Proposed Changes to Alabama’s Rotations

[Jordan Harper]

Obviously we are likely to see changes to the rotations, and maybe even the starting lineup come Tuesday. What do you propose needs to change and how do you fix it?

Here’s mine:

1) I would insert Pringle into the starting lineup at the 5 in place of Bediako. It gives you quicker, more athletic big to combat ball screens. He doesn’t have a lot of experience and he does foul a lot, but it can’t be any worse than what Bediako is doing right now. It allows Clowney to stay at the 4 where he’s comfortable.

2) Sit Jaden Bradley and insert Rylan Griffen into the starting lineup. Bradley has obviously hit a freshman wall and has to get his confidence back. I feel like a lot has relied on him this season, so give him a mental break. Griffen has been shooting lights out lately and would give Alabama another perimeter threat with length. Sure he’s not great on defense, but he is really improving. I think he’s earned the shot to start. It also allows Sears to be the lead guard where he’s comfortable and doesn’t have to focus on solely shooting.

 

[aggietider]

I’m for it if they’ll go ahead and do it. Pringle needs the minutes so he can hopefully improve on some of these things before it’s too late. Same for Griffen really but it’s been obvious the last week or two that he’s catching up.

 

[jtr4dad]

Obviously we are likely to see changes to the rotations, and maybe even the starting lineup come Tuesday. What do you propose needs to change and how do you fix it?

Here’s mine:

1) I would insert Pringle into the starting lineup at the 5 in place of Bediako. It gives you quicker, more athletic big to combat ball screens. He doesn’t have a lot of experience and he does foul a lot, but it can’t be any worse than what Bediako is doing right now. It allows Clowney to stay at the 4 where he’s comfortable.

2) Sit Jaden Bradley and insert Rylan Griffen into the starting lineup. Bradley has obviously hit a freshman wall and has to get his confidence back. I feel like a lot has relied on him this season, so give him a mental break. Griffen has been shooting lights out lately and would give Alabama another perimeter threat with length. Sure he’s not great on defense, but he is really improving. I think he’s earned the shot to start. It also allows Sears to be the lead guard where he’s comfortable and doesn’t have to focus on solely shooting.

I don’t like Sears as the lead guard. IMO he plays much better off the ball. Not sure about Pringle. Haven’t really been impressed with his defense in the limited time that he has played. We definitely need better post play, so it might be worth a shot.

 

[Road to 19]

CB needs to sit. Heck if Miller plays that lazy again I’d sit him. He just sits and watches way too much. Clowney doesn’t need to shoot a 3. He’s wasting shots for sure.

 

[aggietider]

CB needs to sit. Heck if Miller plays that lazy again I’d sit him. He just sits and watches way too much. Clowney doesn’t need to shoot a 3. He’s wasting shots for sure.

If Clowney can’t be a threat from 3, it hurts our style pretty bad. Bc we aren’t changing what we do on offense. So he’s going to be standing at the 3 point line a lot. And if they don’t have to guard him bc he cant/won’t shoot, then it clogs everything up.

 

[Jordan Harper]

I don’t like Sears as the lead guard. IMO he plays much better off the ball. Not sure about Pringle. Haven’t really been impressed with his defense in the limited time that he has played. We definitely need better post play, so it might be worth a shot.

He does play well off ball, but when he’s in a funk like he’s in and JB is struggling then they may not have a choice but make him lead guard

 

[BamaNavyCPO]

(1). JH, I totally agree with #1. Pringle would be an upgrade from the way Bediako is playing right now. At least he'll take the ball up strong and can catch.
(2). On #2, Griffen is definitely picking up steam on the offense. He and Bradley appear to be heading in different directions.
(3). As for Welch, the jury is still out. He's a big body but hadn't contributed much yet.
(4). As for Q, and Clowney just plug and play. Clowney, knock it off with the 3s.
(5). Sears is just like a box of chocolates, you never know what you'll get.
(6). There is far too much dribbling and standing around. No one is cutting to the basket or setting PnRs. Move the ball, make the defense work!

 

[budog]

I would start Quinerly for Bradley a week ago. I understand when Quinerly was at 70-75%, but now it’s time for him to start. He certainly did not have a great game yesterday, but who did. Pringle would be playing more than a handful of minutes as well.
I love the thread Harper!

ROLL TIDE!!!!

 

[Jordan Harper]

(1). JH, I totally agree with #1. Pringle would be an upgrade from the way Bediako is playing right now. At least he'll take the ball up strong and can catch.
(2). On #2, Griffen is definitely picking up steam on the offense. He and Bradley appear to be heading in different directions.
(3). As for Welch, the jury is still out. He's a big body but hadn't contributed much yet.
(4). As for Q, and Clowney just plug and play. Clowney, knock it off with the 3s.
(5). Sears is just like a box of chocolates, you never know what you'll get.
(6). There is far too much dribbling and standing around. No one is cutting to the basket or setting PnRs. Move the ball, make the defense work!

I think Sears has earned the benefit of the doubt this year. He’s been our 2nd most consistent player this year behind Brandon. He’s just not shooting 40% from 3 like he was the previous 16 games

 

[BaselineLeaner4]

Quit playing Welch. That’s a start with Nimari back.

 

[BaselineLeaner4]

CB needs to sit. Heck if Miller plays that lazy again I’d sit him. He just sits and watches way too much. Clowney doesn’t need to shoot a 3. He’s wasting shots for sure.

I’m fine with Clowney shooting 3s. He’s had several go in and out lately.

 

[jtr4dad]

I would start Quinerly for Bradley a week ago. I understand when Quinerly was at 70-75%, but now it’s time for him to start. He certainly did not have a great game yesterday, but who did. Pringle would be playing more than a handful of minutes as well.
I love the thread Harper!

ROLL TIDE!!!!

Dale - I agree on Quinerly. That would allow Sears to play off the ball, which I think suits him much better.

 

[gossy]

I’m fine with Clowney shooting 3s. He’s had several go in and out lately.

That should be a net of 1 point, 3 when they go in and minus 2 when they come out.

 

[onebamamaniax]

Definitely give Pringle more minutes, let Griffin start. Not sure what Bradley is seeing right now. Bradley had plenty of drives where he could've pump faked and had a shot but he just turned around and dribbled back out. Our guys seem to drive and try to go straight up on the other teams bigs, no pump fakes, no stopping and let them blow by to get a decent shot up. The shots will start to fall just hope it's sooner than later.

 

[jtr4dad]

Pringle, while athletic as heck, is not a very good defender. He also averages more fouls per 40 minutes than anyone on our team. We obviously need better post play than we've gotten the last few games, but I'm not sure that Pringle is the answer. With Bradley struggling, I would definitely start JQ. I know that Oats likes his firepower coming off the bench, but we have found ourselves in a big hole right out of the gate with slow starts in the last 2 games before Quinerly has even taken off his warmups. I would leave Sears at the 2 guard. He seems to be more comfortable and play better there. Welch is the real head scratcher for me. He shot nearly 40% from 3 in his 4 years at St. Bonaventure, but can't hit the broad side of a barn so far this season. I chalked it up to rust in his first few games back from his injury, but he has been playing for nearly a month now. It seems to ne mental with him. Getting him back close to his career average would be huge, as would getting Burnett back in game shape.

 

[Codie B]

Pringle, while athletic as heck, is not a very good defender. He also averages more fouls per 40 minutes than anyone on our team. We obviously need better post play than we've gotten the last few games, but I'm not sure that Pringle is the answer. With Bradley struggling, I would definitely start JQ. I know that Oats likes his firepower coming off the bench, but we have found ourselves in a big hole right out of the gate with slow starts in the last 2 games before Quinerly has even taken off his warmups. I would leave Sears at the 2 guard. He seems to be more comfortable and play better there. Welch is the real head scratcher for me. He shot nearly 40% from 3 in his 4 years at St. Bonaventure, but can't hit the broad side of a barn so far this season. I chalked it up to rust in his first few games back from his injury, but he has been playing for nearly a month now. It seems to ne mental with him. Getting him back close to his career average would be huge, as would getting Burnett back in game shape.

Even if we start Pringle, Bediako will be in the game soon enough due to his fouling habits. The fact is we have to get Bediako out of his slump, because he has more to offer, potentially, than Pringle at this point in time. I am fine with starting Pringle to change things up a bit, it seemed to help JQ before, but their minutes played really aren’t going to change much.
The same shooting issues that happened to Welch occurred when Gurley got here too. It is very perplexing. You, also, are correct that we need to get Burnett up to speed. Not just for his defense, but, HOPEFULLY, he can become the good outside shooter I was told he was when he got here.
Getting Griffen more minutes at Bradley’s expense seems to make sense, currently, since I am for anyone who can possible help out our outside shooting.

 

[Road to 19]

Even if we start Pringle, Bediako will be in the game soon enough due to his fouling habits. The fact is we have to get Bediako out of his slump, because he has more to offer, potentially, than Pringle at this point in time. I am fine with starting Pringle to change things up a bit, it seemed to help JQ before, but their minutes played really aren’t going to change much.
The same shooting issues that happened to Welch occurred when Gurley got here too. It is very perplexing. You, also, are correct that we need to get Burnett up to speed. Not just for his defense, but, HOPEFULLY, he can become the good outside shooter I was told he was when he got here.
Getting Griffen more minutes at Bradley’s expense seems to make sense, currently, since I am for anyone who can possible help out our outside shooting.

Bediakos slump is nothing more than a choice. Hes playing weak. If he will get a "MAD" on and stop being a V around the bucket, he could help. There is no 7 footer that should ever get a shot blocked from 2 feet out.

Teams have figured us out. They extend the D to the 3 point line and leave a rim protector in the middle. They know we are not going to shoot a mid range jumper. We dont have an offense for that. We have a 'moving screen' and roll offense from the top, that seems to be about all to me.

Im tired of seeing Miller sit in the corner on offense. He needs to touch the ball every possession. Let Clowney crash the boards and get garbage points.

 

[rsaxoniii]

My thoughts go in a totally different direction than what I'm reading.... The more minutes a certain player gets the more he scores and everything he does is negated by turnovers, poor defense, and everyone else not being involved on offense.

We had this same discussion last year... talking about players standing around....when someone comes in and dribbles for the first 10 seconds and everyone else is not involved they start standing and on defense when the guards blows past his defender it breaks down the whole defense trying to cover for that 1 guy.

 

[lainey2020]

l would not be surprised to see JQ and Sears start at the guards. JQ has been getting plenty of minutes off the bench though. l like Bradley, but Griffen probably needs to get a few more of his minutes.

Having read this thread and saying what l have said, let me also say l don't think we need to turn everything upside down because of one very poor outing. We are still the team that has won 18 games.

 

[BaselineLeaner4]

Nimari proved tonight why Welch shouldn't see the floor ever again. I'm getting Rojas vibes from Welch - and those vibes aren't warm.

 

[jtr4dad]

Nimari proved tonight why Welch shouldn't see the floor ever again. I'm getting Rojas vibes from Welch - and those vibes aren't warm.

I think the Welch and Rojas situations are vastly different. Welch has a proven track record at the college level, shooting close to 40% from 3 during his 4 year career at St. Bonaventure. That wasn't from a small sample size. I believe that he finished in the top 3 in all time 3 pointers made there. I think his injury set him back and may have affected his mechanics. The arc on his shot appears much flatter this year than in the past. I'm not ready to give up on him yet, but time isn't on his side. If he can get back to anything close to his career average that'll make us even tougher to beat. Signing Rojas out of JUCO was always a reach to me. We were his only major college offer. He also wasn't a good fit in our system. I wasn't surprised in the least that he didn't pan out. As for Burnett, his scoring outburst was the highlight of the game for me. I've been waiting for that all season long. We've heard for 2 years now that he may be our best shooter in practice. It was great to see that translate to the court in a game. Getting him untracked would make us even more difficult to defend.

 

[quickdraw22]

I’m

Nimari proved tonight why Welch shouldn't see the floor ever again. I'm getting Rojas vibes from Welch - and those vibes aren't warm.

being a little hard on Welch I think

 

[lainey2020]

I think the Welch and Rojas situations are vastly different. Welch has a proven track record at the college level, shooting close to 40% from 3 during his 4 year career at St. Bonaventure. That wasn't from a small sample size. I believe that he finished in the top 3 in all time 3 pointers made there. I think his injury set him back and may have affected his mechanics. The arc on his shot appears much flatter this year than in the past. I'm not ready to give up on him yet, but time isn't on his side. If he can get back to anything close to his career average that'll make us even tougher to beat. Signing Rojas out of JUCO was always a reach to me. We were his only major college offer. He also wasn't a good fit in our system. I wasn't surprised in the least that he didn't pan out. As for Burnett, his scoring outburst was the highlight of the game for me. I've been waiting for that all season long. We've heard for 2 years now that he may be our best shooter in practice. It was great to see that translate to the court in a game. Getting him untracked would make us even more difficult to defend.

Burnett getting his shot back after his wrist got well is a big plus. We know he is a great defensive player and this game should build his confidence back in his shooting.