Started By
Message
re: This year with Avery Johnson proves just how bad Anthony Grant was
Posted on 2/11/16 at 4:18 pm to aspiclark
Posted on 2/11/16 at 4:18 pm to aspiclark
quote:That's not what I'm saying at all -- I'm just saying that sometimes, shite happens. The margin of error for basketball coaches is very small. One recruit or one transfer can be the difference between the NIT and a 7 seed.
You seem to desperately want this to have been Alabama's fault somehow. It's very transparent. But the thing is, it wasn't. It was Anthony Grant's fault.
Sometimes, good coaches fail.
It ultimately is Grant's fault, but I still believe that he's a good coach who will get another shot at a big program once he "pays his dues."
Posted on 2/11/16 at 4:20 pm to GatorsGators
quote:
Battle loved Grant (and wanted to give him another year) -- boosters didn't.
Battle just didn't want to go through a coaching search.
Posted on 2/11/16 at 4:20 pm to GatorsGators
I agree with you that I could see Anthony Grant having some success in another situation. He is still young and I could definitely see him improving.
But that is a far cry from your original post that started this tangent. And again, with all due respect, it is fricking ludicrous to say that "heat" from "boosters" because he "wouldn't grease their palms" had literally anything to do with his failure here. He was given every opportunity, full support from the university, and more time than any of these boosters ever wanted him to have. But the team never got better, and then in his last year, it got much worse.
That is why he failed. Not because of the reasons you originally posted blaming everyone else besides him.
But that is a far cry from your original post that started this tangent. And again, with all due respect, it is fricking ludicrous to say that "heat" from "boosters" because he "wouldn't grease their palms" had literally anything to do with his failure here. He was given every opportunity, full support from the university, and more time than any of these boosters ever wanted him to have. But the team never got better, and then in his last year, it got much worse.
That is why he failed. Not because of the reasons you originally posted blaming everyone else besides him.
This post was edited on 2/11/16 at 4:22 pm
Posted on 2/11/16 at 4:22 pm to GatorsGators
Maybe he could've landed and retained a stud and bought himself more time. The fact that he didn't is on him. His shortcomings on offense and gameplanning would've shown through eventually. There was no way it would end well. He was simply not a good coach. He's going to need more than a "better situation" to succeed, he's going to have to improve in his own abilities.
This post was edited on 2/11/16 at 4:23 pm
Posted on 2/11/16 at 4:24 pm to GatorsGators
quote:
It turned the heat on him early, and sometimes it's hard to recruit with so much negative perception swirling.
Everyone loved him early on. We were selling out Coleman. He has no one to blame but himself.
When you mention us having similar results this year, keep in mind that we played a much tougher schedule this season than we did last year.
Posted on 2/11/16 at 4:26 pm to aspiclark
Grant made enemies with boosters and AAU coaches very early in his tenure, and, yes, I think that contributed to the heat that came earlier than it should have -- Grant was disliked by many midway through his third year when his first two years were successful.
So by the time year five rolls around, it's hard to recruit with so much negative perception swirling the program for years.
Sure, that wasn't the ultimate reason he failed, but it played a small part imo
So by the time year five rolls around, it's hard to recruit with so much negative perception swirling the program for years.
Sure, that wasn't the ultimate reason he failed, but it played a small part imo
Posted on 2/11/16 at 4:28 pm to GatorsGators
quote:The fans wanted his arse out the year before Battle finally canned him. Battle was fresh on the job and didn't want to make waves too soon.
Battle loved Grant (and wanted to give him another year) -- boosters didn't.
Posted on 2/11/16 at 4:29 pm to GatorsGators
You're blaming boosters for Grant alienating AAU coaches now?
Good lord. It's his job not to alienate AAU coaches.
And why do you think you know so much more about our school than we do? It's bizarre.
Good lord. It's his job not to alienate AAU coaches.
And why do you think you know so much more about our school than we do? It's bizarre.
Posted on 2/11/16 at 4:29 pm to GatorsGators
Dude that will kill any coach at any school. Recruiting and booster support is the life line to any program. You can't recruit with out booster support and you can't build relationships with players without going through AAU coaches. If you ask me it is the main reason he failed.
Posted on 2/11/16 at 4:31 pm to GatorsGators
And didn't we make the tournament in his 3rd year? The Bama machine was very much behind him at that point. You think you know a lot more than you do about this tbh.
Posted on 2/11/16 at 4:31 pm to GatorsGators
quote:That's not how I remember it.
I think that contributed to the heat that came earlier than it should have
It seems in fact a lot of us believed in him and excused these things a lot longer than we should have. The heat came too late.
We did not pull the rug out from under him. We did not screw him over. Quite the opposite. If anything we gave him too much time and leeway.
Posted on 2/11/16 at 4:34 pm to aspiclark
Yes, but as I recall, there was a lot of heat on him with the Green/Mitchell situation.
Posted on 2/11/16 at 4:37 pm to aspiclark
quote:meh. I followed the program as closely as or more closely than many Bama fans because I've been a Grant fan since his UF then VCU days.
You think you know a lot more than you do about this tbh.
Posted on 2/11/16 at 4:37 pm to GatorsGators
quote:Grant wasn't coaching very well in his last two years, anyone could see that. But that fact had nothing to do with the enemy boosters and AAU coaches.
Grant made enemies with boosters and AAU coaches very early in his tenure, and, yes, I think that contributed to the heat that came earlier than it should have -- Grant was disliked by many midway through his third year when his first two years were successful.
So by the time year five rolls around, it's hard to recruit with so much negative perception swirling the program for years.
Sure, that wasn't the ultimate reason he failed, but it played a small part imo
AJ has taken Grant's players and has them playing with better team chemistry and cohesiveness. The play calling is much better. Our guys play with purpose and determination in the midst of adversity with the injuries, etc.
The last thing a basketball coach should do is make an enemy of a basketball booster at a "football" school.
This post was edited on 2/11/16 at 4:41 pm
Posted on 2/11/16 at 4:39 pm to GatorsGators
quote:
Yes, but as I recall, there was a lot of heat on him with the Green/Mitchell situation
Not really. I'd say most people didn't have any problem with it. That happened shortly after Gottfried's tenure when Mark let anything go. We thought they just got out of line and Grant needed to put his foot down.
Posted on 2/11/16 at 4:42 pm to GatorsGators
[quote]Yes, but as I recall, there was a lot of heat on him with the Green/Mitchell situation. [quote]
bullshite, most chalked that up to Grant administering much needed discipline after Gottfried's lazy arse let them run wild.
bullshite, most chalked that up to Grant administering much needed discipline after Gottfried's lazy arse let them run wild.
This post was edited on 2/11/16 at 4:44 pm
Posted on 2/11/16 at 4:43 pm to GatorsGators
quote:
This year with Avery Johnson proves just how bad Anthony Grant was
Yes, but as I recall, there was a lot of heat on him with the Green/Mitchell situation.
"Heat" is the wrong word. There were definitely a lot of eyebrows being raised when he kicked our best player off the team and never really gave an explanation why. I mean, that would happen anywhere. But the idea that this is when the power brokers turned on him is simply untrue. It was just a sign of things to come.
The lack of communication Grant provided about everything surrounding his suspension was bizarre, and honestly, is very much representative of everything that is wrong with the way he ran the program. Even if it was justified, the way it was handled was extremely amateurish. And to be clear, if there were anything that could have been done to keep Tony in the fold, it should have been. If there was nothing, it should have been handled better from a PR standpoint. In either case, it wasn't.
But back to the main point, you are fricking nuts if you think that booster chatter, message board chatter, talk radio, etc. about that incident was not more than offset by him making the tournament that year. He had plenty of support after that. Everyone was on board.
There was certainly a justified growing concern about his ability to manage a program after that incident but it would never have mattered if that season had not proven to be the high watermark of his time here. And the constant mystery suspensions only got worse from there. It became an established pattern, along with the constant transfers every offseason. That, again, is what did him in - not boosters, not the school, not AAU coaches, not any one player.
Posted on 2/11/16 at 4:45 pm to GatorsGators
quote:I mean, I get that you think that, but I can tell reading your posts you didn't follow it half as closely as the posters you're talking to right now.
I followed the program as closely as or more closely than many Bama fans because I've been a Grant fan since his UF then VCU days.
Posted on 2/11/16 at 4:46 pm to aspiclark
Grant didn't seem to handle the enormity of Alabama. Football cast a wide shadow. As a basketball coach, you have to embrace it. I think Grant was intimidated by it.
Posted on 2/11/16 at 4:51 pm to aspiclark
I think I followed the program pretty damn closely. I think the main difference is that I went in as a fan of the coach rather than the school so my perspectives differ
Back to top
Follow SECRant for SEC Football News