| MBB/WBB How Impressed Are You With Our Men's Basketball Team

[alabama mike]

Up to this point in the season, our men's team has played VERY well overall. We are long, athletic, deep, defend well and shoot better than previous years. Where do you actually see us seated come tournament time? I know right now, the experts have us at a number 1 seed. Is that gonna hold or do we drop a little?

 

[UAgrad93]

Very impressed! Like you said, very deep, long and athletic. We have a good mix of veterans with youth! Still some time before we get to the tournament, but I see this bunch being anywhere from a #1 seed to as low as a #3 or #4 seed, should we run into some injuries or slump.

 

[bama alum]

Since I cannot recall Bama being mentioned consistently for a tourney #1 seed in...53 years, I'm going with very impressed!

 

[50+yeartidefan]

So far....
Hitting FTs....
Limiting TOs

Playing deep in bench
Sears at PG
#24
Playing as team....

So on January 20...2023

A+

 

[Destiny's Child]

LOL. I am very impressed with how we are playing and how we have performed against other good teams. I am almost scared to brag on them because with my luck we will have an injury bug and fall flat.

I will say they are fun to watch. Getting Burnette back from injury will be awesome as he was really playing well before he hurt his wrist. My only fear is teams like Kansas State or UCLA as they are not only talented but loaded with seniors of the 5 and 6 year variety. This is very important during the tournament season and while we have played well in big games so far.. experience tends to show up around tourney time.

Barring injury and a horrible tournament draw I have elite 8 type expectations.

 

[bamafan4ever]

LOL. I am very impressed with how we are playing and how we have performed against other good teams. I am almost scared to brag on them because with my luck we will have an injury bug and fall flat.

I will say they are fun to watch. Getting Burnette back from injury will be awesome as he was really playing well before he hurt his wrist. My only fear is teams like Kansas State or UCLA as they are not only talented but loaded with seniors of the 5 and 6 year variety. This is very important during the tournament season and while we have played well in big games so far.. experience tends to show up around tourney time.

Barring injury and a horrible tournament draw I have elite 8 type expectations.

Just in my opinion, this becomes less of a factor as the season plays out. These guys have continued to improve as the season has gone along which is promising. They really won't be "freshmen" but veterans in their own right come tourney time. I attribute that to such a strong non-conference schedule and a lot of HUGE neutral court match-ups and our ability to win on the road in conference play.

I have been following basketball since I was a kid and as far as I am concerned, anything less than a Final 4 with this team will be a disappointment.

 

[BamaFan334]

Like others, I am beyond impressed. It's been a tough road of expectations with some highs when Petty, Jones, Shackelford, and Quinerly helped us win an outright SEC Championship, but so many lows when we had the excitement of Avery and Colin Sexton that we thought would take us to an Elite 8 or better. This team though, has not shown the up and down nature that teams before them have shown. We are averaging 84 points per game and only .6 behind Arizona in first. I think it's safe to say we've done it against superior competition as well. All that being said, I'm excited about this team and don't see a let down happening, and we will only get beat by a team with superior talent from top to bottom, and then they have to play like it. So far I think that is a handful of teams in Houston, Gonzaga, Kansas, and maybe Tennessee. I think we are too big and athletic for Purdue, Texas, Virginia type teams.

 

[Bammerboy321]

We're at a point depth wise where players can have off games and someone is going to step up. For example against Vanderbilt, Mark Sears was held to three points - his first time since Gonzaga he hasn't been in double figures. Bradley steps up and has 12 points.

The biggest caveat we always discussed with Oats' system was that there was always going to be a high turnover rate. Fast-paced offense (which we dreamed about during the Grant and Avery tenure) and shoot threes at a high clip. But since conference play has begun, players are starting to feel more comfortable in their role and guys are valuing possessions. Alabama is averaging only 11.6 turnovers per game since opening SEC play.

Also you'll notice the biggest difference in this year's squad and last year's team is that they do not let their offense affect their defense. The energy and tenacity on D is the most underrated aspect of this team that the media is not talking about.

 

[Bammerboy321]

I have been following basketball since I was a kid and as far as I am concerned, anything less than a Final 4 with this team will be a disappointment.

This is pretty much my view, but I also try to remain level-headed and remind myself how difficult it is to make a Final Four. It's obviously easier when you're a 1 seed (I think they make it +40%), but March Madness gets its name for a reason.

But it's beyond time for Alabama to make it. Our tournament history is the only reason people disrespect the program so much. Twenty-three tournament appearances and nine Sweet 16s, but only one Elite 8 appearance. A comparable program is LSU, who has 24 tournament appearances. Their tournament results? Ten Sweet 16s, six Elite 8s, and four Final Fours.

We also need a Final Four just so we can hear the incredible radio call Chris Stewart would give us.

 

[rick4bama]

Like the rest! Very impressed!

 

[SnakeDoc]

I've been impressed with hustle in all aspects of the game, much more than last year's team.

 

[Bama Guy]

All of the above. Tough, fun to watch, always trying to get better.

 

[Justneedme81]

This is real good team. They have some issues, but they find a way to win the game.

 

[mando]

Will get back to you over the next 2-3 weeks . At this point you have to be impressed. Let's see how they navigate some tough games in tough environments going forward. So far they have post most tests and then bounced back when they didn't. They went back to work and fixed the problem that cost them the loss (turnovers, poor D...).