Started By
Message
re: Alabama Basketball 2012-13 Season Thread
Posted on 3/27/13 at 7:51 pm to mrbroker
Posted on 3/27/13 at 7:51 pm to mrbroker
Another year without an SEC or National Title. I expected the good side of the bubble pre-season and we were on the outside instead. SEC was very winnable this year for this team due to the poor play by the othere SEC teams , too bad Bama couldn't take advantage.
My end of year evaluations:
Releford- was basically happy with his play this year. Showed some signs of leadership at times, which is more than I ever expected.
Lacey- needs to drop some pounds. Seems lethargic at times. I actually think he looked better in all phases of the game during his FR year.
Cooper- My preseason leading rebounder(Cooper) pick was accurate, sadly. Mentally and physically he also did about the same or worse than his FR year. I thought last year his offensive game was being stifled by Grant, I still believe that and think it took a much larger toll on him this year mentally. Coop was my favorite in his class, hopefully he can expand his role on offense despite offensive scheme. Had trouble finishing at rim in half court but is a good finisher on break.
Randolph- Still a high energy guy that shows little aggression on offense. Did look better in post season. No complaints with him, he plays hard and is normally steady. He can be a solid role player and still has the potential to "put it together" and be a top player on the team and in the SEC.
Retin- Looks good, like his game. Improved throughout the year, which is something good to see from any Bama player, it's been a while it seems. Very bright future for him is possible.
The two bigs- Nothing more than I though they were, space eaters at best. Expect nothing from them in future more than that. The Swede is actually improving, so just maybe he can surprise me someday.
Jacobs- With the injury problems early, I'll give him some slack. He did look much better physically later in the year. Also showed some glimpses of defensive aggression in the second half of year. He's a guy that I think can still make big improvements on both ends of the court. Will he put in the time and get the coaching, that is the question.
Pollard- Looked better at end of year. I had no expectations, so not really dissapointed with his season.
He has some natural talent and size, but needs a lot of work physically and mentally. Still believe he has a high ceiling, but he has a ways to go to get there.
Steele- Did all he could for the program. Glad he made it through the season without head injury. Would love to have him back on the team next year.
Grant- Showed little new this year. He is who he is. I have no problems with the minutes distribution or the substitution patterns. He still holds his TOs too often imo. Defense is fine, I still want to press more and run like hell off of the press. With the offensive struggles, I think running off of misses is also much needed. My hope for Grant is that he will evolve in a positive direction, he is not a bad coach and with some tweaking of his offensive philosophy could become a solid coach.
Going forward, next year sets up nicely from roster standpoint if one of the two new big guys can contribute rebounding and playing solid post defense. I expect a solid 7 seed type of team next year at the very least.
If everyone stays and progresses some, two seasons from now should be Grant's best chance. He'll have four seniors with tons of experience. 2-3 post players, all with experience along with any new recruits.
My end of year evaluations:
Releford- was basically happy with his play this year. Showed some signs of leadership at times, which is more than I ever expected.
Lacey- needs to drop some pounds. Seems lethargic at times. I actually think he looked better in all phases of the game during his FR year.
Cooper- My preseason leading rebounder(Cooper) pick was accurate, sadly. Mentally and physically he also did about the same or worse than his FR year. I thought last year his offensive game was being stifled by Grant, I still believe that and think it took a much larger toll on him this year mentally. Coop was my favorite in his class, hopefully he can expand his role on offense despite offensive scheme. Had trouble finishing at rim in half court but is a good finisher on break.
Randolph- Still a high energy guy that shows little aggression on offense. Did look better in post season. No complaints with him, he plays hard and is normally steady. He can be a solid role player and still has the potential to "put it together" and be a top player on the team and in the SEC.
Retin- Looks good, like his game. Improved throughout the year, which is something good to see from any Bama player, it's been a while it seems. Very bright future for him is possible.
The two bigs- Nothing more than I though they were, space eaters at best. Expect nothing from them in future more than that. The Swede is actually improving, so just maybe he can surprise me someday.
Jacobs- With the injury problems early, I'll give him some slack. He did look much better physically later in the year. Also showed some glimpses of defensive aggression in the second half of year. He's a guy that I think can still make big improvements on both ends of the court. Will he put in the time and get the coaching, that is the question.
Pollard- Looked better at end of year. I had no expectations, so not really dissapointed with his season.
He has some natural talent and size, but needs a lot of work physically and mentally. Still believe he has a high ceiling, but he has a ways to go to get there.
Steele- Did all he could for the program. Glad he made it through the season without head injury. Would love to have him back on the team next year.
Grant- Showed little new this year. He is who he is. I have no problems with the minutes distribution or the substitution patterns. He still holds his TOs too often imo. Defense is fine, I still want to press more and run like hell off of the press. With the offensive struggles, I think running off of misses is also much needed. My hope for Grant is that he will evolve in a positive direction, he is not a bad coach and with some tweaking of his offensive philosophy could become a solid coach.
Going forward, next year sets up nicely from roster standpoint if one of the two new big guys can contribute rebounding and playing solid post defense. I expect a solid 7 seed type of team next year at the very least.
If everyone stays and progresses some, two seasons from now should be Grant's best chance. He'll have four seniors with tons of experience. 2-3 post players, all with experience along with any new recruits.
2
Posted on 3/27/13 at 8:55 pm to bona fide
Posted on 3/27/13 at 9:02 pm to bona fide
I can't disagree with any of that, but I'll make a small list of my own...
Releford- Great finisher. Maybe the best finisher I've seen at the collegiate level given his size. Truly amazing turnaround that he made with his 3 pt shot. My guess was he'd be at best our 4th option from deep before the season started. My one and only complaint...court vision and passing. Releford would be a starting NBA quality PG if he had just an average NBA-level PG vision and passing. Outside of a lob the kid lacks the passing abilities needed for a PG his size at the next level.
Lacey- I will say the kid...he's clutch. When it comes to the last couple minutes, he's the best offensive player we have. BUT he's also been the biggest disappointment on the team for me after the first 10 or so games. His main problem? Consistency....in EVERYTHING. Effort, defense, shooting, passing, dribbling, aggressiveness, and just about any other category you could think of.
Cooper- Like you, he was my favorite player that we signed in the 2011 class. I also like to take credit for his rise in his HS Rival ranking, because I incessantly bitched to Jerry Meyer about how he was overlooking Cooper to the point where he probably just caved to my demands. He was also my preseason pick to lead the team in scoring. Yikes. I also think it is a confidence problem as well. In HS he didn't miss those floaters and hit a good percentage from 3 even with some of his ridiculously long-bomb attempts, and now he leaves every close shot short (commonly cause by a lack of confidence) and is a brick machine, even with his beautiful mechanics. Do love his effort on defense and rebounding and probably has the best court vision on the team.
Randolph- Lock-down defender with a good offensive game when he shows aggression. Of the three wings he certainly has the highest ceiling. Needs to get aggressive on offense like he did to finish the season, but also needs to get back his mid-range game that was the best part of his offensive game in HS and top 3 in the class according to Rivals.
Retin- Able. Bodied. Athleticism. Unbelievably athletic and easily has the quickest first step of any player on the team. He might develop into our best pro prospect. The Russell Westbrook comparison Steele threw out before the season were spot on. I think he will be a solid shooter next year, and he has great potential with his pull-up jumper.
Engstrom- If Engstrom can somehow get softer hands, he'd be at least a passable offensive threat IMO. The kid was shooting 69% from the field before he went down, which is great regardless of sample size. Doesn't seem to have the problems Moussa has with put-backs. He had the best post move of anyone this season right before he went down. Just out-powered his man from near the FT line to right next to the basket with shear size and good foot-work.
Gueye- Defensively he's very good, regardless of what some think. Offensively, he is a disaster. If he can work on his footwork in the post he'd have a pretty deadly hook shot, but with the 2-foot shots and putbacks, he just seems hopeless. Never seen anyone have the problems he has with those shots.
Jacobs- His hook shot is just deadly. Needs to develop a counter move and get into better shape. Like, Lacey he has major problems with consistency with his effort and defense. When his effort is there his rebounding is there.
Pollard- He's super athletic and he's getting better and more comfortable on offense. Like Cooper he has some great court vision, but for some reason, probably nerves, he's had trouble with his pass accuracy which has also been getting better. Most encouraging thing I've seen from him was his dunk against Stanford. He went up strong for the dunk which had been his problem all-year in that aspect. He should be much improved next year.
Steele- GREAT leader, and seemed to be a great influence on Retin, which is why I'm a little more comfortable with him leaving now. Retin is like a more offensively skilled and athletic Steele.
Grant- Great defensive coach, but offensively challenged is a polite way to describe him on the other end of the ball. If he just loosens the reigns a little on offense and lets them play freely more often, it will do wonders for us. I looked for it all year, but in the last press conference he finally came forward and said he needs to work on things as a coach and that he thought the season was definitely a disappointment. I loved to hear that and it gives me hope for the future. He's not far into his head coaching career (no, 6 years isn't long) so he's still got the potential to improve on the offensive end as long as he is open to change and is willing to loosen the reigns just a little.
My prediction for next year is a 5 seed and there just aren't any other excuses for us to even be a bubble team next year. We will have everything Grant needs: Depth at each position, talent and experience.
Releford- Great finisher. Maybe the best finisher I've seen at the collegiate level given his size. Truly amazing turnaround that he made with his 3 pt shot. My guess was he'd be at best our 4th option from deep before the season started. My one and only complaint...court vision and passing. Releford would be a starting NBA quality PG if he had just an average NBA-level PG vision and passing. Outside of a lob the kid lacks the passing abilities needed for a PG his size at the next level.
Lacey- I will say the kid...he's clutch. When it comes to the last couple minutes, he's the best offensive player we have. BUT he's also been the biggest disappointment on the team for me after the first 10 or so games. His main problem? Consistency....in EVERYTHING. Effort, defense, shooting, passing, dribbling, aggressiveness, and just about any other category you could think of.
Cooper- Like you, he was my favorite player that we signed in the 2011 class. I also like to take credit for his rise in his HS Rival ranking, because I incessantly bitched to Jerry Meyer about how he was overlooking Cooper to the point where he probably just caved to my demands. He was also my preseason pick to lead the team in scoring. Yikes. I also think it is a confidence problem as well. In HS he didn't miss those floaters and hit a good percentage from 3 even with some of his ridiculously long-bomb attempts, and now he leaves every close shot short (commonly cause by a lack of confidence) and is a brick machine, even with his beautiful mechanics. Do love his effort on defense and rebounding and probably has the best court vision on the team.
Randolph- Lock-down defender with a good offensive game when he shows aggression. Of the three wings he certainly has the highest ceiling. Needs to get aggressive on offense like he did to finish the season, but also needs to get back his mid-range game that was the best part of his offensive game in HS and top 3 in the class according to Rivals.
Retin- Able. Bodied. Athleticism. Unbelievably athletic and easily has the quickest first step of any player on the team. He might develop into our best pro prospect. The Russell Westbrook comparison Steele threw out before the season were spot on. I think he will be a solid shooter next year, and he has great potential with his pull-up jumper.
Engstrom- If Engstrom can somehow get softer hands, he'd be at least a passable offensive threat IMO. The kid was shooting 69% from the field before he went down, which is great regardless of sample size. Doesn't seem to have the problems Moussa has with put-backs. He had the best post move of anyone this season right before he went down. Just out-powered his man from near the FT line to right next to the basket with shear size and good foot-work.
Gueye- Defensively he's very good, regardless of what some think. Offensively, he is a disaster. If he can work on his footwork in the post he'd have a pretty deadly hook shot, but with the 2-foot shots and putbacks, he just seems hopeless. Never seen anyone have the problems he has with those shots.
Jacobs- His hook shot is just deadly. Needs to develop a counter move and get into better shape. Like, Lacey he has major problems with consistency with his effort and defense. When his effort is there his rebounding is there.
Pollard- He's super athletic and he's getting better and more comfortable on offense. Like Cooper he has some great court vision, but for some reason, probably nerves, he's had trouble with his pass accuracy which has also been getting better. Most encouraging thing I've seen from him was his dunk against Stanford. He went up strong for the dunk which had been his problem all-year in that aspect. He should be much improved next year.
Steele- GREAT leader, and seemed to be a great influence on Retin, which is why I'm a little more comfortable with him leaving now. Retin is like a more offensively skilled and athletic Steele.
Grant- Great defensive coach, but offensively challenged is a polite way to describe him on the other end of the ball. If he just loosens the reigns a little on offense and lets them play freely more often, it will do wonders for us. I looked for it all year, but in the last press conference he finally came forward and said he needs to work on things as a coach and that he thought the season was definitely a disappointment. I loved to hear that and it gives me hope for the future. He's not far into his head coaching career (no, 6 years isn't long) so he's still got the potential to improve on the offensive end as long as he is open to change and is willing to loosen the reigns just a little.
My prediction for next year is a 5 seed and there just aren't any other excuses for us to even be a bubble team next year. We will have everything Grant needs: Depth at each position, talent and experience.
Page 1 of 1
Latest Alabama News
Popular
Back to top
Follow SECRant for SEC Football News