🏀 Expectations for 2012-13?

[bamaraider]

After coming off of its first NCAA Tournament appearance in 6 years, Tide will look to do that again.. and more.

Just wanted to get your expectations for the basketball season this year, I honestly believe this can be a Sweet 16 team..I also believe this team could finish near the bottom of the SEC.. Offensively...it was atrocious last year, finishing probably the worst 3 point shooting team in NCAA history.. Defensively, it was one of the best in the country..

Last night, Tide won 76-68, Devonta Pollard had 15 points, Lacey had 13 points and 7 rebounds, The "Moose" Gueye had 14, Nick Jacobs led the way with 16 points.

Idk about you guys, but I'm ready for some Bama basketball :icon_basketball:.. This Friday at 8 o'clock against a high powered South Dakota State team. If you can, go to the game and scream your face off

 

[TerryP]

It's hard to speculate on where a team ends up in conference play simply because every year you're going to have several teams with the same amount of losses. Last year was a good example.

In the SEC, I see this group of guys getting first round bye in the SEC tourney but the question I have is can they make it until Friday without seeing action. I doubt it. At the highest, a fourth seed and that would be with A LOT of luck falling our way. A LOT. If I were to make a guess, I'd put UK, Mizzou, Vandy, and Florida as the top four seeds. Five through seven between Bama, UT, and Ole Miss. Surprise team that might crack that top seven? South Carolina? I do believe they made a good hire when they brought in Martin.

The Dance? 11-14 seed...

I've got other thoughts but I want to wait and see them in action a bit before I'll stand firm on them. For instance, even with three bigs I don't see but one real scoring threat. I wonder if Grant takes the position where we'll have at least 10 fouls to give with two of the guys.

I fear injury.

With the lack of depth, I wonder what style of play we'll see this year. Unless this group is in great shape, I could see us losing to a team like Arkansas easily.

On the SEC as a whole? I'm not ready to anoint UK as the SEC champ. I can't keep my eyes off of a team in Gainesville giving them a run for the conference.

 

[TerryP]

BTW, ESPNU is carrying the game Friday night if I recall correctly.

 

[bamaraider]

In the SEC, I see this group of guys getting first round bye in the SEC tourney but the question I have is can they make it until Friday without seeing action. I doubt it. At the highest, a fourth seed and that would be with A LOT of luck falling our way. A LOT. If I were to make a guess, I'd put UK, Mizzou, Vandy, and Florida as the top four seeds. Five through seven between Bama, UT, and Ole Miss. Surprise team that might crack that top seven? South Carolina? I do believe they made a good hire when they brought in Martin.

The Dance? 11-14 seed...

I've got other thoughts but I want to wait and see them in action a bit before I'll stand firm on them. For instance, even with three bigs I don't see but one real scoring threat. I wonder if Grant takes the position where we'll have at least 10 fouls to give with two of the guys.

I fear injury.

With the lack of depth, I wonder what style of play we'll see this year. Unless this group is in great shape, I could see us losing to a team like Arkansas easily.

On the SEC as a whole? I'm not ready to anoint UK as the SEC champ. I can't keep my eyes off of a team in Gainesville giving them a run for the conference.

Same here when I fear injury, only playing with 10 Scholarship seniors I believe? Engstrom has an concussion too as of right now

I'm curious to why you said Vandy though after graduating the majority of their team, I haven't seen, but I don't think they had a big recruiting class either with big names. I agree though with everything, else, we'll just have to see this Friday...And yes, ESPNU is carrying it, 8 p.m

 

[TerryP]

Same here when I fear injury, only playing with 10 Scholarship seniors I believe? Engstrom has an concussion too as of right now

I'm curious to why you said Vandy though after graduating the majority of their team, I haven't seen, but I don't think they had a big recruiting class either with big names. I agree though with everything, else, we'll just have to see this Friday...And yes, ESPNU is carrying it, 8 p.m

I was thinking UT and typed Vandy. I don't know why because I was thinking about UT returning guys and like you said Vandy losing guys. Call it typing stream of thought and no proofreading followed.

But, speaking of Vandy, they have a frosh named A.J. something...can't pull his last name other than it starts with Ath...good size shooting guard. The hardest player to replace for the 'Dores has to be Jenkins and I think Stallings is going to look to A.J. early to fill that shooting/scoring role.

Answorth maybe? Hell, I'd have to go look at their roster I'm watching TV at the same time I'm posting this...

 

[bamaraider]

Definitely UT, I thought when they lost Bruce Pearls that would be it for them, their new HC has done nicely. Proven SG/PG in Trae Golden. Also bring in some JUCO players with very good size (6-7, 6-8). If I'm not mistaken, because of the expansion, we have them at home for the 2nd consecutive year, so that's good news for us.

One thing about tomorrow night though, I was recently reading the Sports Illustrated and it was talking about College Basketball. Well flipping through the pages I saw one of the players Alabama will have to face, Nate Wolters. SR. PG, 6-4, he had a 34 point outbreak, 7-assist, 0 turnovers in a win over Washington. He averages 21.2 PPG 5.9 assist and 5.1 rebounds...That's one scary match-up for us.. Wonder what Coach Grant will have in check for him defensively, he held Doug Mcdermott in the Tourn.

 

[psychojoe]

As great a coach as calipari is, he returns zero guys who have ever started a college game.While he has had another typical UK recruiting class, this year I expect Florida to be top dog... er gator. They had only one senior and while Beall as expected headed to the NBA they return a lot of good players who have been through the wars. I will take Kentucky second, Mizzou third. The Tigers are loaded with talent, but it may take a while for it all to fit together.

After that I see a hodgepodge of nearly equal teams. In no particular order, these are: Bama, LSU, Tennessee, Ole Miss, Arkansas. in the lower tier I see Vandy (lost a lot of very good players), South Carolina, Georgia. Then tehre are three teams i expect to be weak: Auburn, Mississippi State, Texas A& M.

Our prospect: Well,as has been mentioned, we only have ten scholarship players. Still, seven of these guys started multiple games a year ago: Releford, Steele, Randolph, Lacey, Cooper, Jacobs, Gouye. From what I have seen and heard Gouye is in great shape. The knee haws rehabbed and he dropped some weight. We also bring back Engstrom, who played some valuable minutes from a year ago. Obasahon has been getting good reports, and figures to back up releford. Anc of course, there is the phenom, Pollard.

All 10 scholarship players will get significant PT, IMO. With the mix of size and athleticism that we have, we should be in good shape to physically match up. We can match "bigs" with anyone, with Gouye/Engstrom and Jacobs as our wide bodies. Against smaller, more athletic teams we can play Pollard at 4 and move Jacobs to 5. If we want to press we could even play Pollard at the back end of it.

Our biggest issue, as I see it, is where our offense will come from. We went into last year thinking that Green and Mitchell would be our go to guys, and injuries + suspensions caused us some offensive turmoil as the season progressed. This year I think we run the offense through Jacobs and Lacey. A very wise man (with respect to basketball) Wimp Sanderson, said that a player improves the most from his freshman to his sophomore year. I expect that Cooper, Randolph, Lacey and Jacobs will show us that. Throw in the best returning PG in the SEC and I am expecting a really good season. Wth only two players with more than one year's college experience (Releford and Steele) we aren't quite ready to join the best programs. Next year should be that year.

I say 4th or 5th in the SEC and seeded in the 5-7 area for the dance.

 

[TerryP]

I say 4th or 5th in the SEC and seeded in the 5-7 area for the dance.

I read that and think you see the SEC as being strong as a whole.

Awfully high in the dance...IF we hit that fourth seed and make it 'til Friday in the SEC tourney, with a win I might could see a top ten seed.

Problem is, I don't have the confidence you do in being that high in the SEC...mainly because of what you've mentioned: a gluttony of mid-tier teams.

I'm not saying it isn't possible which I why I put our cap at a fourth seed hitting tourney time.

 

[bamaraider]

I have Florida running it too this year. Best 3-point shooting team in the nation last year that averaged 10 per-game, good press defense, fast break offense...

I could see us beating Kentucky this year, game at Coleman, probably a Thursday night game, which would get us some good national exposure.

We do have to play in some very tough environments this year though, @ Cincinnati, @ Florida, @ VCU, @Mizzou,

 

[TideAlum05]

I saw Lundari's way too early bracketology the other day and he had us as a 12 seed facing Creighton again.

I think we're a bubble team right now. Will guys like Lacey and Cooper emerge as go to scorers? Was Gueye really playing injured last year and better than he showed? Can Pollard be a significant conributor offensively as a true freshman? It's hard to answer these questions objectively right now. It really just depends if our highly touted recruits pan out.

The game is definitely on ESPNU.

 

[bamaraider]

Well Florida just suspended G Scottie Willbekin