 33M surplus by racking up contract buyouts from failed coaching experiments.  Just look at Auburn, they are in the hole for the 2nd year in a row.  And CBB brings a lot of business experience to the table.  I'm sure he is already running the numbers to determine if the loss of revenues from basketball will be more than the buyout.  In the end, this whole process may just come down to how those financial numbers look, regardless of what is happening on the court.  We may be stuck for a little while until the buyout is more tolerable, whether we like it or not.

Found this little tidbit buried in the article link in the "Why Auburn athletics is spending more but making less than Alabama" topic:


 ??? :-\ :dunno:

I would think the buyout would be strung out over x amount of years so the 7 million, if that is the case, it can't be that big of a shock to the school. I do find the basketball surplus to be very interesting though. ???

CAG makes $1.9M/yr and has 4 years left on the contract. However, the buyout is $1M/yr if he is let go. The $1M is paid in monthly payments for 4 years. The buyout is further reduced if he accepts another head or assistant coaching position.

Basketball at Alabama has always paid it own way. A new coach is needed to pump some energy back into the program and fill those empty seats. The big bucks from the SEC Network kick in at the end of this year as well.

I just don't think the buyout has any weight at all on a decision to change coaches.

The buyout keeps getting smaller. It is reduced to $500K for the last four years.


http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/8430871/alabama-crimson-tide-approve-raises-anthony-grant-mal-moore

So, if I've got this straight, CAG's contract has 4-years left.  And if he is fired  his buyout is $500k/year, paid out monthly.  That is certainly a manageable amount.

But is the $550k reduced by whatever he earns in another job?  Does the 'other job' have to be in coaching, or would a TV gig also count?

I knew they weren't losing money but I didn't know/think they were that much over their budget. :o

:clintyes:

Well I guess they've waited long enough then...

Is this Bill Battle's decision to make? A lot of Tide fans think he is just keeping the AD chair warm until a new President is named and a new AD will be next. When he was hired to take over for Mal Moore I never expected him to stay long. I have read in other places that CAG job will be decided by the BOT.

If CAG is let go will having a lame duck president and AD that is 74 affect the hiring of the best coach available? It is a risky move for a coach to accept a high profile job that may not have the support of the new president and AD in 1 or 2 years.

You have brought up some excellent points. However, I think a new hire will be made no matter what. It's just too obvious that Grant has to be replaced. If the new coach wins, it won't matter if we change AD's & President.


 :dog: