It was a beautiful day with sunshine and mild temps, perfect for spring football. The players were very energized and eager to hit somebody and it showed on both sides of the ball.

As is the case in most spring scrimmages the defense looked to be ahead of the offense but I'm not taking anything away from the offense but giving the defense some praise. They looked like they just picked up where they left off in the National Championship Game. The offense was doing what most offenses do in the spring, a lot of experimenting with players.

I was very impressed with the defense as they were swarming the QBs and stuffing most of the running plays for short gains. This is not taking anything away from the QBS and running backs but the defense is just that good. One thing is for certain, when the offense can get where they can handle the defense, there are some teams in big trouble when they come to play Bama. By the way, Tony Brown did practice with the 2nd unit and was very active when he was in there.

The QBs didn't do a lot, there were a few nice long passes for big gains and a couple for touchdowns but the emphasis today seemed to be on the short passes and there is work needed there. The passing game looked really ragged as there were many dropped passes and lots of just badly thrown passes. The battle of the QBs didn't happen today and I think it was by design of the coaches with their play selection. I will say though, Jalen Hurts took a lot of snaps today, maybe more than any of the other QBs. His style of play is nothing like the other QBS as he's more of the run option type quarterback and he has some good wheels. I think he will be given a good look at some future playing time. The other QBs had a normal practice day as none of them stood out to me and that is normal for this time of the year. I did notice that work is needed at the center position, the deep snaps to the QB looked like hand grenades being thrown, just lobbed. This sometimes caused the QB to get very rushed by the defensive line as they were almost beating the ball to the QB. Also, the team is strictly playing a no huddle offense as they did at the end of last season.

The running game had it's moments during the game but mostly against the 2 defense. All of you that are wondering about Scarbrough, well don't because he will get the job done. He had the play of the day on offense with a run of 97 yards for a touchdown. He faked a couple of defensive players out at the line of scrimmage then ran over one in the secondary and did the Derrick Henry trick then, just flat out ran everybody to the end zone. As I stated in another thread, he has lots of abilities but he's got to learn how and when to use them and that takes a little time. Harris played with a lot of enery as well but he's like Scarbrough, he's going through a learning curve as well but both should be okay come the start of the season. All they need is lots of practice.

The defense just showed out and was having a lot of fun on the field. Ruben Foster had the play of the day on the defensive side with a pick 6 of about 50 yards. The secondary was doing a good job on the receivers, it was tough trying to catch the ball in the secondary.

Now the ugly. The kicking game wasn't as good as I was hoping. Scott made some decent punts and Patrick made some field goals but he missed some too. In all fairness though there was a stiff wind circling on the field. The bad ugly was the kickoffs. I don't think there was one kickoff that made it to the end zone and I'm hoping it was just a bad day for the kicker. I'm not even sure who was doing the kickoffs but it's something that needs to get better before the season begins.

I did see one injury, Richie Petitbon was carted of the field with a leg or ankle injury to his right leg.

A Day should be a fun day for everybody and I just hope the weather is good and a big crowd shows up. Get the wife and kids and head for Tuscaloosa on the 16th, the tickets are very affordable, it's all free.

I have been meaning to post this for 2 weeks but kept putting it off. The transfers of Coleman & Kessens are a good reason to go ahead and post my observations.

I was going to suggest the transfer of Kessens since he was just filling space. Coleman has shown potential but he goes from red hot to ice cold. His ball handling can be solid & other times he is reckless, hurries too much, & turns the ball over too much at times. I was still unsure of what to say about his future at UA but he has now decided himself. Obasohan & Edwards have graduated, so we need at least 1 more excellent ball handling point guard. Returning guards include Dazon Ingram, Brandon Austin, Avery Johnson, Jr. & Lawson Schaffer, a walk-on. I find Schaffer intriguing & am interested in seeing if he does anything next year.

Besides Kessens, it's time to make a decision on Jimmy Taylor. He will be a senior and again he has potential but can't be consistent. His 36% FT shooting renders him almost useless late in a game since he will be a target for fouls if we are leading or if he is fouled while trying to score but we need big men so we may be stuck with him.

Shannon Hale & Riley Norris must step up next year, especially Norris. Norris must be more aggressive shooting the ball, from the perimeter & driving the ball. Hale must also be more assertive shooting the ball, he is a good ball handler, has good size, and a soft touch shooting the ball.

The big unknowns are Donta Hall and our new recruits. Plus, who else might we be able to recruit & can they contribute immediately? If Donta Hall can cut down on fouling & play 26-32 minutes a game it would be a major addition for the Tide. His rebounding & shot blocking are potentially huge for us.   

The major areas of concern will sound familiar: rebounding, free throw shooting, ball handling (turnovers), and fouling too much. The perimeter shooting was improved but inconsistent. I'm anxious to see Year 2 of the CAJ Era. We achieved a 4-2 or 4-3 record in the regular season against Top 25 teams, compared to the 22 consecutive losses by Grant, so there are bright spots & proof of some improvement. Now, we have to get players to fit CAJ's offense & develop them. We still need at least 2 more years of rebuilding, maybe three.

I would like to hear from other posters with observations, comments or ideas.


 

I did not like our odds of beating Georgia on their home floor on Senior Night. What I did not expect was us to play so poorly. Georgia out rebounded us 48-26. We have Taylor, Hall, Kessens and Hale who are all over 6-8 and none of them can rebound. Riley Norris is under sized to play forward in the SEC and he is our leading rebounder. Not just for this game but the year. Taylor and Hall are constantly out of position and not blocking out. Kessens and Hale are lazy and not aggressive. We need big guys that play like Norris.

Free throw shooting gets us again. 10-18 on the game for 55%. Church league junior high players shoot free throws better than we do. It has been a problem all year.

The first half we looked slow. We were not moving and our spacing was bad. We live by the 3 point shot. Even on a night when you hit 11 three's you still need points in the paint and points off turnovers.

Frustrating why to end the regular season and our draw in the SEC Tournament does not look favorable.

It's always fun when the team is winning but there comes a time when it's not so much fun, they lose. In yesterdays first game, you could use the old adage of "the hand writing on the wall" to describe of what was to happen in the second game of the day. Bama lost that game 2-1 but the score wasn't indicative of how bad the team played.

Bama won their first game yesterday in the fashion of another blowout which had been the pattern for them in all of their games played so far this weekend. They beat La Monroe 12-4 in the first game but the score doesn't indicate the type of game Bama played. They had 5 errors for the game with 4 coming in one inning. They also had a double play in two innings that bailed out pitcher Maddi Moore from giving up a big inning in each. On each of the double plays that they had, a runner was tagged out at home plate for the final out of the inning.

North Dakota State is not an SEC caliber team but they are a well coached team with lots of spirit even when they are losing big. Their spirit seemed to be the difference yesterday in their win over Bama, as Bama was flat and NDS was as loose as a goose and having some fun. Maybe it was the warm weather that had them so at ease because it's still very cold in North Dakota.

Anyway, Bama loses a game that they should have lost and now we will see how the team responds to today with another game against Louisiana Monroe, a team that they should beat easily. Bama has a lot of potential with their team this year but they are also very young with a lot to be learned to make it back to Oklahoma City again this year. Yesterday was a quick reminder to the team that you play at 100% percent regardless of your opponent because the underdog has one big advantage, they have nothing to lose and everything to win.

The recruiting game/war has really reached a peak with the flip-flopping of players that seems to have most fans irritated and wondering where and how does it all end. I would include coaches into that equation but I'm not sure as to how coaches really feel about all of this.

For the fans, it seems to be a game of promises/commitments by the players that really have no merit and would remind you of a soap opera as to who's bed are they sleeping in tonight. For the coaches, I'm not sure as to how they really feel about the flip-flopping game as they will gain some and will lose some during the process. Many of us fans were raised in an era when you were judged by being a man of your word but not so much so in this era of young adults playing sports it seems. I think we can all blame the sports media and sports agents for most of what is happening now. Many of these young men are put on a pedestal and are being taught how to market themselves to the highest bidder and I'm not saying it is cash money but could be in some cases. News networks such as ESPN has skyrocketed in the past few years with all the player ratings, glamorous all star games, and most of all the National Signing Day festivities. It has become a circus for the media outlets and the players are loving it and should we really blame them for the recruiting tactics that so many of us have learned to despise. You can't leave out the so called agents that work with the high school coaches in marketing of some of their players. I think this is more prevalent in basketball than football but it is still a major tool in deciding where some of the better players end up going to school and that includes high school as well.

Is all of the marketing ploys fair to the schools and the coaches? I'm not happy with it but I'm not so sure the coaches really dislike it that much. The flip-flopping of players has really become popular in the past few years and the coaches are losing some and they are gaining some so to me it's hard to say how they might really feel about it all. Alabama, who has been so successful in the recruiting wars, has lost and gained quite a few players in the flip-flopping game over the years but yet has continued to win national championships so I don't look for Bama to complain too much about what has become the trend of the players in changing their minds.

All of this is just another chapter in the life of college football which I think is the most popular sport being played today. Alabama has been atop the college football world since the hiring of Nick Saban and there are a lot of folks that want something to change to get Alabama off the top. Bama is in the top five of recruiting every year and number one in the past few years so it is understandable where most coaches would like to level up the playing field, recruiting.

So do I think there will be some changes in the recruiting wars by the NCAA to stop the flip-flopping of players, no and if anything it may become even more chaotic. Recruiting is where it all starts in building championship teams and to get teams on a level field with Alabama, recruiting is the key to that so sit back and see where all of this goes. 



 

Alabama hit the road for the first time this year and beat a good Troy team 2-1. Bama improves to 7-1 while Troy (7-2) picks up only their 2nd loss of the season. Six pitchers took the mound only allowing 1 earned run. Thomas Burrows set the all time saves mark for a career and he is not done yet. He is among the best relievers in the nation if not the best. MLB scouts are very aware of this big lefty.

Off to Cary, NC for tournament play against Notre Dame, Niagara, NC State and Brown.


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As you watch the big man lumber around the court in his usual slow paced walk during the shoot arounds before their games, you have to wonder just how good of a player can he really become. He looks a little awkward as he walks around with his head looking downward and cutting his eyes from side to side to those around him with an occasional smile to some, but you have to wonder just what he is thinking and then with a burst of speed and agility he slam dunks another basketball.

This is Donta Hall, a 6'9" player from a small town in southern Alabama called Luverne. Some folks have heard of Luverne but most folks can't tell you where it is and it is the same with Donta, most fans know his name now but not many knew of him before coming to Alabama. I attended the first practice in the fall of last year and he immediately caught my eye with his enthusiasm on the court. He didn't act like a freshman as far as being bashful and waiting for coaches to tell him what to do. I told my wife then that this young man has the potential to be something special for the team but let's see how he handles it in the days ahead.

The season started with him not getting much playing time and I expected that because playing for a small school in high school and playing in division one basketball is quite contrasting and he would have to work himself into a playing slot. If there was one thing that I thought he needed was a lot of work on his defensive skills. He likes to grab with his hands rather than using his feet to position himself to defend and he then gets some quick silly fouls that limits his playing time. He has improved some with that but he still has a ways to go. The one thing that he does really well is shot blocking. He has really come on strong with his shot blocking abilities which has made teams alter their game plans more than once. He and Taylor have really been a force the second half of the season. Another improvement in his game has been his offensive game. He has shown better hands than either Taylor and Kessens and has given team the inside weapon that has been needed for so long. Taylor has improved some and Kessens still plays really passive and neither has stepped up to become the big man that Bama needs. He doesn't dribble the ball well just yet but that should improve with good coaching and time.

Yesterday, I think Donta made a big statement as to who the big man will be for Alabama basketball in the future. He played with so much energy and had the crowd on their feet with more noise in Coleman than I have heard in years. This is what this basketball team has needed, players that can get the fans out of their seats. Don't get me wrong, I'm not taking anything away from Obasohan, he has been a God send for this team with his play but he is a senior and and will be gone next year. Bama will need a fan motivator for next year's team and there are new high profile players coming on the team with great potential but I think Donta can be the player that everybody wants to see with his powerful brand of basketball. He needs to have a good off season to improve his footwork and defensive skills but he has promise of being a true team leader, something that all good teams must have.

The 7th inning had a lot of fireworks in it. The home plate started dancing around on the umpire with some of his calls and then the home plate umpire called a Bama runner out at third on a blooper that was dropped by the left fielder and then her throw to third for a force out. Bama had runners at first and second on the blooper with one out. The throw to third by the left fielder was late but the home plate umpire, who had to cover third, called the runner out. That is when it got real nasty. I haven't figured out yet why CPM wasn't tossed from the game. The best part was when Lafaele got her winning hit though, it was a shot to right center to the wall with a runner at third and two out. Lafaele had not reached first base yet and the home plate umpire was already to third base leaving the stadium in a big hurry and he didn't check up until he reached the gate leaving the stadium down the left field line. There was a big crowd at the game so the crowd noise was very big as well. I am sure glad we didn't have to listen to their team sing Rocky Top.

Bama opened the Easton Bama Bash tonight hosting Nationally Ranked Arizona.

Bama came from behind in the bottom of 7th scoring 2 runs to win the game 4-3

Osorio went all the way for the win allowing only 3 hits.

Lafaele led the Tide with 3 hits

But it was their aggressive base running that secured the win.


Game 2 tomorrow at 1:30.

Roll Tide

It was a big night at The New Joe last night with the stadium almost full and some good weather and Bama winning 3-1. It was only fitting that Bama's first hit and run in their new stadium would be a home run and by a freshman, Chandler Taylor who was 2 for 2 for the night.  

Both teams struggled at the plate the entire game but Bama prevailed in the end with some timely hits to get the win. I was impressed with their abilities to move their base runners via the bunt to get them into scoring position, something that Bama hasn't had much success with in the past years.

Keller, Foster, and Burroughs got the job of closing out the game for Bama on the mound with some very good relief pitching as Keller was the winning pitcher.

Bama played well in their first game and Maryland is a quality team so getting the win in their opening game was very big for Gaspard and his team. If they had lost last night, the critics would have been howling. They play again at 3:30 this afternoon following the Tide's basketball game with Miss State. I'm guessing there may be more fans in the stadium this afternoon due the basketball fans being next door.