Alabama Crimson Tide Basketball

Alabama and LSU have already squared off once this week, and the debate still rages as to who won the battle on National Signing Day. ESPN has LSU No. 1, but Rivals has Alabama No. 1.

Football can't get here fast enough, especially for Alabama, which has already fired its basketball coach this season.

LSU is enjoying a good season under first year coach Trent Johnson.

Alabama won the first meeting of the year 65-59 in Tuscaloosa.

Records

LSU 18-4, 6-1, 15-1 (home), RPI #52

Alabama 13-9, 3-5, 0-5 (away), RPI #134

Series

Alabama has won six of the last 10

LSU has won four of the last five in Baton Rouge

Players to Watch

LSU

G Marcus Thornton (19.9ppg)

F Tasmin Mitchell (15.6ppg)

G Bo Spencer (11.9ppg)

Alabama

F Alonze Gee (14.3ppg)

G Senario Hillman (13ppg)

F Jamychal Green (10.2ppg)

What LSU Must Do To Win

The Tigers played pretty good defense the first time around as Alabama shot just 38 percent from the floor.

LSU needs to bring that same level of defensive intensity again for the rematch. Trent Johnson has to find a way for his players to get to the free throw line more as LSU had just 10 attempts to Alabama's 35.

Tasmin Mitchell has to step for the Bayou Bengals as he had just 10 points and three rebounds in the loss in Tuscaloosa.

What Alabama Must Do To Win

In the first meeting of the year, the Tide forced 17 LSU turnovers and had just 10 themselves.

Also, Alabama got to the free throw line 35 times hitting 23 of those. LSU had just 10 free throw attempts in the loss.

Even though Ronald Steele was on the team at that time, he had just five points.

Alabama was paced by Hillman who had 24 points in the win. He and Gee must carry the load for the Tide against a talented LSU team.

Prediction

The win last time gave former Alabama coach Mark Gottfried a few more games, but his team has won just once since his dismissal and that was against Georgia.

LSU is playing much better now than they were a month ago and takes this one at home where they have played very well this season.

LSU wins by 10-17 points

Season: 12-13 SU through Feb. 6

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Alabama (13-8) at Vanderbilt (13-8)

The Line: Vanderbilt -7 1/2

Thursday, Feb. 5, 2009; 7 PM EST

While neither of these teams is out of it when it comes to postseason play, they both need to win games like this one to keep their hopes alive. Bama and Vandy are both decent teams and are far better than some of the smaller conference champions that are going to get automatic bids; such are the rules that are in place for tourney entry.

Alabama comes into this one as winners of their last game but winners just twice in their last six games. Saturday was their first win since the coaching change, which has defined this season for the Tide. Vandy enters from a similar situation, where they won last time out but were losers in four of their last six.

These teams, aside from having identical records, are pretty even across the board, as Vandy has played the 104th-ranked schedule and Alabama has played the 99th.

Alabama enters this game at 6-10 against the spread, while Vanderbilt is 7-10-1 against the number. Alabama is 0-4 against the spread in their last four games as an underdog and 0-6 against the spread in their last six overall, all against SEC teams.

Vandy is 5-1-1 against the spread at home against teams with a losing road record but just 1-6-1 in their last eight against SEC teams. The underdog is 5-2-1 against the spread in the last eight meetings between these two, but Alabama is 1-6-1 against the spread in the last eight in this series; something has to give.

Mitch's Pick: Vandy -7 1/2

See all of Mitch's free college basketball picks against the spread.

When it comes to basketball I'm not a very knowledgeable person.  But based on what information I have heard I have to make this observation:

We now know that Alabama is searching for a new basketball coach. Mark Gottfried resigned this past week due to pressure that he was receiving over his handling of the Ronald Steele situation.

Mark did not have control of this year's basketball team—Ron Steele did! The whole program wasted too much money keeping Ron Steele in college—and keeping him happy. 

He played just one good full season.  He played injured and had both knees repaired. He sat out one entire season to rehabilitate those knees. 

All this time he was in the ears of other players.  All this time he was riding the scholarship through his life with every intention of being in the NBA when healthy enough to play.  He did nothing to prove himself worthy of a college scholarship. 

This happens everywhere in college sports—not just in Alabama, and not just in basketball. 

Mark Gottfried knew that in his mind and allowed this to spoil the "apple barrel."  Now that Gottfried, Steele and this season are history, it's time to back up and punt! 

Start over with first finding a disciplinarian, recruiter and mentor as a head coach. You have to build a program that makes these high school kids set a goal to want to play there and get an education. 

After two seasons, a player should not set his sights on a professional career before getting his degree.  After two seasons, a player should be a leader, recruiter and mentor for the new kids coming in.  The coaches need and welcome this help from their players and they preach this every day.

Be an example, people! Not just in athletics—but in life too. There are little eyes on you all the time.

Think about that!

Alabama interim head coach Philip Pearson opened his seemingly short stint at the helm much the way his predecessor left, with another road loss. 

The 89-80 loss to Arkansas marked Alabama's 15th consecutive SEC road loss, and dropped Alabama to 2-4 within the conference.

Like the road games before, Alabama was somewhat competitive throughout.  There were some bright spots.  Front-court mates JaMychal Green and Justin Knox combined for 36 points on 15-21 shooting.  Alabama shot 80 percent from the free-throw line, albeit on only 10 attempts. 

The reasons for the loss, however, were nothing new.

  Alabama shot a pitiful 22 percent from three-point range, including a variety of shots that brought to mind Woody Harrelson from "White Men Can't Jump", when he described a game that featured so many bricks that he thought he was at a "masons' convention."

Due to Alabama's ineptitude from distance, Arkansas was able to stay in a sagging 2-3 zone that clogged the interior.  Without having to respect Alabama's shooters, Arkansas managed to force several wayward attempts and maintain rebounding position that resulted in numerous fast breaks and easy baskets.

As with the games before, one could not find fault with Alabama's effort.  They fell behind by double-digits numerous times, and fought back in each instance, keeping the game close.

A particular stretch early in the second half probably sealed the game.

Alabama was down by 12 with about 16 minutes to play.

Mikhail Torrance connected from three-point range, cutting the lead to nine.  Alabama came up with a stop, and Senario Hillman hit a jumper from the baseline, trimming the lead to seven.  On the ensuing inbound, Alonzo Gee intercepted the pass and laid it in to cut the lead to five. 

Alabama's defense was strong again on the next trip, forcing an errant shot and an Anthony Brock rebound.  Brock was stripped in the open court, and Arkansas hit a three to squelch the run.  Alabama would get no closer.

One can look back in nearly every Alabama road loss and find a similar turn of events. 

When you add that to the fact that Arkansas shot 35 free throws to Alabama's 10, you can surmise that Alabama would have no chance.  Couple that with Arkansas 80 percent success rate on those attempts (as a team, they have shot free throws at a 65 percent clip for the year) and Alabama was completely buried.

Unfortunately for 'Bama fans, there isn't much relief in sight, at least not in the short run.  Alabama needs a quality ball-handler, and without Ronald Steele, the roster doesn't include one.  Obviously, they need someone who can shoot the ball from the outside as well. 

See the previous statement about Steele, it applies here also. 

Green and Knox have showed steady improvement, but without a legitimate outside threat, their attempts will get more and more contested.  The good news is that if Alabama can fill the needs in the offseason, Knox and Green will be seasoned players by next year, and things will hopefully open up for them a bit. 

As an Alabama fan, it pains me to state the obvious: we are in for a long year. 

Wins will be few and far between. 

As long as the team continues to play hard, I will continue to support them.  The guys on the roster have been through the gauntlet this year, and they haven't laid down.  As long as they give the effort, they deserve our support. 

In a weak SEC, you never know what can happen.  While the regular season looks to be a lost cause, one can look back at Georgia's performance in the SEC tournament a year ago and see that every team in Atlanta has a chance. 

It is difficult for me to imagine Alabama putting it together enough to run off four wins in a row, but stranger things have happened.  

Alabama's bandwagon is as empty as it has been since David Hobbs left Tuscaloosa.  There's plenty of room up here if anybody wants to join me. 

Roll Tide (anyway).       

Alabama (12-7) at Arkansas (12-5)

The Line: Arkansas -5 1/2

A few short weeks ago, this young Arkansas team looked like they were ready to make a nice run this season and were proving they could stand on the national stage with anyone. After beating Texas and Oklahoma, most thought the Hogs would have their way in the SEC, which was full of rebuilding teams; the Razorbacks haven't won since SEC play started, losing their last four in a row.

On the other side of the court, Alabama is a team in turmoil. Expectations have turned to disappointment and a midseason coaching change. While at the college level it's rare we see a change in the middle of the season, we see one here at Alabama. The results of such experiments usually don't turn out well.

While I don't think Bama's season becomes an outright disaster, I don't think the big turnaround starts tonight at Arkansas.

Alabama is 6-8 against the spread, while Arkansas is 5-5 against the number. Neither of these teams has covered in a while in SEC play, as Alabama is 0-4 against the spread in the conference and Arkansas is 0-5. Alabama has dominated against the spread in this series, covering eight of the last 10 and four of the last five in Arkansas.

I don't see these trends happening in this one. What I generally see in situations like this is teams come out fired up to try to get their new coach a win but run out of gas and eventually get him his first win in friendlier surroundings, like their own home court.

Mitch's Pick: Arkansas -5 1/2

See all of Mitch's College Basketball picks against the spread

There aren't many cases where the dismissal of an 11th-year head coach is utterly predictable and expected, but Mark Gottfried's recent departure from Alabama is one of them.

While Gottfried's tenure as the Crimson Tide's head basketball coach was a long one, and at times a successful one, the embattled coach had completely lost the support of the Alabama fanbase before the 2008-09 season even began. Heading into the season, it was not a question of if but when he would be fired.

Many believed that barring a miracle run in the NCAA Tournament, Gottfried would be dismissed at the end of the season, but the departure of senior point guard and former All-American Ronald Steele accelerated Gottfried's demise.

Steele, who has battled injuries throughout his career at Alabama, was perhaps the most heralded player ever to sign with Alabama during Gottfried's tenure. The Birmingham native led his high school team to two state titles and became the first junior ever to win the title of "Mr. Basketball" in the state of Alabama.

Steele quickly lived up to his high school hype at Alabama, setting a new school record for assists in a single game (18) as a true freshman.

But as Steele's injuries and surgeries began to mount, Tide fans became increasingly frustrated with the team's inability to succeed without its star point guard.

After a magical run to the Elite Eight in 2004, Gottfried's teams weren't able to sustain the same level of success on the national stage, making an early exit in the 2005 tournament with a shocking loss to Wisconsin-Milwaukee, followed by a near miss in the second round in 2006 against UCLA.

Beginning with the 2006-07 season, Gottfried's teams seemed to be cursed with bad luck, from season-ending injuries for Steele to dramatic personal life issues for star forward Jermareo Davidson.

Gottfried was faced with a number of obstacles in his final two-and-a-half seasons at Alabama but was unable to overcome any of them, and as his team seemed headed for its third straight season without an NCAA Tournament berth, the decision for athletic director Mal Moore was a relatively easy one.

Gottfried will ultimately be known as a coach that took his alma mater further into the NCAA Tournament than it had ever been before but was unable to maintain the kind of consistent success needed to build a nationally respected program.

If and when Alabama basketball is able to reach that next level, it will be Mark Gottfried who should be credited with helping the fans and the athletic department understand that Alabama was capable of reaching it.

Top Candidates

This coaching search will be the first basketball coaching search of the modern era for a school that has always put their focus on football. Mal Moore was able to secure one of the biggest coaching hires in the history of college football when he reeled in Nick Saban from the Miami Dolphins. Will he be able to pull off a similar feat for his new basketball coach?

Most believe that Alabama's sights are set a little lower. In the world of college basketball, Alabama is hardly considered a prestigious job, and while the salary would likely be generous, there are a number of challenges that come with the job.

Alabama's basketball facilities are average at best, certainly among the bottom half of the SEC, and while the sport is gaining momentum in the state, football will always be king in Alabama, and most of the state's best athletes continue to choose the gridiron over the hardwood.

For now Alabama appears to have set its sights on three splashy but not overwhelmingly impressive candidates: Anthony Grant from Virginia Commonwealth, Tubby Smith from Minnesota, and Mike Davis from UAB.

Grant, a former Billy Donovan assistant, has led VCU to two strong seasons, including a classic upset against Duke in the NCAA Tournament. Grant was believed to be Florida's choice to replace Donovan during his brief flirtation with the NBA.

Smith made his name at Kentucky, where he led the Wildcats to their most recent national title, and his experience in the SEC in unsurpassed by any head coach working today. Smith would likely command a hefty salary and would be tough to pull away from a Big Ten program where he's beginning to have success.

As a former Alabama player and assistant coach, Davis is an easily identifiable candidate. Davis has already had great success recruiting in the state of Alabama, pulling some of the state's top talent away from Alabama and Auburn, and his experience at Indiana, albeit ultimately unsuccessful, should have him prepared for playing on the national stage.

Other candidates that have been mentioned in connection with Alabama thus far include Missouri head coach Mike Anderson, who brought UAB back to national prominence, Sean Miller, who has had consistent success at Xavier, and Brad Stevens, who may be one of the hottest young coaches in the country after leading Butler to a 48-5 record in his first year and a half on the job.

In hiring its new basketball coach, Alabama won't be looking to make the same kind of statement it made when it hired Nick Saban to head its football program. Right now Alabama's mission is a simple one: Show the fans, recruits, and the rest of the SEC that Alabama is willing to take basketball seriously and make a commitment to having a winning program.

On Monday, Alabama Director of Athletics Mal Moore made the long-awaited decision to send head basketball coach Mark Gottfried packing. 

The news was no surprise.  Since Alabama's last NCAA tourney berth in 2006, the program has steadily declined.  Gottfried had a laundry list of excuses, ranging from injuries to early departures to the NBA. 

Certainly, some of the excuses had merit.  Without question, he was given the benefit of the doubt in the form of retaining his job for the 2008-09 season, when many thought he should have been axed at the end of last year.

In reality, there was really no sensible argument to keep Gottfried at the helm any longer.  The program is stagnant.  A change needed to be made to freshen things up, if nothing else. 

Here is what troubles me. 

I have been a die-hard Alabama fan my entire life.  I grew up in the eighties, in an up-and-down period of the football program.  However, this period was as close to the "glory days" as we ever had when it came to basketball. 

Although I always knew that football would reign at Alabama, it puzzled me that a seemingly successful basketball program drew little to no interest from the majority of the fan base.

The head coach at the time, Wimp Sanderson, had quite a run.  He routinely sent teams to the NCAA tournament, and enjoyed a three-year streak in which the team lasted into the third round of the tournament.  Despite the success, Coleman Coliseum only filled when Arkansas or Kentucky were in town, with maybe a few exceptions.

Excepting the dreaded David Hobbs years of the late nineties, Alabama's successes continued with Mark Gottfried until the last few seasons.  Alabama secured five consecutive NCAA tourney berths and enjoyed its only stint in recent memory of having the number one national ranking. 

Five consecutive tourney bids should qualify a program as a legitimate basketball entity.  And yet, the Alabama "faithful" could not sustain any interest.  Attendance was poor, to say the least, and the team faded back into mediocrity.

I agree that Gottfried must shoulder the lions' share of the blame for that.  Any halfway sensible basketball fan could watch his teams and realize that talent was being wasted.  Gottfried insisted on trying to run an outdated offense that never really worked in the SEC, and his players didn't seem to show the improvement that other programs were able to draw from their players.  To top it off, his record away from Tuscaloosa was horrendous.  This is not new information.

What bothers me is how far Alabama had to fall before anyone even noticed.  It seemed that when Alabama was relevant, basketball was nothing more than a slight distraction between the football bowl season, signing day, and the beginning of spring practice.  When the team faltered, somehow fans were able to pay enough attention to scream for Gottfried's head.

Call me what you will, but I find it ridiculous that certain people will shout to the rafters about a basketball coach when they couldn't name three players on the roster.  And lately, that is the majority of what I have heard.  It is like people want Alabama to be good enough to blend in, and that would be satisfactory. 

If they get bad enough, those people will hoot and hollar and demand a change.  A change will be made, and Alabama will improve.  Those same people that shouted at the injustice of Gottfried still having the job will continue to NOT buy tickets and NOT support the program. 

Unless, of course, Alabama creeps back into the top 25, at which time they might find the time in their busy lives to come see them play Kentucky, or maybe even Auburn.

God forbid we lose to Auburn, and they can give the customary "who cares about basketball?" comment.  This irks me beyond description.  I despise the "I don't care about basketball" fan.  If you don't like basketball, that's fine.  Just don't opine on the subject if that is the case. 

The road for Alabama to get back to its version of "national prominence" is a long one.  It won't be easy, because recruiting kids to a place where 4000 people attend a non-conference home game is difficult to do.  ESPN doesn't want to televise Alabama.  After all, if its own fan base doesn't care about it, why is there any reason to think a national audience will? 

On top of everything else, when Alabama does happen to draw a decent crowd, I would be hard-pressed to call the atmosphere "electric".  Don't get me wrong, the people who actually show up for the games should be commended. 

However, we don't exactly produce the atmosphere that you get at Bud Walton, or in Gainesville, in Rupp, or even (gasp) Knoxville. 

If you are an Alabama fan, and would like to see your team back among the nation's respected programs, do your part and put your butt in a seat and cheer for the team.  If you can't make the game, watch it on television or listen to the radio. 

Incidentally, Alabama has a very talented play-by-play announcer by the name of Chris Stewart.  If you like basketball, his commentary alone will make the game worth listening to.  Learn about the program.  Show some interest.  Talk it up. 

If you aren't willing to do any of those things, don't bother calling your local sports radio show and complaining.  Just go back to your "countdown to kickoff" calendar or scoping the Internet for video on that 2011 defensive back prospect.  Stop wasting the time of the people who actually care about the basketball program and get back to what you are good at-cheering for the football team.

If I come across as being annoyed, I assure you, I am.  Don't misunderstand though, as an Alabama fan, I know exactly where my bread is buttered.  I know that all athletic programs at the University thrive because of football.  There is no disputing that.  Also know, however, that if you want Alabama to be a "multi-sport" school that enjoys successes on and off the gridiron, a la Tennessee and Florida, it is time to spread some of that interest around. 

I can promise that if we do, those eight months of misery between the bowl game and kickoff in September will be much more enjoyable.

Please, please...Mal Moore...hire an African-American head basketball coach at Alabama!

The University of Alabama's reputation among those outside the deep south regarding race relations is pitiful. In fact, many inside the deep south are embarrassed. I grew up in Tuscaloosa and moved away 20 years ago and am amazed at the looks I still get whenever I tell anyone that I'm from Alabama.

And many will say "hire the best qualified, no matter his skin color," but I'm saying in this case, too much water has gone under the bridge. With all the great choices available among African-American coaches that are qualified to take over an SEC program, there is no excuse NOT to hire one!

No, this isn't reverse racism. This is "about time" ism. Time to have some courage! Time to say enough is enough. Time to do the right thing and acknowledge what the rest of the country long ago acknowledged, that all men are indeed created equal, including coaches.

Now, that point made, for the next coach, whoever he is, Bama needs more than a spark. Bama needs a whole box of fireworks! This team is in disarray. Lethargy is getting more minutes than Ron Steele used to. And there is seemingly no leadership anywhere.

The University not only needs some healing to happen in this hiring, but the team needs some good old fashioned chalk-line walking to be required. The days of laid back defense and limp wristed passes needs to be over. The athletes on this team are too talented to have their time to shine ruined by such sloppiness.

Who would I hire you ask? You did ask didn't you? How about Mike Anderson, T.R. Dunn, Tubby Smith, or Anthony Grant? All four know how to win and how to get teams to play hard with reckless aggression for 40 minutes per game. Any of them would be successful at Bama. I know there are more, but these are my top choices. Since you asked.

Monday afternoon, in a meeting with athletics director Mal Moore, Mark Gottfried agreed to step down as the Alabama head coach. He compiled a 210-131 record in his near 11 years at the Tide’s helm.

And here we go again...

Alabama opened 2009 SEC play with a gutty 65-59 victory over LSU at Coleman Coliseum on Sunday afternoon. 

While it is no secret that I have been more than a little bit critical of Mark Gottfried's coaching in recent years, the game on Sunday left me with renewed hope. 

By no means was this a dominating performance by the Tide, though they never trailed in the game.  What set this game apart from others this season, and what impressed me the most, was the defensive effort. 

Believe it or not, I must credit Gottfried with his game planning.  It was obvious from the beginning that Alabama would attempt to get the ball to the rim and force LSU's thin front line into foul trouble.  The plan worked (wow, that doesn't even sound right when referring to Gottfried). 

Alabama enjoyed a huge free throw disparity, attempting 36 of them while LSU was only able to get 10 shots from the line.  The fact that Alabama only hit 23 of 36 is another problem entirely, but the fact that they were able to get there so many times shows an aggressive nature that I was not aware that this team possessed.

While I am attempting to draw positives out of negatives, I will mention that Alabama managed the win without much help from point guard Ronald Steele.  In the post-game interviews, Gottfried admitted that Steele has been battling some sort of heel injury, and it was obvious that he was somewhat hobbled during the game.

Without much production from Steele, Alabama relied on the suddenly dependable play of swingman Alonzo Gee.  Gee has been a force so far this season, and he turned in another double-double and extended his streak of double-figure scoring efforts to 13.  He has also morphed into some sort of rebounding machine, grabbing 13 more in this game.

If you watched the game, you couldn't help but be impressed by the play of sophomore guard Senario Hillman.  While his skills are still very raw, he is amazingly quick on defense, and his leaping ability is nothing short of unbelievable.  He sparked an important run in the late going with a steal and a thunderous dunk.  To add to the accolades, he hit four pressure free throws late in the game to ice the win.

Hillman still lacks a dependable jump shot, and certainly teams will adjust to exploit that weakness.  He also lacks above-average ball handling skills, which leaves Steele to break presses mostly on his own.  But Hillman appears to be improving by the game, and he could prove to be the tipping point of a team that desperately needs one more scorer.

A point of concern is the front line play of Knox and Green.  Alabama has been unable to generate much production from the starting pair, and as conference play gets into full swing, this weakness must be improved.

Justin Knox has shown signs of improvement, though.  He had a couple of early put-backs and managed to play fairly solid interior defense.  Fouls continue to plague freshman JaMychal Green, and he was held to 0-3 shooting, though he did make 6-8 from the line.

From here, Alabama heads to Starkville to face an unpredictable Mississippi State team coming off an upset win at Arkansas.  Starkville has proved to be a place that Alabama has had trouble stealing wins, so a victory Wednesday would be a huge bonus.

I'm not ready to leap back onto the Gottfried bandwagon.  Road games in the SEC have befuddled him throughout his career at Alabama, and unless we see at least some improvement in that area, I will continue to shout for his replacement.

Somehow, though, the game on Sunday left me wondering if he could manage to turn this team around.  Unlike last year, the players seem to be playing hard for him.  He seems to have renewed focus on defense and rebounding, two keys to a winning SEC record.  If the Steele injury proves to be a small hiccup instead of a crushing loss, I believe there is a chance. 

I hesitate to put too much weight on this first road game, but we should have a clear picture of the direction of the team at game's end.  With a trip to Auburn looming this weekend, I believe Alabama must split these games, at worst, to set themselves up for a competitive run through the conference.

As you can probably tell, I am starving for something positive out of our basketball program.  This season is Gottfried's last "last chance," and while I think the long-term improvement of the program is more likely to happen in someone else's hands, I would love to see him make a winner out of a team that we had all written off.

So Mark, see if you can prove us all wrong and give us something to cheer about this winter.  Good luck—you are going to need it.