re: Going out on a limb here regarding basketball . . .

quote:

---

Our best bet is to get Petty level recruits who actually live up to expectations.

---

And if Petty lived up to expectations he'd be on an NBA roster this fall. My point was that we used to have NBA quality guys on the roster all the time, instead of going like 20 years in between 1st round draft picks. I'll give you that guys like Sexton aren't the norm for Alabama so I was probably wrong there, but having NBA caliber players on a regular basis absolutely was the norm up until about 10 years ago. From 1976-2001 we never went more than 5 drafts in between 1st round picks, and had at least one player drafted in most of those years. Since 2008 our only draft pick is Sexton. Our talent level completely tanked ever since Gottfried started focusing more on night putting than basketball, and then Grant just made it worse.

quote:

---

having NBA caliber players on a regular basis absolutely was the norm up until about 10 years ago

---

10 years ago was also when one and done really started to take off. That's made it a lot harder for teams like us to get NBA players because UK and Duke are both seemingly taking 6-8 top 30 guys every cycle.

I'm not saying this team is one of Alabama's most talented ever or even close to that, but I don't think we can expect a coach to come in and recruit much better than Avery. We have to win with superior coaching and borderline NBA prospects.

quote:

---

We can and should expect a new coach to recruit better in terms of having a system, recruiting guys who fit that system, and scouting better.

---

Been the biggest flaw in our coaches for decades now.

quote:

---

but I don't think we can expect a coach to come in and recruit much better than Avery.

---

I don't either. Not without going full Will Wade and having an under the table NBA payroll. Avery is mostly signing top 100 recruits with one top ~40 guy in every class, which is probably the best we can hope for. Avery's problem is that he doesn't develop them. If guys like Petty, Herb, Reese, and Mack were being coached by someone competent they'd look a lot better than they do though, and one or two of them may even have a good shot at the NBA.

Not including the 2019 signees, Avery has brought in 8 former top 100 recruits. Key, Sexton, Petty, Reese, Kira, Giddens, Mack, and King. With the 2019 signees that number jumps to 11. There's just no excuse for not developing more than a couple of those into NBA players, or at the very least better than average college players.

quote:

---

I don't either. Not without going full Will Wade and having an under the table NBA payroll. Avery is mostly signing top 100 recruits with one top ~40 guy in every class, which is probably the best we can hope for. Avery's problem is that he doesn't develop them. If guys like Petty, Herb, Reese, and Mack were being coached by someone competent they'd look a lot better than they do though, and one or two of them may even have a good shot at the NBA.

Not including the 2019 signees, Avery has brought in 8 former top 100 recruits. Key, Sexton, Petty, Reese, Kira, Giddens, Mack, and King. With the 2019 signees that number jumps to 11. There's just no excuse for not developing more than a couple of those into NBA players, or at the very least better than average college players.

---

Exactly. As I've mentioned multiple times in the past year, Avery's players are the best they're going to be when they arrive on campus. They get progressively worse from there. That's a pretty big indictment of his coaching.

Kira Lewis is really good. Love this kid.

Tevin Mack has good size and plenty of potential but his window is closing.

John Petty is garbage.

Dazon Ingram is garbage.

Herb Jones is garbage. Nice defender but his absolute inept ability on offense doesn't make his defense worth it.

Alex Reese is garbage. Shoots a decent line drive 3 once in a while...but he sucks at everything else. Terrible feet.

Daniel Giddens is garbage.

Galin Smith has decent size and shows some toughness but overall he's bench material. He's basically garbage.

D Wood, Fleming and the 3 new guys coming in better be god sent because this "most talented roster ever" is a load of crap.

quote:

---

The sad thing is that Avery actually seems like he does in fact at least have a plan as far as recruiting goes. Grant was very much a "offer everyone good in state and the best 10-15 players within 4 hours of campus who aren't good enough to go to Duke, Kentucky, Kansas, or UNC and see if we can sign 2 of them" kind of coach and it was a total disaster. Avery just can't coach. At all. He comes up with a great gameplan like once or twice a season, but otherwise can't develop talent or make remotely competent in game tactical decisions.

---

Yea I totally agree. I love the way, generally, he has changed our roster. We have shooters now and we clearly have a plan in how we want to play, and have recruited kids to roles that fit that plan. Long shooters, dynamic point guards. The only hole has been big guys.

The upside is he and his staff have been good at identifying guys who fit those roles (which is probably why he gets legitimate discussion as a NBA front office guy). The downside is we have no idea how to take their raw skills and mold them into complete players doing the thing we want them to do.

And that's just the player development side. As you said, the other main issues are micro : no real gameplan (outside of taking away the other teams best player), no creativity in adapting to personnel, miserable in game adjustments and the inconsistency that occurs because of poor discipline with players.

quote:

---

A lot of those guys would go from "garbage" to at least "pretty damn good" if they were coached by a competent X's and O's coach. Lewis and the incoming freshmen will soon be on your garbage list if Avery sticks around much longer.

---

Yea - it's very difficult to label a lot of these guys in a black and white sense because almost all of them have shown specific talents that could fit into a greater scheme.

Honestly, the only one who I watch night in and night out and think "he's just not a good player" is Avery Jr. He does some things every once in a while, but he's not a D1 basketball player.

- Kira Lewis is a NBA talent and has all the traits you want out of your PG.

- Tevin Mack is a prototypical streaky shooter who has an underrated around the basket game. He's 100% a guy who you watch the first 5 minutes he is in and decide whether he's going to play 20 minutes or 10 minutes that night.

- John Petty has been a good player this year and has gotten a lot better. I don't think he's garbage at all. He's a more consistent shooter, he's a great passer, a decent defender and his plays his arse off.

- Dazon Ingram is a PERFECT example of a guy who a good coach would find a way to be in good spots. Dazon is clearly a laid back kid who can come and go in terms of emotions. He is NOT a dribble the air out of the ball guard. He is a great interior passer, a good slasher, a good rebounder and an efficient outside shooter when open. He would be a perfect situational 3/4 depending on the other teams lineup. That would require specific gameplans based on the other team.......which we don't do.

- Herb is just a bad player right now. He could be better, but he's been failed by this staff and is clearly feeling it and making it worse. He needs a reset.

- Reese is a big guy with a great touch. He's not a starter but he's another situation guy who can give you good minutes if deployed in the right situations and right matchups.

- I love Giddens. He didn't quit, he's worked his arse off and gotten better when he EASILY could have just quit. With that said, he's a giant strong body, decently athletic and doesn't have an awful mid range shot. Again, you can work with that.

- Honestly I don't think Galin is a SEC big man unless he develops a Erwin Dudley style post game. He can't jump, he doesn't shoot jumpers and his entire offensive game is slamming into the post player. If the opponent is 6-9 or taller he has no shot.



So - again - this is a roster that could be deployed in ways that can win games. But players have to know their roles, be comfortable in their roles and have a coach who deploys them in ways that give them the best chance to succeed.

We don't have that right now.

quote:

---

What Tony Bennett has done with Braxton Key should tell you all you need to know about Avery's coaching.

---

I agree with a lot of your posts but I think people are making too much of Braxton Key at Virginia.

I do agree with you that at Alabama, Key was prone to the same ups and downs of "energy level" that has plagued the team this year and that is certainly on Avery.


However, I think people underrate how good of a defender Key was at Alabama because he came nowhere close to living up to expectations of offense.

He could step out on switches and keep even PGs like Lamar Peters from driving --something not even our current guards can do consistently.

Key is the main reason those Avery Johnson teams had such better defensive stats -- and, more importantly, ability to make crunch time stops-- compared to this current team.

I think people remember Key being such a letdown because he was extremely inconsistent on offense and more of a turnover machine than Ingram and Mack combined.

When I've watched Virginia, he is never asked to create anything at all offensively on that roster.


Again, Bennett is certainly a better coach than Avery, but the luxury of having an experienced Key merely as a defense first 4th or even 5th offensive option is also something Avery didn't have.


If Key were averaging 6 points a game like he is for Virginia and coming off scoring performances of 2, 6, 3, 1 and 4 in February people here would be going on and on about how Avery ruined his NBA chances.

Free throws are a big deal to me. We always lose 10-15 points at the line. We choke and miss clutch or front ends that should count as 2 missed free throws to me.