Started By
Message
re: Can fellow Bama fans help get me excited about Avery Johnson?
Posted on 4/6/15 at 9:28 am to Tuscaloosa
Posted on 4/6/15 at 9:28 am to Tuscaloosa
If he hired Barles Charkley as an assistant that would be awesome.
0
Posted on 4/6/15 at 9:29 am to Robin Masters
quote:
many recruits will have grown up watching AJ play
I'm with you, but that's not correct. At best the kids were 5 years old at the tail-end of his playing career.
This post was edited on 4/6/15 at 9:32 am
Posted on 4/6/15 at 9:44 am to au4you
quote:
I keep seeing Bama fans saying this. Is this a fact or just speculation?
Avery's son played for the Texas Titans. That's an AAU team that has been around for about 10 years. They are funded by a telecommunications billionaire and boast such alumni as Julius Randle.
Forbes discusses the Texas Titans AAU team
As his son played in that system for several years, he knows the coaches in that network and the teams. Texas AAU also pulls kids from Louisiana, where Johnson also has connections. He's going to need to hire assistants with solid college recruiting experience, but getting his foot in the door with some of the best kids in Texas, LA, AL, etc. will not be a problem.
Also, he's related to one of the top HS players in the country who is mentored by Mo Williams. If he can get the kid to consider Bama, look out.
Malik Newman - Special Bond with Mo Williams
Posted on 4/6/15 at 9:48 am to BigBird09
quote:
many recruits will have grown up watching AJ play
Not really.
quote:
I'm with you, but that's not correct. At best the kids were 5 years old at the tail-end of his playing career.
Correct, but they've grown up watching NBA Tonight, etc. on ESPN and they've seen Johnson on those shows. They know his name and once they start really looking into his resume - playing and coaching - it will give him credibility with these kids. Bigger point about his playing career is the recruits' parents will remember him.
Posted on 4/6/15 at 10:00 am to elposter
You should be very excited because AJ WILL return the basketball program to respectability. Will Alabama be a perennial Sweet 16 or an Elite 8 team? HIGHLY DOUBTFUL but Bama will be MUCH improved. Avery is a damn good coach and VERY respected in the NBA.
Again, we will not be the next Kentucky but then again, very few teams are... I could definitely see him bringing Bama basketball back to the level that Wimp Sanderson achieved. Those teams were VERY good. Perennial SEC championship winners, were regulars at the NCAA tournaments and were extremely competitive. If we reach that level again, then I'd be ecstatic and you should be as well!!!
Again, we will not be the next Kentucky but then again, very few teams are... I could definitely see him bringing Bama basketball back to the level that Wimp Sanderson achieved. Those teams were VERY good. Perennial SEC championship winners, were regulars at the NCAA tournaments and were extremely competitive. If we reach that level again, then I'd be ecstatic and you should be as well!!!
Posted on 4/6/15 at 10:07 am to tungi01
He's got big time boom potential along with bust potential (as any coaching hire would have). If he surrounds himself with good college assistants I think he'll be fantastic. Would like to see either Pettway retained or Pearson stolen back from UGA. Do think that recruiting will not be a problem with AJ because of his resume and personality as others have stated. All in all, I think it is a fantastic hire.
Posted on 4/6/15 at 11:20 am to train1523
quote:
He's got big time boom potential along with bust potential (as any coaching hire would have).
That's exactly what I think. He'll either be very, very successful or just a complete failure. It won't be years and years of meh like it was with CAG. Really excited to see how it will play out.
Posted on 4/6/15 at 11:27 am to sarc
This is a very high risk/reward hire sort of like kiffin was. Which for a bball program that has been subpar for some time now, that is exactly what we needed. Let's be honest here, a black coach who was a great NBA player and NBA coach of the year, recruiting mostly young black players with dreams of the NBA is not going to hurt recruiting. We know he is a decent x and o guy from his NBA days. I see way more upside than downside to this hire. If he sucks, we are in the same place we were with Grant, if he is good he could blow the top off this program, so win win to me.
Posted on 4/6/15 at 12:04 pm to tider04
AJ wants to be here. And once he gets on campus he will be ecstatic . He will be a winner at Bama.
I think we caught a big break on this hire.
I think we caught a big break on this hire.
Posted on 4/6/15 at 12:28 pm to Herman Frisco
quote:
AJ wants to be here. And once he gets on campus he will be ecstatic . He will be a winner at Bama.
I think we caught a big break on this hire.
I agree. At the worst he will be much more successful than Grant and give our program a ton of positive exposure.
Posted on 4/6/15 at 1:39 pm to cas4t
quote:wont be a problem as long as he keeps pettway. johnson has tons of personality and will connect with the kids, and he can sell the nba angle. not too many college coaches out there can say they won a championship as a player and coached in the nba finals, and also won the coach of the year award in the nba. these kids want to get to the nba, and johnson has a foot in that world that few other college coaches can match. Hes at least as good at xs and os as grant (and the attacking style he prefers wil be much more fun to watch). a lot will depend on what his staff looks like, will need an experienced college staff. I do think the crap you see on the rant about coaching in the nba being easier than college is bullshite though. in the nba you have to wrangle a bunch of egomaniacs who are more valuable to the franchise than you are, and get them all to work together. coaching college kids should be a breeze after that
I'd be worried about the recruiting situation, though. Seeing as how he's never done it and he will be competing with Pearl, Jones, Donovan and Cal for kids
This post was edited on 4/6/15 at 1:41 pm
Posted on 4/6/15 at 8:04 pm to narddogg81
The difference between college basketball and college football is that basketball players come in with a totally different mindset. The one-and-done thing in basketball means that kids are wayyy more focused on immediate playing time for a coach that can showcase them to the NBA. That's somewhat present in football, but nowhere near as much.
I think Johnson can be that kind of coach. Pitch his ties to the NBA, pitch the fact that he coached Dirk, and start bringing in some players like Kaminsky.
I think Johnson can be that kind of coach. Pitch his ties to the NBA, pitch the fact that he coached Dirk, and start bringing in some players like Kaminsky.
Posted on 4/6/15 at 10:57 pm to Goombaw
Read his bio: you will see a guy that reminds you a lot of Saban. Got everything he has by busting his tail and he expects that effort from others. That's probably a big reason for his firing from the NBA. A bunch of Prima donas don't want to be told to hustle and bust it. I think he will fit shockingly well into the college game. It's going to be fun to watch anyway and I'm excited we are finally trying something besides Grant and his horrific coaching.
Posted on 4/7/15 at 12:46 am to Goombaw
quote:
start bringing in some players like Kaminsky.
Dude Kaminsky was like 2 star player that did absolutely nothing his first two years in college. Finding a guy like him that turns in to a potential first round prospect and NPOY is super super rare.
Posted on 4/7/15 at 7:48 am to RTR America
I had high hopes for the Swede and thought he was improving as time went by.
Posted on 4/7/15 at 9:25 am to tungi01
quote:
Will Alabama be a perennial Sweet 16 or an Elite 8 team? HIGHLY DOUBTFUL but Bama will be MUCH improved. Avery is a damn good coach and VERY respected in the NBA.
Alabama was a perennial Sweet 16 team under Wimp Sanderson. They went 7 times from '82 to '92
Posted on 4/7/15 at 9:31 am to GumpDyke
quote:
Can fellow Bama fans help get me excited about Avery Johnson?
I could blow a bunch of smoke about how he is going to recruit so well and energize the program but he has never done that in the past because hes only coached two teams above high school level in his lifetime and he didnt have to recruit or promote anything for those teams.
Basically we overpaid for a coach no one else was trying to hire on a hope and a whim.
Posted on 4/7/15 at 10:18 am to GumpDyke
Going to try to be a realistic here.
The Negatives:
There's some risk because he's never managed a college program before. He's never had to recruit and he's never had to be the one who is the face of the program. Heavy lies the crown so to speak. Its not like we stole him from a pro-job, he was unemployed. Was he still out of coaching for a reason? How much of adjustment will he need? Since he's a pro guy, does he have an accurate vision on how to elevate a college program (on & off the court) to the level we all want it to be? Can he change the culture?
Will he dart back to the NBA as soon as he gets an offer?
The Positives:
He's not the mid-major flavor of the month coach who will find the moment too big for him. Most programs have to hire a mid-major guy who bring a huge risk of flaming out. Johnson can handle the moment and he didn't ride a player or two for 3 games in the NCAAT. Also, due to Johnson's background and personality, recruiting won't be an issue IMO. That will be fine. IMO, he'll be able to market the program every bit as good as Pearl does at AU.
Basically, its a good hire. Its not the grand slam we all dreamed of and there's certainly some legit risk, but its a good, out of the box hire....and Alabama Basketball desperately needed that. Everyone's not going to fall in like they did for Saban, but I think he has the personality/energy to create that.
The Negatives:
There's some risk because he's never managed a college program before. He's never had to recruit and he's never had to be the one who is the face of the program. Heavy lies the crown so to speak. Its not like we stole him from a pro-job, he was unemployed. Was he still out of coaching for a reason? How much of adjustment will he need? Since he's a pro guy, does he have an accurate vision on how to elevate a college program (on & off the court) to the level we all want it to be? Can he change the culture?
Will he dart back to the NBA as soon as he gets an offer?
The Positives:
He's not the mid-major flavor of the month coach who will find the moment too big for him. Most programs have to hire a mid-major guy who bring a huge risk of flaming out. Johnson can handle the moment and he didn't ride a player or two for 3 games in the NCAAT. Also, due to Johnson's background and personality, recruiting won't be an issue IMO. That will be fine. IMO, he'll be able to market the program every bit as good as Pearl does at AU.
Basically, its a good hire. Its not the grand slam we all dreamed of and there's certainly some legit risk, but its a good, out of the box hire....and Alabama Basketball desperately needed that. Everyone's not going to fall in like they did for Saban, but I think he has the personality/energy to create that.
This post was edited on 4/7/15 at 10:39 am
Posted on 4/7/15 at 10:46 am to GumpDyke
Avery Johnson has a big ring.
And a trophy.
Teenage recruits should like that.
And a trophy.
Teenage recruits should like that.
Posted on 4/7/15 at 12:11 pm to GumpDyke
Believe you have to look at the weaknesses of our program/team to see how the AJ hire will benefit us.
1. We have been almost completely irrelevant for the past 8 years. The splash hire has already created positive PR buzz.
2. No home court advantage. AJ has the personality to promote a sport at a football dominate university. Fans will come and hopefully create an environment that should give us an advantage.
3. No identity. Supposedly our MO was our defense, but truthfully speaking we weren’t a good defense team during the past few years and our players look passive. The team identity has yet to be determined exactly, but I cannot imagine an AJ coached team being as lethargic as we’ve looked in the past. RT and SH especially should excel under AJ.
4. Poor offensive spacing. Our players are decent, but poorly run offensive sets prevented them from getting good looks at the basket. The NBA stresses spacing more than the college game due to size and athleticism of the players. Also if rumors are true that college will go to a 30 sec shot clock then we should have a leg up on the competition. (Not sure how much difference it makes, but it can’t hurt.)
5. Recruiting base. When Grant was hired our recruiting base extended into VA, but we never quite landed the big fish and quickly reverted back to relying almost entirely on in-state talent. AJ could extend the recruiting base to LA and TX or even past that since he is known nationwide. With the in-state talent on the rise as well, I see this as an area that could drastically improve if the proper staff is hired.
6. Staff- AJ has tons of connections and could put together a very quality staff. Still not sure how strong we were under Grant. We’ll see where those guys land, but our future staff should be an upgrade over the last staff.
We still need to find some bigs that can rebound and develop another shooter or two, but the future is bright. Hope that helps you get excited. Every hire comes with its set of risks but we could have done much worse. Not sure how much better we could have done.
1. We have been almost completely irrelevant for the past 8 years. The splash hire has already created positive PR buzz.
2. No home court advantage. AJ has the personality to promote a sport at a football dominate university. Fans will come and hopefully create an environment that should give us an advantage.
3. No identity. Supposedly our MO was our defense, but truthfully speaking we weren’t a good defense team during the past few years and our players look passive. The team identity has yet to be determined exactly, but I cannot imagine an AJ coached team being as lethargic as we’ve looked in the past. RT and SH especially should excel under AJ.
4. Poor offensive spacing. Our players are decent, but poorly run offensive sets prevented them from getting good looks at the basket. The NBA stresses spacing more than the college game due to size and athleticism of the players. Also if rumors are true that college will go to a 30 sec shot clock then we should have a leg up on the competition. (Not sure how much difference it makes, but it can’t hurt.)
5. Recruiting base. When Grant was hired our recruiting base extended into VA, but we never quite landed the big fish and quickly reverted back to relying almost entirely on in-state talent. AJ could extend the recruiting base to LA and TX or even past that since he is known nationwide. With the in-state talent on the rise as well, I see this as an area that could drastically improve if the proper staff is hired.
6. Staff- AJ has tons of connections and could put together a very quality staff. Still not sure how strong we were under Grant. We’ll see where those guys land, but our future staff should be an upgrade over the last staff.
We still need to find some bigs that can rebound and develop another shooter or two, but the future is bright. Hope that helps you get excited. Every hire comes with its set of risks but we could have done much worse. Not sure how much better we could have done.
Page 2 of 2
Latest Alabama News
Back to top
Follow SECRant for SEC Football News