1) Alabama finished the Maui Invitational in excellent fashion after being embarrassed by Stanford in the first game. Alabama shot 48% from the field and 41% from 3 (12/29) against traditionally one of the better defensive teams in the country. The Tide had five players finish in double figures (Petty 16, Shackelford 15, Primo 15, Herb 11, Quinerly 10). Alabama began the game ice cold from 3, but were scoring consistently in the paint as they finished with 32 points near the basket which is a dimension that makes this team tough to defend. Alabama started the 2nd half 5/5 from 3 as they built their lead to as large as 23 and never looked back. The defense, ball movement, and effort were immensely better than the game against Stanford. The game against Stanford was a wakeup call and that is a good thing. They know they can't just step on the court and beat any team, which didn't seem to be the case Monday night.
2) Joshua Primo gets the game ball for me tonight. The 17 year old freshman showed up big time with 15 points on 5/9 shooting, while playing PG for a large part of the game with JQ in foul trouble. Primo needs to add weight, but right now he is gaining confidence and becoming comfortable playing college basketball. You can see the talent he has and the potential is starting to come out the more he gets on the court. I would look for him to be eased into the flow of things and when he gets comfortable, he will be very difficult to stop.
3) Providence was picked to finish 3rd in the Big East, one of the top conferences in the country and Alabama handled them like a bottom half team. This is how people envisioned this Alabama team to look before the season and in 3 of 4 games they have looked good. The defense has improved the past two games, the effort has improved, and the shooting is coming around. People were panicking after game 2 of the season against a good team. Every team has a bad game, even the best teams so its nothing to panic about. Alabama moves on to face Clemson next weekend in Atlanta.
2) Joshua Primo gets the game ball for me tonight. The 17 year old freshman showed up big time with 15 points on 5/9 shooting, while playing PG for a large part of the game with JQ in foul trouble. Primo needs to add weight, but right now he is gaining confidence and becoming comfortable playing college basketball. You can see the talent he has and the potential is starting to come out the more he gets on the court. I would look for him to be eased into the flow of things and when he gets comfortable, he will be very difficult to stop.
3) Providence was picked to finish 3rd in the Big East, one of the top conferences in the country and Alabama handled them like a bottom half team. This is how people envisioned this Alabama team to look before the season and in 3 of 4 games they have looked good. The defense has improved the past two games, the effort has improved, and the shooting is coming around. People were panicking after game 2 of the season against a good team. Every team has a bad game, even the best teams so its nothing to panic about. Alabama moves on to face Clemson next weekend in Atlanta.
