re: Alabama Basketball Recruiting and Offseason Talk

Exactly. It's like waiting to open a Christmas gift that you have been staring at for a month, because in your heart, you know it's the best toy ever made, and it ends up being socks and underwear

quote:

---

I don’t think they’ve ruled it out. Just haven’t found what they want out of a grad transfer. And I don’t know if the transfer will be Moyer. Could be, but might be somebody else.

---

Gotcha. Well my guess is Moyer ends up at Xavier if they really want him, but it does surprise me that we'd rather take a transfer of that ilk over a grad transfer with the 2019 class coming in. I do have to give our staff the benefit of the doubt when it comes to an eye for talent though. Maybe they see in Moyer what they saw in King.

quote:

---

I don’t think they’ve ruled it out. Just haven’t found what they want out of a grad transfer. And I don’t know if the transfer will be Moyer. Could be, but might be somebody else.

---

I can understand that but I'd rather just leave the scholarship open than tie it up for at least 2 years on an unknown. Just leave it open and use it on a recruit. That's my vote, not that it matters

quote:

---

If it’s Moyer I think he’d play more 4 than Herbert or Mack would. We need more athleticism at that position.

---

I see. I think I'd rather get a guard grad transfer this year and have Kobe Brown try to fill that atheletic 4 role moving forward, but maybe I'm just too low on Moyer.

Have you heard anything about the staff's thoughts on Brown? I know he visited, but we still haven't offered.

quote:

---

Are we as a fanbase excited about him because he exceeded our low expectations or does he have true potential to grow as a post? Obviously his FT shooting can improve, but he’s not a great athlete, shot blocker or rebounder. Not trying to knock him, just not sure how high his ceiling really is.

---

Yeah, I was literally posting that lineup prediction when that question popped into my head. I think it's a combination of the fact that he had zero expectations and outperformed a guy with high expectations in Giddens. The more I think about it, the more I think Fleming will end up as Hall's back up. He's just so skilled offensively to give Smith the nod simply because he didn't suck last year like we expected him to.

Edit: I feel like this came across as harsh. I think he can grow and become a solid and balanced post player, I'm just more taken by Fleming's skill.

quote:

---

This post got away from me too quickly and wanted to talk Smith’s game. Are we as a fanbase excited about him because he exceeded our low expectations or does he have true potential to grow as a post? Obviously his FT shooting can improve, but he’s not a great athlete, shot blocker or rebounder. Not trying to knock him, just not sure how high his ceiling really is.

---

I really don't believe his ceiling is very high. I'm hoping his defense and rebounding will continue to improve. I believe these are the things he can get pretty good at. I'm not sure how much more offense we can get out of him.

Why not Ingram? He was the primary ball-handler in 2016-17 and was pretty respectable at it. 26% AST%. TOs were still higher than you'd like them, though. But also for whatever reason he was a more efficient offensive player creating for himself.

Having a non-shooter at PG isn't ideal but he's probably the best option. Put Petty, Mack, and Reese/Norris in the lineup and that's still a pretty good shooting team. Bring in Butler to beat press-heavy teams.

And not sure why Herb is an option anyone is talking about at PG. For all of the criticism that Ingram gets for turnovers, Herb was even more of a TO% last year. And Herb hasn't shown the ability to create for himself or others yet. Maybe by his senior year he'll be that guy but right now he's a versatile wing defender and glue guy.

Ingram is going to play a lot of PG next year. But our coaches really like Butler as well. I see them getting a fair amount of minutes together.

Herb had one game where he couldn’t be stopped playing pick n roll game with Hall. Might’ve been TN game. I believe that’s where the optimism comes from.

quote:

---

He’s got decent hands right? The form on his shot doesn’t look broken. (Not like some of our recent posts.) A turn and face J would be a nice addition. Will require hard work but he could do it. It’ll be interesting if he can develop into an everyday starter. Who knows? Maybe he’s our 4 next year.

---

For a second I thought you were talking about Smith

Yeah, Fleming is supposed to have great hands. I heard his midrange jump shot is passable and it indeed doesn't look broken. I've said it before, but I wouldn't be totally surprised if he started a few games at the 4 this coming year. Since losing all the weight he looks much lighter on his feet and the staff apparently told him how much they like his ability to switch on to guards on defense. That dude's massive base (and by base I mean arse ) is going to make posting up so much easier for him than anyone we've had since Hendrix.