🏀 SEC/Big 12 Challenge: Bama travels to Waco Texas to face Baylor, Saturday at Noon ET (ESPNU)

[JoseyWalesTheOutlaw]

Bama BB is very frustrating. Every year we're a bubble team that doesn't seem to get better as the games progress. Is it coaching or players or both. I am not a big believer in the "new building will fix our problems" group. We'll see.

I think in large part it is players with some coaching thrown in. Pretty sure it is easier to win with players like Latrell Sprewell (sp?) and Robert Horry... Some of those games between Arkansas and Bama under Sanderson were classic and a lot of players on both teams went on to the NBA. Makes a difference for sure.

CWS was a great college coach with many years experience as an assistant, then HC. CAJ? fourth year college HC. Sprewell was a two year? transfer I believe. Horry was a four year player who CWS said was the smartest player he ever coached. CWS coached in a different era, but would only play six maybe up to eight players, depending on foul situations, injury or blowout games. CWS recruited good high school players and worked their ass off in practice and turned them into a team of coherent college players.

Both Wimp and CM benefited from really good HS players from the state of Alabama. Birmingham used to produce some talented players that selected the U of A but that road to T-town doesn't have much traffic these days. Bama has to have a great recruiter/salesman as a HC but he must be a great coach as well. Trying to land such a coach must be very difficult.....and I believe that coach will have to be from below the Mason-Dixie Line. Bama's had 17 winning seasons out of the past 18 (not counting this season) so that is pretty dayum good. The program is having a difficult time going from average to good with great pretty much off the table.

1=average
2=good
3=great

I have them at 1.50

 

[mando]

Bama BB is very frustrating. Every year we're a bubble team that doesn't seem to get better as the games progress. Is it coaching or players or both. I am not a big believer in the "new building will fix our problems" group. We'll see.

I think in large part it is players with some coaching thrown in. Pretty sure it is easier to win with players like Latrell Sprewell (sp?) and Robert Horry... Some of those games between Arkansas and Bama under Sanderson were classic and a lot of players on both teams went on to the NBA. Makes a difference for sure.

CWS was a great college coach with many years experience as an assistant, then HC. CAJ? fourth year college HC. Sprewell was a two year? transfer I believe. Horry was a four year player who CWS said was the smartest player he ever coached. CWS coached in a different era, but would only play six maybe up to eight players, depending on foul situations, injury or blowout games. CWS recruited good high school players and worked their ass off in practice and turned them into a team of coherent college players.

Both Wimp and CM benefited from really good HS players from the state of Alabama. Birmingham used to produce some talented players that selected the U of A but that road to T-town doesn't have much traffic these days. Bama has to have a great recruiter/salesman as a HC but he must be a great coach as well. Trying to land such a coach must be very difficult.....and I believe that coach will have to be from below the Mason-Dixie Line. Bama's had 17 winning seasons out of the past 18 (not counting this season) so that is pretty dayum good. The program is having a difficult time going from average to good with great pretty much off the table.

1=average
2=good
3=great

I have them at 1.50

That is probably a reasonable place to put them. I would classify a 1.5 as a consistent NIT tournament team with the NCAA tournament sprinkled in occasionally and 2 a consistent NCAA tournament team with some wins in the Tournament. A 3 - would be a few final four appearances and a championship thrown in.

At this point consistently being a NCAA tournament should be within reach but it will start with consistently good recruiting.

The SEC is getting better and better so CAJ better elevate everything just to stay at the same level in terms of results on the court.

 

[TerryP]

The SEC is getting better and better so CAJ better elevate everything just to stay at the same level in terms of results on the court.

This was touched on before the season started and with some it seems to be forgotten. I know it was discussed a half of a dozen times how this years team could be better than last years--and I certainly believe that to be the case--and yet end up with the same record: perhaps one that's worse. Bama was 14-7 coming out of the Big 12 challenge last season, they are 12-7 coming out of the challenge this season.

I remember that weekend with the Bama upset of a ranked OU team and it marking the third win over a ranked team that season. If my numbers are correct, they've won five against ranked teams since then. Ranked teams...we're in the middle of a season watching the Tide playing a SEC schedule that has six teams in the top 25--one at number one. Last year, same week, four ranked teams with the highest in the mid-teens.