Alabama Crimson Tide Basketball

As a sports fan, you will understand where I am coming from.  I just can't give up on my team.

I started out as what seemed like the lone defender of Alabama basketball coach Mark Gottfried.  A few years ago, the rumblings began about making a change.

"Oh no," I said, "let's stick it out with him."  "He has taken our program to an Elite Eight and a conference title."  "He recruits well with very limited resources and a dump for an arena."  "He can still win."  "Let's hang in there with him and see if he can turn it around."

Gottfried continued to bring in high-profile recruits.  True, he couldn't sell out Coleman Coliseum for a Jessica Alba/Megan Fox jello wrestling match.  True, he couldn't win on the road against Hoover High School.  And yes, he couldn't teach his team any sort of dependable offense or teach anyone to rebound, even if they were 6'10" and built like a brick house.

But I was still perched on his increasingly roomy bandwagon.

Last year, I began to try to find a way off the bandwagon, which began to look more like a hearse.

But being the admitted Alabama homer that I am, I tried to explain away the disaster that was the 2007-08 season.

"Don't worry."  "The Ronald Steele injury sealed our fate."  "It might not be Gottfried's fault."  "Steele would have been worth at least five or six additional wins."  "We've got to give him one more year with a healthy Steele and see what he can do."

If you were watching Family Feud on television, this is where you would see the giant third "X" on the screen and that grating buzzer noise.

Alabama opened the season with a truly despicable loss to Mercer at home. 

At this point, I barrel-rolled off the Gottfried hearse into oncoming traffic.

Not to be outdone by this egg-laying performance, Gottfried took his team to Hawaii and was embarrassed by a mediocre Oregon team.

As far as I was concerned, the basketball program was the equivalent of an 85-year-old man on a hospital bed with a "DNR" tag on his toe.

Then, as some sort of cruel joke, Alabama won a few games and looked like they had some inclination as to what sport they were actually playing.

Texas A&M came to Tuscaloosa at this point.  While certainly no national power, a win against the Aggies might build some momentum going into play in the very marginal SEC.

What happened?  Alabama had the game locked up until Gottfried got too concerned with fouling three-point shooters with time running out.  As expected, A&M hit two late ones and forced a game that was in the bag into overtime.

Shockingly, Alabama was punished in the overtime period.

I reserved the futile hope that Mal Moore was putting together a list of potential replacements.  I'm sure he wasn't.  Someone needs to inform him first that, in the winter and spring, all that activity at Coleman Coliseum is basketball games, and not football pep rallies.  I am relatively certain that Moore wants his last act as Athletics Director to be his miracle hire of Nick Saban, not another mail-it-in hire of a basketball coach. 

But then, something happened.

Georgia Tech came to town.  While by no means are they a power in the ACC, they are still a "name" team.  I chalked this up to be another embarrassment, but then Alabama played its best 30 minutes of basketball in the past three years.  They built a 30-point lead, and despite their best efforts to blow the game in the end, they won.

An odd, long-forgotten emotion came over me.  Hope.

Ronald Steele looked to have regained some of his former self.  Alonzo Gee pulled down 18 boards against a team that had a height advantage at every position.  Senario Hillman channeled Bruce Bowen on defense. 

The upcoming trip to undefeated Clemson all of a sudden seemed like less of an afterthought. 

In the beginning, it looked as though my hopes were founded.  Alabama hung in with a massively more talented Clemson team and didn't give up in the second half when the momentum swung the other way.  For the first time in I don't even know how long, I was proud to watch my team play.

Which brings me to my point, or more accurately, to my question.

Is Alabama turning the corner, or are we all being sucked into high hopes just to see another 5-11 conference record?

While I do not moonlight as any sort of optimist when it comes to Alabama basketball, I could see both sides of the argument.

The SEC is as bad as it has ever been.  Divisional foes such as Auburn, Mississippi State, and Ole Miss seem to be in as bad of shape as we are.  Arkansas and LSU have shown signs of improvement, but are depending on rosters filled with unseasoned players.  It wouldn't take 11 wins to own the division.

But then I remembered that Alabama has to play eight conference games on the road.  Mark it down, seal it, write it on a rock if you'd like to: This translates to, at the very least, six losses.  Assuming (a great leap there) we can win two on the road, that means Alabama has to sweep the conference home games to finish 10-6. 

Sorry, that is simply not going to happen.

At best, Alabama wins six at home. That leaves a best-case scenario of 8-8 in the conference.  With Alabama's craptastic non-conference play, this is a one-way ticket to the NIT, and a one-way ticket for Gottfried to somewhere, anywhere, other than Tuscaloosa.

I refuse to adopt the NBA/NFL mentality of bad teams to "tank" in hopes of forcing changes on the team.  I will root for the Tide equally if they are 0-15 (possibly) or 15-0 (I had trouble even typing that). 

So, here is my advice to the very few of us die-hard Bama basketball fans.  Hunker down.  Get ready for a struggle.  Support the team anyway, and hope that plans are on the horizon for a change that can turn the program around.

Judging by the attendance so far, most people have written them off.  This is understandable.  But for the future of the program, we need to show that we will support whatever product they put out on the hardwood, as agonizing as it may be. 

Hopefully, our loyalty will be repaid at some point.

Right now, while you have a second, go to your closet.

Pull that black suit out of the back.  Try it on, see if it still fits.

You are going to need it.

Saturday night, Alabama's basketball team continued it's decent into oblivion, blowing a five point lead with 15 seconds left, at home against Texas A&M.

You might have missed it.  It did not make the front page of the sports section.  You could find the blurb about it on page 11. 

You might have chosen to read about the Tide's Sugar Bowl preparation for Utah.  You might have read about man-child defensive tackle commit D.J. Fluker in his practice for the Alabama-Mississippi All-Star High School football game.  You might have even read about the "Days of Our Lives" saga that was the Auburn football coach search.

In these good football days, it's easy to pretend that the basketball program is not sinking to a Hobbsian level.

But it is.  And quickly.

Don't get me wrong.  Basketball is very much on my back-burner right now. 

But I can't help but to think about January, when SEC play begins and we are forced to watch the team with nothing else to distract us.

As I watched the game Saturday night, something bothered me.  Alabama was competitive.  In a lot of ways, it was their most complete game of the year.  But my eyes were on Mark Gottfried.

Something was wrong.  He reminded me of someone.  At first, I couldn't put my finger on it.  But then it hit me.  In a "Sopranos" style dream sequence, I looked up and saw (gasp), Mike DuBose coaching my basketball team. 

I nearly spit up.  Gottfried had that same lost, overwhelmed look on his face that I watched for four years from Big Mike. 

Alabama managed to take control of the game, and hit two late free throws to capture a five point lead with thirty seconds to go. 

Now, I'm no John Wooden.  But I do know that if you have a five point lead with under 30 seconds to play, you need to at least attempt to have some defense on the perimeter. 

Did that happen? No.  A&M came down, hit a three, and called time out.  My stomach began to churn.

During the timeout, Dubose, I mean Gottfried, did his patented clap and fist shake.  This did not add confidence. 

Alabama managed to get the ball in bounds and draw a foul.  Eight seconds to go.  Two free throws would seal it.  Did we make the two?  No. 

Like clockwork, Alabama gave A&M possession back, up by three with just a few ticks remaining. 

Full-tilt, carnival-style nausea had kicked in.

Surely, we could contest the shot to tie the game.  Did that happen? No.

A&M drained the three-pointer to send the game into overtime.

Dubose, I mean Gottfried, smiled.

I wanted to get up, turn the game off, but I was afraid the motion would bring about an unenjoyable bout of vomiting.

So I watched, as Alabama folded.  I watched the confused Dubose face become frozen atop Gottfried's neck.

Gottfried's reign as Alabama's coach is coming to a close.  Mal Moore will not do anything during the season, not that it would matter, so we've got three more months of this misery to endure.

Memorial services will be held sometime in March, most likely during an opening-round NIT game that we will not be playing in.  Burial services to follow.

So dust off that black suit.  Prepare a eulogy if you feel so inclined. 

Let us hope that the powers that be have already started a search for a replacement.  Because, judging by the performance Saturday night, rigor mortis has already set in. 

Like most Alabama fans, I think the past four months have been a great time to be a supporter of the program. The football program. 

However, I still maintain a vested interest in the spiraling basketball program as well. I can't help myself.

As I near my 30th birthday, my life is filled with memories of Alabama football games. I have had the good fortune of being in attendance at nearly every meaningful win, and the misfortune of witnessing many of the worst losses.

Unlike most 'Bama fans, I have just as many memories, if not more, of the basketball games. I grew up in what most would consider the pinnacle of our basketball program: the Wimp Sanderson era. 

Those days were special. The plaid coats, the parquet floors, and a packed Coleman Coliseum on most nights, especially conference games. I can remember nights when I thought the roof was going to blow off because the crowd was so fired up.

We had a vicious rivalry with Arkansas after they joined the SEC. I had a chance to witness the days when Robert Horry, Latrell Sprewell, James Robinson, and company went head to head with Todd Day and Oliver Miller. 

I was young, but I remember the run of consecutive Sweet 16 appearances. I remember having a home-and-home set up with North Carolina. 

I can recall Roy Rogers blocking 12 shots in one game. I remember Elliott Washington's three-pointer at the buzzer to beat the Hogs in the semifinals of the conference tournament, when they still felt the need to play that thing in Birmingham.

After the David Hobbs debacle, I remember thinking that Mark Gottfried was the perfect fit. He was an Alabama guy, he was young, and he had led Murray State to several NCAA tournaments after being a part of a UCLA National Championship team.

During the first half of his tenure, I think I still felt that he was our coach for many, many years to come.  Even though the most optimistic Alabama fan couldn't expect Final Four appearances, Gottfried had us in the dance more often than not.  He even led the memorable Elite Eight run a few years back.  This was a feat that even Wimp could not attain.

Unfortunately, since that time, the program has headed south. By all accounts, Gottfried had a knack for attracting moderately high-profile recruits to the Capstone, even though our facilities were a mess and we didn't draw a crowd unless Kentucky or Arkansas came to town.

The team record in road games became an embarrassment. I do not have the numbers in front of me now, but places like Oxford and Starkville made us look like a junior varsity middle school team. 

He dotted some seasons with a few unlikely wins. We beat Kentucky a couple of times, we managed to keep pace in most years in the division, even though we rarely were competitive near the end of those seasons.

As the years passed, the losses mounted, but the talent seemed to stay in place.  NCAA Tourney appearances began to dwindle. We even attained a No. 1 ranking for a couple of weeks one year, only to self-destruct and miss the tournament all together.

As a member of the Gottfried bandwagon, of which people were bailing left and right, I maintained that the majority of this was not his fault. Early departures for the NBA left us in bad situations multiple times. Untimely injuries added to the problems.

I felt if we could get a few breaks, he could bring us back. I no longer think this is possible. 

I drove to Tuscaloosa in October to see the first practice and sit in on a Q and A session with Gottfried, and he preceded to win me over again. The practice was run well, and the players looked ready for the season. He answered all of the questions the way I hoped that he would, and I became a Gottfried defender once again.

Then the season started. Mercer came to Tuscaloosa and won on our home floor. Strike one. We then went to Hawaii for one of the more high-profile preseason tournaments available, chock full of quality opponents. We opened with an average Oregon team and were run out of the gym. Strike two.

I was ready to chalk up the season when I sat down to watch us play Alabama A&M (a team coming off of a hard-fought loss to Talladega College). In my 20 years of loyalty to the program, this was arguably the lowest point. 

The team jumped out to an early 16-point lead, only to see A&M whittle that lead to five by halftime. The second half was no better, as it became a one-possession game with less than a minute left. Thanks to a very questionable blocking foul on A&M with about 45 seconds to go, Alabama escaped with a victory. Strike three.

I am now firmly entrenched in the camp of people screaming for a change. It is time. It has been time for a while, I just couldn't bring myself to believe it. Gottfried has done all he can do for us, and we need new blood.

Which brings me to the question and the focal point of this article: Who can we get that is any better?  This is a sad situation. What up-and-coming coach would want to come to a place where, at best, you are an afterthought, even in the best years.  

Tennessee managed to do it under similar circumstances. They hired Bruce Pearl, who has taken Tennessee to an elite level. Florida trumped even that, snagging Billy Donovan and winning multiple titles.

These are football-first schools, just like ours. Why not us? Where can we find our Donovan, our Pearl? 

Although I know that most Alabama fans could not care less if we finish last in the conference year-in and year-out, but I do. There are some like me. 

This begs the question: Where do we go from here? I have heard no rumblings, no potential replacements, just silence. Those of us who care need to take a more active role in improving this situation. I just do not know how. I will gladly throw my tiny bit of support behind any new plan.

If you care about the basketball program like I do, it is time we started to make some noise. It is very easy to look the other way when the football team is running the table in the SEC and is back in the National Championship picture. We can't do that. 

So, here is my plea to the few die-hard 'Bama basketball fans. Let's keep supporting our team, but let's also look to the future. If we remain quiet, it could lead to more years of this miserable mediocrity. A few more years of this, and die-hards like myself will start to look the other way, too.

We are at a crossroads, folks. Let's start to talk this thing up and help this once-proud program climb back to respectability. Let's find a fresh face with a fresh attitude and try to make this right. 

I don't want to have a nine-month dead period between January and September where the most exciting action is on the football recruiting front.  I'm not ready for that.  Not yet.  

Point guard Ronald Steele scored 25 points and forward JaMychal Green scored 17 points and seized 12 rebounds against Mercer on Sunday night, though it wasn't enough to save the Crimson Tide from defeat in their season opener, 72-69.

Little known and publicized Division I school Mercer has prior experience in defeating mainstream competition. In November of 2007, Mercer knocked off then-No. 18 USC, damaging early hopes of a Pac-10 title.

However, there were bright spots amidst Bama's defeat, like freshman standout Green and senior point guard Steele. Though the Crimson Tide did not taste victory, their performances were worthy of recognition.

In his collegiate debut, Green shot 70 percent from the field, had three blocks, and nabbed a steal in 30 minutes of action for the SEC-housed Alabama squad. Green is a graduate of Saint Jude High School, where he averaged 26 points, 17 rebounds, and eight blocks per game as a senior last season. He elected to choose Bama over fellow Division I school Georgia Tech.

JaMychal was a magnet around the paint and provided an intimidating presence against Mercer, altering shots at a consistent pace.

Steele poured in 25 points, three rebounds, and three steals after missing the entire 2007-08 season because of surgery for medical tendinitis. Prior to the inopportune injury, Steele was one of the best point guards in the country and was contemplating earl entry into the NBA Draft.

A 2007 preseason All American Selection, Ronald reverted back to his original form and along with JaMychal Green accounted for 42 points, over half of their team's final point total of 69.

While Steele managed to ward off the rustiness in Alabama's opener, he seemed hesitant to attack the basket and as a result hoisted 11 three-pointers, five of which he connected on. 

Bama hosts Florida A&M on Wednesday, looking to avenge their first loss of the season.

Hey Guys,

So, with basketball season under way, the Monday Message Board is going to now expand to including some points about basketball, but, as always, we will start with football.

Two Down, One More to Go

After the 32-7 win against Mississippi State, Alabama managed to stop the second haunting streak it had going heading into this season.

Alabama ended the Bulldogs' two game winning streak, but more importantly, 'Bama scored an offensive touchdown for the first time since 2004. 

Alabama has now ended losing streaks to both LSU and Mississippi State, as well as the November losing streak, but one more glaring streak remains: six in a row to Auburn. 

The third team of Tigers is the last streak the Tide is looking to break this season, and it will take everything this team has left. 

Auburn is looking into their first losing season in ten years as well as playing for a chance to get to Shreveport (ironic, huh).  They will be hungry, and Alabama can not take this team lightly.

Javier Arenas: How Ever Could We Doubt Thee?

Was anyone else starting to get the feeling that Javy may have lost his touch or was trying to do to much?

The fumbles against Tennessee and LSU were not encouraging and some were starting to wonder what happened to the man who ran wild last season. 

Well, he couldn't have returned at a better time. 

Arenas went crazy on Mississippi State. He ran for 153 return yards, breaking his own career high, and scoring his fifth career punt return for a touchdown, good enough to tie David Palmer's school record of five. 

Alabama provided Arenas plenty of room to run on the returns, something the team as a whole had struggled with at times this season. 

Alabama could sure use that special teams help in two weeks when the Tigers come calling.

Mercer? Really?

So, here is the basketball inclusion.  I don't know how many of you were able to see Alabama's performance against Mercer, but it was rather pathetic.

Alabama came out flat, remained that way, and played forty minutes of uninspired basketball. 

Mercer pushed 'Bama around, out-rebounded them by 18, and in the end, managed to come away with the victory after outplaying Alabama in every phase of the game. 

Sure, this may just be the first game, but there are plenty of things that need to change, and Alabama will get their only chance before heading to Maui on Wednesday to face off against Florida A&M. 

Alabama will hopefully right the ship on Wednesday, but there is hope for a first round win in Maui as Oregon lost to Oakland at home Monday night.

So, with football in an off week, or, as coach Saban calls it, a time to "chill out," we will turn to basketball for this week's question. 

As I stated earlier, Alabama looked completely uninspired against Mercer, a team Alabama beat on the road last season. 

It sure didn't help the Tide that Brandon Hollinger, Senario Hillman, and Alonzo Gee went a combined 4-25 for the game, but good teams find a way to win, and Alabama couldn't do that on Sunday. 

So, this week's question is...

Will the Alabama Basketball Team Be Able to Right the Ship Before SEC Season?

There are plenty of games and plenty of time between now and then, but most of those games aren't easy.

Alabama plays Oregon, Texas A&M, Georgia Tech, and at Clemson for sure, with the chance of playing North Carolina, Oklahoma, Notre Dame, Indiana, St. Joseph's, or Texas in Maui as well. 

As always, leave your comments below or write an article expressing your views on the topic. 

That's all for this week, guys.

Thanks, and Roll Tide,

Nic

Following in the footsteps of Richard Hendrix is no easy task—a statement that McDonald’s All-American selection JaMychal Green easily condones.

However, if his high school numbers have any voice in the matter, he should be fine.

Hailing from serene Saint Jude High School in Alabama (145 kids), Green averaged 25 points, 16 rebounds, and eight blocks as a junior and 26-17-8 as a senior.

His battue quest to be incorporated into a game is another one of his best traits. Mychal is an excellent leaper, which allows him to levitate in the air to convert on putbacks, alley-oops, and offensive rebounds.

The 6'9" cyborg pitched in 12 points in the East’s win over the West in the McDonald’s All-American Game. JaMychal displayed post moves, and his most exciting moment of the game came when he vaulted from the baseline (off a Kemba Walker pass) and executed a one-handed thrashing on the rim.

Though the dunk was air-opposed and zapped his teammates with adrenaline, I’m convinced it was only a pint of his athleticism.

He also notched a double-double (16 points and 10 rebounds) in Team USA’s U-18 win over Canada.

His scorched earth policy on the rim will create a conundrum for opponents forced with the unforgiving task of guarding Green. A strong, agile, and explosive specimen—similar to an ogre in strength and ferocity—JaMychal will benefit from star distributor Ronald Steele, who is returning from an injury that forced him to miss all of his junior season in '07-08.

With former SEC stars Anthony Randolph and Marreese Speights gone, the conference is exposed and is longing for the next great freshman forward. Last year it was Patrick Patterson at Kentucky.

In Bama’s first two exhibition games, Green has averaged 11 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 2.5 BPG, and 4.5 SPG in only 18.5 minutes per game.

On Wednesday, JaMychal posted 14 points, seven rebounds, three blocks, and five steals in the Crimson Tide’s bashing of Belhaven.

Alabama finished 17-16 last season and went 37-28 during Richard Hendrix’s two-year reign. However, if Green continues his brutish play, he may not stick around long enough to contest it.

Bama also hasn’t reached the NCAA Tournament since Rajon Rondo still graced the hardwood and was coached by Tubby Smith at Kentucky (2004-05).

JaMychal Green and the Crimson Tide host Mercer on Sunday in their home and season opener.

I’m sure you’ve heard this question sometime in your life: “If a tree falls in the forest, and nobody is around to hear it, does it make a sound?”  Who really knows the correct answer?

Here’s another one: “If the Crimson Tide football team is in the midst of an undefeated season, and the SEC holds its basketball media days in Birmingham, AL, does anybody really care?”  That one is pretty easy: No.

However, there was one interesting little tidbit of information to arise out of these meetings: Alabama was picked first in the SEC West.  This piece of news inevitably led most Alabama basketball fans to think one thing: “Wow...the West must really, really suck this year.” 

Yep.  It’s true.  No SEC West team is ranked in the AP Top 25.  Only two—LSU (31) and Alabama (16)—even received any votes at all, so you would think Alabama has a legitimate chance to win the West this year.

They won’t.  Not with this team, and certainly not with Mark Gottfried coaching this team.  But that’s a rant I’ll save until about mid-February.  For now, I’ll just stick with breaking down the squad.

Guards

Returning Players

This whole unit depends on the health of Ronald Steele.  Will Steele be the player he was three seasons ago, before the knee injuries, when he averaged 14 points and four assists a game?  Or will he be the Steele of two seasons ago, when he averaged eight points, four assists, and generally drug himself up and down the court like Torgo in Manos: Hands of Fate?

Brandon Hollinger returns for his senior season.  He’s the epitome of the “almost” basketball player.  He’s almost quick enough and almost has the instincts to play the point, and almost big enough to be a smallish shooting guard.  He has shown flashes but is really more relied on to just not lose the game and to hit the open shot.  He shot 43 percent from three last year.

Mikhail Torrence is a 6’5” lefty with decent point guard instincts and the ability to get in the paint.  He is also a career 18 percent three-point shooter.  Unless teams actually play off him and make him go right, he’s virtually unstoppable.

Senario Hillman should have a nickname.  I nominate “Baby Miner.”  Like Harold Miner was, he’s a breathtaking leaper and a YouTube staple.  He also shot 14 percent from three last year.  With the three-point line moved back this year, I am so looking forward to the Torrence/Hillman backcourt Gottfried will inevitably play for long stretches of minutes this year.

Key Losses

Alabama suffered the annual defection of players this offseason with the transfers of Justin Tubbs (a streaky shooter but tenacious defender) and Rico Pickett (um...wore a headband well, I guess), both of whom saw extensive playing time.  Thank you again, Mark.  I...better move on.  Save the Gottfried rant for later, DScot...

Newcomer

The only other true guard likely to see quality minutes this year is incoming freshman Andrew Steele, Ronald’s little brother.  Some say he is better than Ronald was coming out of high school.  That would be nice.  Hard to believe, but nice. 

Forwards

Returning Players

I have a love/hate relationship with Alonzo Gee.  There are times where he looks like the fiercest, most athletic player on the court.  Then there are other times when he seems to play with all the intensity of a dad shooting hoops with his six-year-old daughter out in the driveway.  He’s a decent scorer, rebounder, defender, and shooter—when he shows up.  Dude drives me crazy.

Demetrius Jemison is a hard working ‘tweener.  He’s 6’7” and pulls down about five boards a game to go with five points.  He has improved his numbers every year.  For Alabama to be successful, that trend will have to continue.

Apparently, there was a guy named Avery Jukes that played 22 games for Alabama last year and averaged two points a game.  I don’t really even remember him.  That can’t be a good thing.

Key Loss

Richard Hendrix opted to enter the NBA draft after his junior year, despite not being picked until the second round.  Alabama will sorely miss his toughness and leadership, perhaps even more than his nightly double-double.

Newcomer

JaMychal Green was the gem of Gottfried’s incoming recruiting class.  The 6’9” freshman was a McDonald’s High School All-American. He averaged 26 points, 17 boards, and seven blocks his senior year. He will immediately step into a starting role at Alabama.  It will be really interesting to see how many ways Gottfried will find to waste his talent.

Center

Last season was the first season that I didn’t experience an immediate wave of hopelessness come over me whenever Yamene Coleman received the ball—so he’s obviously making progress.  However, he’s still a career 38 percent free throw shooter.  That’s just sad.  Unless you don’t have hands, you should be able to hit at least 40 percent from the line.

Justin Knox is an energy guy coming off the bench.  He impressed me as a freshman last year, and I hope to see him get more minutes this year.  When he doesn’t, I hope he at least transfers somewhere close, because he’s fun to watch play.

There you have it, folks—your 2008-2009 SEC Basketball Western Division Champions!

NCAA Basketball.

In April of 2004, Ronald Steele had everything going for him: a recent high school graduate enrolling in Alabama in the fall with a full athletic scholarship, two Alabama Mr. Basketball Awards, one 6A Alabama State Championship, one 6A State Player of the Year and a 6A State Finals MVP all under his belt. 

By 2006, Steele's sophomore season, he was the starting point guard of a very capable Crimson Tide team.  When Chuck Davis (the Tide's leading scorer) went down, it was Steele who single-handedly brought the Tide back from the basement.  Steele dazzled opponents, announcers and fans by averaging 14.3 ppg and 4.6 assists a game on his way to a First-Team All-SEC and an Honorable Mention All-American campaign.

He turned down lucrative NBA offers and the almost-certain fact that he would be a first round Selection to return for his Jr. Season.  Then things fell apart.

First an ankle injury.

Then another ankle injury.

Then tendinitus in his knee.

Steele underwent multiple MRI's throughout the season, but none could come up with the true source of his pain.  Coaches knew he was going through excruciating pain, the fans could see it on his face, and Steele could feel it with every wincing step.  They just couldn't find out what was wrong.

Steele regularly sat out practices just so the swelling would go down enough for him to be able to walk on game days. 

Still, Steele played.  He took the Tide on his shoulders, ailing knees and consistently aggravated ankles.

Until now, I haven't posted any article on Bleacher Report in three weeks.

Why, you may wonder (or, most likely, probably not)?

I haven't been lazy. I haven't lost interest. I haven't had any tragedies occur, thank God.

I've just been busy. That's all.

During the summer, I work out in the heat for nearly 50 hours per week. Then, when I get home, I write for this site, as well as a couple others.

And that's where the plot of this story goes.

I used to blog pretty regularly at this site about mostly Alabama football and basketball. Good experience, and I did use quotes from press releases and pressers to make it more professional. I currently write a weekly column here, titled "Mouth of the South," in which I cover anything and everything sports.

I write like a typical Southerner talks, which makes for a good 'ol time. See what I mean?

I also keep in touch with one specific Journalism professor at The University of Alabama, who taught my Intro to Journalism course. He's already written a recommendation letter for me and talks to me regularly, and I greatly appreciated an e-mail I received from him a few weeks ago.

It was a forwarded e-mail from a guy that runs Crimson Confidential, an affiliate of ESPN. He was looking for a student writer to help with football practices and press conferences in the fall.

Well, now I'm that student writer. I'll be going to those practices and pressers, and hopefully basketball practices, games and pressers later in the fall. Writing four or five stories a week after going to class and these events will take up most of my time, so my production here will probably be about what it has been the last month or so - not much.

You can find the link to all the ESPN-affiliated sites here. Scroll down a bit on the right side, and you'll see the links to the current sites.

This is just another step in my sports writing direction that I wanted and needed to take. It's more involved with the actual profession, and I can't wait to start.

I just hope the man in the picture doesn't go off on me.

In 2005, Richard Hendrix graduated Athens High School in north Alabama.

After being selected as a McDonald's All-American, Hendrix had a decision to make: either go into the NBA Draft, where he was projected to be a lottery pick, or go to college at in-state Alabama. 

Hendrix opted to pass over the NBA for college, and went to Tuscaloosa. 

Somehow, in those three years, Hendrix's stock dropped like a rock, but his game did not reflect the drop. 

In his three years at Alabama, Hendrix was a force to be reckoned with down low. 

He was an All-SEC selection in his final two seasons at The Capstone and was the leading scorer on the team for those two seasons. 

Now, its all fine and dandy to listen to opinions of him, but what about the cold, hard facts?

Well, in his final season at Alabama, Hendrix averaged a double-double with 17.8 points and 10.1 rebounds a game, only one of fifteen guys in the country to do so. 

He led the SEC in multiple rebounding categories, including offensive rebounds, and took up plenty of room in the middle. 

His one down side is his bad free throw percentage, at 54%, but he reaches the line often enough to make up for his lack of accuracy. 

So its nice to know that he is durable and can perform over a substantial period of time, but how did he perform against the top players and those who were drafted tonight? 

In his two games against Florida this season, former team of 16th overall draft pick Marreese Speights, Hendrix had 24 points and 16 rebounds in the first game of the SEC season, a national broadcast on ESPN. 

In the first round of the SEC Tournament in Atlanta, he managed to score 22 points and pulled in eight rebounds.  

Speights scored a total of 21 points last season against Hendrix and the Tide. 

Speights, who has been called "a tremendous talent" and "never been dominated" in the SEC, was pretty much dominated by Richard.   

In two games against LSU this past season, the former team of 14th overall and fellow Warrior draft pick Anthony Randolph, Richard scored 19 and had 17 rebounds at home, and in a bad team effort in Baton Rouge, he still managed 16 points and 13 rebounds. 

Sure, you can knock on his "lack of height" for his position, you can say that he struggles with free throws, but one thing you can expect from Richard Hendrix every night is that he will give 100% and work for any ball he can get his hands on. 

The Warriors have just picked up one hell of a basketball player, and should feel lucky to have him in their organization and playing for their team in the future.