Alabama Basketball Observations 2016

[Marshal Dillon]

A little over half the schedule has been played & Bama is 10-7, 1-4 in the SEC. We have 13 regular season games left. Our next foe is a good LSU in T-town, but it is very winnable. Currently, the Tide RPI is 44 with a SOS of 20, excellent numbers for an NCAA bid, but we must win at least 8-9 more games IMO.

The biggest problem right now is a lack consistency in what a player will do from game-to-game. One game Edwards, or Obasohan, or Taylor or someone else looks really good in a game, then the next game they disappear. The is shown in the fact that the Tide has only 2 players average scoring in double figures. Other major problems are free throw shooting, too many personal fouls, & offensive rebounding. I think Coach Johnson has done an excellent job with average talent & he is still coaching them up.

I see what I call the "Grant Effect" in the team play. CAJ is trying to develop & teach the players the basics of the game which they have never been exposed to under Grant. The dribble offense of Grant has mostly disappeared but once in-a-while it rears its ugly head. Remember, several of these players were under Grant for 2 or 3 years so old habits are hard to change. If you listen closely to CAJ when he talks about what they practice or the announcers/analyst when they discuss the team's performance they make remarks that criticize Grant in very subtle ways without meaning to slam Grant or using his name. It will take at least 3 years to flush the Grant Effect away.

For the rest of the season, we are still competitive & can make the Tourney if certain things happen. One, we must have more consistency from Obasohan, Hale, Taylor, & Norris. We have to start hitting more free throws, especially 1 & 1 late in the game. Even if Taylor stays hot/cold, if Norris, Obasohan, & Hale provide the scoring, we can win a lot more games. Two, we need home crowd support, like 12,00-14,000 for the rest of the season. Three, keep working on the rebounding because there has been some improvement the last 2 0r 3 games. Four, keep driving to the basket to score since that helps to open up the outside shooting & causes the other team to foul us. Five, encourage Norris to take more 3 point shots, I think he can make enough to make a difference.

If someone has more thoughts, please chime in. Plus, I'm tired of typing.


 

[ricky023]

I agree we can be competitive with other teams but that winning at the end and hitting the big FT's is our problem. I do think if we make the NIT this year we may get more wins and go deeper than before. What I see right now is one game and one 1/2 at a time. RTR!

[SUPERCOACH]

Consistency is the key.  Imagine if all of those guys got hot on the same night.  Then stayed that way for the rest of the season.  If we play like we did against SC we can beat anybody.  If we play like we did against Auburn we will be lucky to finish .500.

[Marshal Dillon]

Consistency is the key.  Imagine if all of those guys got hot on the same night.  Then stayed that way for the rest of the season.  If we play like we did against SC we can beat anybody.  If we play like we did against Auburn we will be lucky to finish .500.

We would be tough to beat if we just had 3 players playing consistently each game. It's really strange to see so much inconsistency in every game.


 

[McBaman]

Thanks MD and all of you for your comments in this thread.  I really didn't know what to think.  You guys see more game action than I do.

The one thing I just don't get is the free throw misses.  It would seem that would be one of the easiest things to improve.

[Marshal Dillon]

Thanks MD and all of you for your comments in this thread.  I really didn't know what to think.  You guys see more game action than I do.

The one thing I just don't get is the free throw misses.  It would seem that would be one of the easiest things to improve.

FT shooting takes extensive shooting practice, mainly by the player on his own. Also, there are certain mechanics involved in shooting a FT. CAJ was a career 70% FT shooter in the NBA, shooting a high of 79% one year, so he knows something about it. My guess is that CAJ had so many things to work on with this team, FT shooting took a back seat. I think bringing in someone to teach the mechanics of FT shooting would be a help, someone like Ronald Steele (if allowed by the NCAA).

[Catch Prothro]

The SEC is tough this year.  The conference has steadily been improving. 

If Bama wins 8 more regular season games, that makes it 50/50 in SEC play.  I'm not sure that is good enough for an NCAA bid, at least coming from the SEC.  I think Bama will have to make it in the top 5 or 6 SEC teams to receive consideration.  While those non-conference wins help, Bama will need to carry forward into conference play.  9 wins and/or going deep in the SEC Tourney probably is what will be required.

Below are the current SEC rankings.  Bama has a lot of ground to make up.  I'm with ricky, I think Bama could get an NIT bid and if it gets hot might go deep.

 Texas A&M   6-0   16-2   
 South Carolina   4-1   17-1   
 Kentucky   4-2   14-4   
 Florida   4-2   12-6   
 LSU   4-2   11-7   10-1   
 Georgia   3-3   10-6
 Vanderbilt   3-3   11-7   
 Auburn   3-3   9-8   
 Arkansas   3-3   9-9   
 Ole Miss   2-4   12-6   
 Tennessee   2-4   
 Alabama   1-4   10-7   
 Missouri   1-4   8-10   
 Mississippi State   0-5   7-10

[Jamos]

I have to remind myself at times that this is a whole new basketball team this year and my expectations may be way too high for the talent that they have. I agree totally that the free throw shooting can be fixed quickly but that has to come from the players. The team has limited time for their practices and only so much can happen in that time frame but the players have a lot more free time than they have practice time so if they want to get better, use their free time to work on their shooting.

There are two other big problems as well, at point guard and the big men. Coleman has a lot of effort but he is usually playing way out of control which results in a lot of turnovers. He's had a couple of nights shooting well but not many. The big men seem totally lost playing against the better teams. Again, these are Grant's players and I think they would not have ever been recruited by CAJ. Overall though, they have won some games that i didn't think they had a chance to win and the season isn't over yet. Hopefully CAJ can get enough out of the practices and the players can do some things on their own time to improve the team as we head into the home stretch of the season. I do like the players efforts but they just need more work on their skills.

[XBAMA]

the answer to this is two words ?   

[Marshal Dillon]

I have to remind myself at times that this is a whole new basketball team this year and my expectations may be way too high for the talent that they have. I agree totally that the free throw shooting can be fixed quickly but that has to come from the players. The team has limited time for their practices and only so much can happen in that time frame but the players have a lot more free time than they have practice time so if they want to get better, use their free time to work on their shooting.

There are two other big problems as well, at point guard and the big men. Coleman has a lot of effort but he is usually playing way out of control which results in a lot of turnovers. He's had a couple of nights shooting well but not many. The big men seem totally lost playing against the better teams. Again, these are Grant's players and I think they would not have ever been recruited by CAJ. Overall though, they have won some games that i didn't think they had a chance to win and the season isn't over yet. Hopefully CAJ can get enough out of the practices and the players can do some things on their own time to improve the team as we head into the home stretch of the season. I do like the players efforts but they just need more work on their skills.

The lack of a true point guard is the #1 position in BB. Someone to manage the floor, dish out assists, shoot, take charge, and basically being the QB. Jimmy Taylor learned absolutely nothing after 2 years under Grant and I wonder about his work ethic. Shooting 36% for FT? Are you kidding me?! He has to spend his summer practicing FT shooting, working on another shot he can use, and maybe his footwork. Taylor is a liability late in a game with his FT shooting. CAJ is working with one hand behind his back right now.

[ricky023]

I have to remind myself at times that this is a whole new basketball team this year and my expectations may be way too high for the talent that they have. I agree totally that the free throw shooting can be fixed quickly but that has to come from the players. The team has limited time for their practices and only so much can happen in that time frame but the players have a lot more free time than they have practice time so if they want to get better, use their free time to work on their shooting.

There are two other big problems as well, at point guard and the big men. Coleman has a lot of effort but he is usually playing way out of control which results in a lot of turnovers. He's had a couple of nights shooting well but not many. The big men seem totally lost playing against the better teams. Again, these are Grant's players and I think they would not have ever been recruited by CAJ. Overall though, they have won some games that i didn't think they had a chance to win and the season isn't over yet. Hopefully CAJ can get enough out of the practices and the players can do some things on their own time to improve the team as we head into the home stretch of the season. I do like the players efforts but they just need more work on their skills.

The lack of a true point guard is the #1 position in BB. Someone to manage the floor, dish out assists, shoot, take charge, and basically being the QB. Jimmy Taylor learned absolutely nothing after 2 years under Grant and I wonder about his work ethic. Shooting 36% for FT? Are you kidding me?! He has to spend his summer practicing FT shooting, working on another shot he can use, and maybe his footwork. Taylor is a liability late in a game with his FT shooting. CAJ is working with one hand behind his back right now.

I have to agree completely here. FT shooting should be a 90% type guy that is a Point Guard to me. The answer:::Work Ethic as MD said. RTR!

[BillBrosky]

[XBAMA]

close , but that's not the two I was thinking of   

[Marshal Dillon]

close , but that's not the two I was thinking of   

 

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