re: Tide Hoops | 25-12 (13-5)

I’m afraid Nelson and Estrada might be like AAAA baseball players. Way too good for mid major and okay high major teams but not good enough to be go to options for a top 20 team.

That's a pretty damn good analogy. I think either would be stud 6th men. But neither looks like leaders on the floor. Estrada and Nelson started off so hot offensively, but are inefficient as hell against high major defenders. They've turned into liabilities, especially defensively.

You think a six and four team that is 1-4 against the better teams they played has a shot a one of the best teams in the country in Arizona?

Take those Crimson glasses off and face the fact that this Alabama team is no where near as good as the last three years.

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That being said, it’s also ok to admit this team has been somewhat disappointing. Estrada and Nelson have been very underwhelming. Nelson isn’t an NBA player right now, let alone a first round draft pick. And we are bad defensively. Awful. We’ve played 5 P5 teams and four of them have shot 50% or better from the field. We’ve yet to hold a P5 to below 85 points. This isn’t a great team, but if a 5-9 seed in the tourney is our floor under Oats, I think you take that all day.

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This.

We got fricked this off-season, and this roster is the result. Bediako should've come back, and surprised us. Walton has played well for Memphis. And Quin leaving left a huge leadership void (I've got my jq gripes, but having a 25 year old PG would've been huge for closing out games). Only player we wouldn't have kept would've been either Nelson, Stevenson. Or Wague (though even that's not guaranteed).

Imagine a lineup of JQ, Sears, Walton, Nelson, and Bediako. Compare that to having freshmen wings getting the PT, when they're obviously not ready defensively, and barely ready offensively.

Oats managed to scrape together a damn solid lineup, just not what we've gotten accustomed to. But we're still fighting like hell in hostile road environments.

But go read any national board with non SEC fans. Neutral fans respect us, and want nothing to do with us in an elimination setting. We're flawed as hell, but still dangerous.


This looks like a bit of a rebuild year. Yes, with the portal and everything else, teams don't rebuild like they used to. But it seems like we are seeing Oats' floor as a coach. For a team that's one been to 1 elite 8, it's unrealistic to have identical expectations as Kansas or UConn, and expect to be a top 3 seed every year. Especially considering the shite luck we had this off-season.

It would be too fitting if we strung along a mediocre year, just to pull an Arkansas and get hot as hell in March. I'm not holding my breath. But we've got a team that can make almost anyone sweat on the right night. It's a fun but frustrating team to watch. I get the panic, but I would rather play this schedule vs playing a cupcakes. Losing sucks but winning by 30 vs low majors is boring.


On a positive note, Sears is becoming one of my all time Bama favorites. Plays with passion, a shitload of effort, and has continued to develop with each game. I just hate he's not getting the help he needs down the stretch. But there's still another 20+games left, so I haven't written them off yet. Plus, our biggest holes are going to be filled next year. Having Reid and Sherrell, 2 5*s that already have chemistry together, is going to do huge things for our team defense.

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Then we have three freshmen-Cosby, Parker, and Dioubate, who we don’t trust enough to see the floor. Wouldn’t surprise me if all three are in the portal after the season

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I hate to be a dick and call out a freshman. But every time he touches the ball, he does something dumb and impulsive. He's a great athlete. But shouldn't have burned his redshirt. He's definitely gonna need all 5 years of eligibility to be effective at the high major level.

Bama just got to get a WIN!

WIN TUESDAY NIGHT!!

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Bama just got to get a WIN!

WIN TUESDAY NIGHT!!

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Maybe you should follow my lead, and smoke a bunch of weed and drink strong coffee to start the morning. Then you might know what day we play




;)

Naysayers response in 3....2....1....

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Lol Creighton is not a mid major

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I know. I was asking him why he thought they were

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“Over the past 7 years, Auburn Basketball has the best non-conference record in the SEC.” Auburn HC Bruce Pearl

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This isn’t the Flex Bruce thinks it is

I have watched most of the games and his injury must not be keeping him off the court. Either way we cant shoot 18% from 3 point and win