Well this season is shot to crap so I thought I we would look ahead and see what might be out there. First, I think we need to look at the returning players:
Shannon Hale 6'8" Forward Soph-This is our most important returning player. He has shown flashes of great ability, inside and outside. He can hit 3 pointers, rebound, and seems to move well without the ball. What we need for him to show more consistency, & score 14-18 points a game. Plus, Bobby Knight likes this guy and thinks he is a future star. Pretty good recommendation.
Levi Randolph 6'5" Guard SR-Levi is a mystery and has shown potential but has never reached it. He has been our most energetic player every game, good hustle, and defense, but scoring has been off & on. He always appear to hesitate when shooting and seems almost timid to take an outside shot. I hope to see senior leadership out of him next year and we need him to score 10-13 points a game.
Rodney Cooper 6'6" Guard SR-The biggest mystery on the team. He can score 24 one game, then go 3 straight games and score a total of 10 points. He's a good rebounder but he has to do better on the outside shot. Seems to totally disappear in games.
Jimmie Taylor 6'10" Forward/Center Soph-Has shown flashes of potential. I expect major improvement next year in his game. We really need his big man presence inside. He has to work on rebounding, scoring, defense, blocking out, moving without the ball, basically everything but I really like him.
Retin Obasohan 6'1" Guard Jr-Another player who has shown potential but fell off at the end of the season. Has no real outside shot but is a slashing driver to the basket. Again, he has shown potential but needs to refine his game.
Algie Key 6'4" Guard SR-JUCO guy who has struggled mightily. He was supposed to be a point guard who could relieve Releford but he has been a huge disappointment. I've always heard that it takes a year for JUCO's to adapt to major college basketball, so maybe he can bounce back next season.
Carl Engstrom 7'1" Center SR-Talk about a huge disappointment. He seems agile, energetic, and has great size, but he can't seem to put it all together. Will he even be around next year?
Nick Jacobs 6'8" Forward SR-Another mystery player. He can be so good inside and around the basket, but in other games he disappears. If he can be consistent he can be a force under the basket. The question now is, will he return to the team?
Transfer In:Ricky Tarrant 6'2" Guard JR-I am very excited about this player. He's from the Bham area and is a point guard. I think he will be the starting PG for the team next year. He was a solid player in high school and he was a huge Tide fan but was never recruited by the team. I think he will be a huge addition to the team.
New Commits:Justin Coleman 5'10" PG-I like this player. He can be part of the answer to our outside shooting woes. He is quick, fast, and highly energetic. Can't wait to see him.
Riley Norris 6'6" Small Forward-Another player who could make an impact with outside shooting. He has a good reputation, but this is the SEC.
Devin Mitchell 6'3" Shooting Guard-Another player who could make an impact from the outside with his shooting. I really think at least 2 of these commits will make a difference.
We still have room for more commits and we need some big men in the worst way. With Jacobs status up in the air, we need at least 2 more big men. I
f someone has access to the Rivals pay site, they have info on other players that we are pursuing.What are you guys thoughts, information, & observations?