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Readers of this blog know that covering basketball is something that I usually leave to others. And with good reason. I readily admit to not understanding the finer points of the game. Let's see: you get two points for tossing the ball through the hoop, unless you are shooting a free-throw, in which case you only get one point, or you make your shot from outside the arch painted on the floor, in which case you get three points.
You see how confusing that can be?
For this reason, last year I relied upon one of our faithful Correspondents to post periodically about Tide Basketball. This year, that writer has moved on to much grander media than The Commissioner's Blog, so the task falls to me to offer some thoughts about the guys in the baggy short pants who play indoors.
In keeping with the format for The Grades, here's how I grade the current state of Alabama's basketball program:
Post Season Chances: C Most experts, including Kentucky's head coach, believe that Alabama will be one of five SEC teams invited to the NCAA Tournament. The metrics, including a respectable RPI in the 40s, certainly suggest that leaving the Tide out of this year's tournament would be harder for the Selection Committee to justify than last year's decision.
Crucial games remain to be played and Alabama's chances of receiving a post-season invitation diminish if the Tide finishes with a regular season conference record below .500.
Coaching: A Anthony Grant didn't flinch when faced with the Hobson's Choice of playing on the road at LSU with players who didn't deserve the opportunity of sending them home to Tuscaloosa. He made the right decision for the team, for the future of the program and for the athletes themselves. I say: Good for him!
I believe that, given time, Anthony Grant will prove to be one of the best basketball coaches we've had in Tuscaloosa, and I don't think I'm alone in that opinion. Inside the sports section of Monday's New York Times was a very favorable article about Coach Grant and the decision that he has made to build a winning program on a foundation of discipline. The New York Times is not typically given to complimentary coverage of SEC sports programs, even if its scorched-earth reporting on Auburn's transgressions was entirely justified. So for the "Newspaper Of Record" to publish something positive about Alabama is noteworthy.
In Other News: Coach Saban continues to stock the football program with blue chip talent. Already no fewer than eight rising seniors have given their verbal commitments to play for the Tide as part of the 2013 recruiting class, and none of them are rated less than four stars by Rivals.
If you live in the Nashville area there are two events you should think about. First, the Jason Foundation is having a fundraising luncheon on March 20 with Coach Saban as the featured speaker. The event will be held in the club area of LP Field. And on April 22 & 23 the Kevin Turner Foundation will hold a fundraising golf tournament at The Governor's Club. More info on both events will follow.
Until then, Roll Tide
The Commissioner
