Thoughts on the loss to Vanderbilt

[Jordan Harper]

I have been covering basketball here for nearly 10 years. Through Grant, Avery, and now Oats. Grant made the tournament one year. Avery made the tournament one year. Oats is about to do something that hasn't been done here in 17 years and thats make the tournament in back to back years. If Alabama wins a game in the tournament, it'll be the first time in TWENTY SEVEN years since Alabama won a tournament game in back to back years. I remember the Grant and Avery days of everyone complaining every year saying "All I want is to at least make the tournament consistently" or "If we just made the tournament every year that's all you can ask for". What has changed? Oh I guess it is because he won the SEC regular season and tournament title in his second year and everyone expected Saban like consistency. Well, I hate to break it to you but basketball is a lot tougher to win consistently than football. I know the FOGs will hate to hear that, but it's true. He had a great group that bought in last year and had an incredible season. This season there was too much selfishness for them to play together. There will be a new roster next year and it will be much needed. Is Oats to blame? Sure, the whole team top to bottom is. However, like I stated before the program has to take baby steps. They took one giant leap and a good step forward being a 6/7 seed the year after. Alabama isn't a blue blood and wouldn't have made it past the sweet 16 if not for a fluky run in 2004. Can Oats take them there? Absolutely. Will he do it every year? No. He will continue to pull top 15 classes every year and give them a chance and that's all you can ask for.

I was disappointed last night as much as anyone. Being up 15, not hitting shots, the ticky tack foul calls all night, not making free throws, etc. was frustrating. The effort was there. The problem is no leadership on the court. Oats can call all the timeouts he wants and draw up all the plays he wants, but at some point the players have to not make boneheaded turnovers. JQ is supposed to be the leader of this team, but that should tell you all you need to know. He is the most mentally fragile player on the team and that spreads. You can tell how they react when they miss shots or turn it over and hang their heads. When things are going good, they're fired up. Face them with some adversity? They fold. You don't need a bunch of Herb Jones type players to win. You need a bunch of guys who think like he does. He was unflappable and made his teammates be that way. Turnovers and shooting were a huge issue, but the foul calls constantly really played in the favor of Vanderbilt in terms of slowing the game down and them shooting a lot more free throws. The team last year turned it over 1 less time a game than this year, but this year seems the turnovers are boneheaded and not trying to make a play.

Yesterday you saw top teams blow big leads and lose to underachieving teams. It's March and it's fun! (unless it's your team). Anything can happen and at this point, the season is back to 0-0 for everyone once Sunday's bracket is revealed.

 

[shake_weight]

So what do seed do we end up with? 8?

 

[frazor]

Yeah a lot of the posts last night read just like they did 3 years ago when Avery was at the helm. Not happy with the product and Oats definately deserves blame just like Grant and Avery did but for right now I am excited to not be a bubble program like we were for the past 2 decades. I wonder what this team would have looked like without Oats? Would somebody else have gotten 20 wins or would it have been more like 13 with this schedule?

 

[D Isaiah T Billings-Clyde7]

11-12 since the Houston game….

Im all on board with you as far as where our program is and making the tournament.. Its almost shocking to me how many fans just don’t give a shit about making the tournament considering our 25 year history leading up to oats. They’d rather look at pictures of March football practice or whatever and that’s fine I guess but maybe just stfu about bball if that’s you.

that said it impossible to not be disappointed with the turn this season took after that Gonzaga/Houston mountain top.. we mustered up some great wins still but so many issues have surfaced and appear to all be biting us in the ass at once since the calendar turned to March. It’s just extremely frustrating

That said I’m excited for next weekend and hope we pull some shockers

 

[TideFever]

After cooling off a bit and looking back I really think we let Vandy get in our heads. We remembered how frustrating they were to play a couple weeks earlier and wanted to blow them out of the gym. Once that emotional energy was spent all of our playmakers were in foul trouble and we looked half a step slow. JQ and Rojas both were way too jacked up early in the game.

I thought the first half fouls really killed us and kept Vandy in a game that should have been out of reach. It put all of our guards in a position in the second half where just one extra tic/tac foul call meant real foul trouble. If we hit our free throws and the fouls aren't ridiculous we're up by 20 or more at the half.

JQ seemed to have come into the game trying way too hard. Effort was great but the wild play got him out of the game early and he never really became part of the game after that. When he came back in he was so out of sync with the rest of the team it was like he was playing a different game.

Some of the fouls on Ellis were comically awful. But the price to pay for actually playing defense against Pippflop Jr.

And I don't know what the book is on Shack that officials reference before a game but I've never seen a player take the punishment he takes and almost never gets a foul called. There was a moment in the second half when shack dribbled into the lane and along the other side of it and got hammered like 3 times including on the arm on his shot and nothing was called. On the other end we get a foul called because we apparently were too close to the Vandy player with the ball.

Can't blame all the problems on the officials but the way they called the game just killed any hope we had of playing anything resembling our game when it was time to finish the game. Our turnovers sometimes are middle school like in how brain cramping they look. Like the late second half pass from JQ to JD and JD was never at any point looking to get a pass. If anything he looked like he was going to chill in the corner for a few seconds and "wtf is the ball doing here".


I said it months ago in one of our down weeks but IMO this will be a very different team next season. Like maybe 2 players back if that. Oats couldn't reach them and those that could come back may well be encouraged to find a better fit for them elsewhere. The other consequence of the free agency portal, when coaches want kids gone now they can push them out without the guilt of cutting a kid that can't go anywhere.

 

[BeastofBourbon]

11-12 since the Houston game….

Im all on board with you as far as where our program is and making the tournament.. Its almost shocking to me how many fans just don’t give a shit about making the tournament considering our 25 year history leading up to oats. They’d rather look at pictures of March football practice or whatever and that’s fine I guess but maybe just stfu about bball if that’s you.

that said it impossible to not be disappointed with the turn this season took after that Gonzaga/Houston mountain top.. we mustered up some great wins still but so many issues have surfaced and appear to all be biting us in the ass at once since the calendar turned to March. It’s just extremely frustrating

That said I’m excited for next weekend and hope we pull some shockers

Agree. People likely aren't as frustrated if we lose to Gonzaga and Baylor or Houston. But winning all of those games created a false sense that this was a Final 4 caliber team. I mean we beat 3 of the Final 4 teams from last year, including the defending National Champion, but then lose to Georgia who set the record for most losses ever in a season by an SEC team.

 

[BamaNavyCPO]

Making the tournament is fine, but I want to do more than just be selected. I want to make some noise when they get there, but I have a feeling all they will do is whisper and head for the exit. Regardless of team faults, the buck stops at Oats desk. He hired the assistants, selected the players, decides who starts, developed the scheme, and how many minutes each player gets. We say there is no leadership on this team, well that may be because none of them are leaders. You can challenge a guy to lead, but if he doesn't possess the characteristics of a leaders, you are just blowing smoke. There was a movie that came out a few decades ago titled "The Misfits." That what this team reminds me of, misfits.

 

[tydzbk]

I think we're gonna be placed in a 7/8 match up and win. Then get crushed by Gonzaga or some other 1 in game 2.

 

[Jordan Harper]

Making the tournament is fine, but I want to do more than just be selected. I want to make some noise when they get there, but I have a feeling all they will do is whisper and head for the exit. Regardless of team faults, the buck stops at Oats desk. He hired the assistants, selected the players, decides who starts, developed the scheme, and how many minutes each player gets. We say there is no leadership on this team, well that may be because none of them are leaders. You can challenge a guy to lead, but if he doesn't possess the characteristics of a leaders, you are just blowing smoke. There was a movie that came out a few decades ago titled "The Misfits." That what this team reminds me of, misfits.

Like I said, blame goes to the coaches as well. You can make noise in the tournament. We made Sweet 16 and nearly made Elite Eight last year. Who knows what happens this year. All you can hope to is make it and go from there. People giving up on Oats because of a 6/7 seed season is comical.

 

[Jordan Harper]

So what do seed do we end up with? 8?

6 or 7

 

[D Isaiah T Billings-Clyde7]

Making the tournament is fine, but I want to do more than just be selected. I want to make some noise when they get there, but I have a feeling all they will do is whisper and head for the exit. Regardless of team faults, the buck stops at Oats desk. He hired the assistants, selected the players, decides who starts, developed the scheme, and how many minutes each player gets. We say there is no leadership on this team, well that may be because none of them are leaders. You can challenge a guy to lead, but if he doesn't possess the characteristics of a leaders, you are just blowing smoke. There was a movie that came out a few decades ago titled "The Misfits." That what this team reminds me of, misfits.

We all want to reach the pentacle of success as a program. Hang in there. It’s year 3. The fan support jumping ship right now would be catastrophic

 

[Sweetlou2.0]

Perfect post.

 

[D Isaiah T Billings-Clyde7]

I think we're gonna be placed in a 7/8 match up and win. Then get crushed by Gonzaga or some other 1 in game 2.

We will play the 10 and a 2 next if we get a 7 seed. 6 seed we’ll play 11 then 3

 

[CrmsnTusk4]

@Harper41 - I really enjoy your recaps and posts and typically agree with you on most things, but the way this season has gone is very concerning to me relative to CNO and our style of play. You being a coach yourself you should be able to understand where I'm coming from and I'm struggling to find why you have not pointed this out. As a coach it would drive me absolutely insane.

We play a reckless style of basketball that is not based on fundamentals of the game. CNO talks about effort, turnovers ad nauseum. We're constantly jumping to pass, dribbling to the corner or baseline (which in most cases leads to turnovers), we're not under control when we drive, which again, leads to turnovers via a charge call or just plain losing the ball. These are all things we learn not do do in Jr High.

In regard to the defense. We're almost as reckless there as we are on the offensive end. We body-up the ball handler instead of staying arm's length away and containing the dribbler. Not doing so is leading to over-help and open looks for the opposition. We don't have the length that we did last year to play reckless on the defensive end. When you can't do a basic thing like containing the dribbler, you're always going to be scrambling. Oats has to adjust to his personnel and play a more conservative style on defense and rely on rotations and guys being in the right spot to create havoc.

The real concerning thing to me, there has not been a single improvement in any of the categories where we are struggling. Guys still play out of control, turn the ball over, get beat on defense, etc.

This style of basketball is not going to be effective for long-term success unless there are some minor tweaks, and they are just minor tweaks. You can still play fast and get the shots you want and still play under control and to the strength of your team. You can't just say be happy with the status quo because it hasn't happened in 27 years. You also can't be okay with is because it happens to other teams. It's basketball, I get it, but there are a multitude of things the team can do to prevent teams making a run (efficient use of timeouts, getting the guys to slow down in late game situations, etc).

You have to look at who's driving the train, how it has developed, how issues are improved upon. The current outlook isn't very bright IMO. I do believe we will have some more length next year that will adhere to how CNO wants to play, but if he refuses to make tiny adjustments to match his team's strengths, then he is essentially a one trick pony and won't be able to maintain much success in a power 5 basketball league.

 

[BamaNavyCPO]

@Harper41 - I really enjoy your recaps and posts and typically agree with you on most things, but the way this season has gone is very concerning to me relative to CNO and our style of play. You being a coach yourself you should be able to understand where I'm coming from and I'm struggling to find why you have not pointed this out. As a coach it would drive me absolutely insane.

We play a reckless style of basketball that is not based on fundamentals of the game. CNO talks about effort, turnovers ad nauseum. We're constantly jumping to pass, dribbling to the corner or baseline (which in most cases leads to turnovers), we're not under control when we drive, which again, leads to turnovers via a charge call or just plain losing the ball. These are all things we learn not do do in Jr High.

In regard to the defense. We're almost as reckless there as we are on the offensive end. We body-up the ball handler instead of staying arm's length away and containing the dribbler. Not doing so is leading to over-help and open looks for the opposition. We don't have the length that we did last year to play reckless on the defensive end. When you can't do a basic thing like containing the dribbler, you're always going to be scrambling. Oats has to adjust to his personnel and play a more conservative style on defense and rely on rotations and guys being in the right spot to create havoc.

The real concerning thing to me, there has not been a single improvement in any of the categories where we are struggling. Guys still play out of control, turn the ball over, get beat on defense, etc.

This style of basketball is not going to be effective for long-term success unless there are some minor tweaks, and they are just minor tweaks. You can still play fast and get the shots you want and still play under control and to the strength of your team. You can't just say be happy with the status quo because it hasn't happened in 27 years. You also can't be okay with is because it happens to other teams. It's basketball, I get it, but there are a multitude of things the team can do to prevent teams making a run (efficient use of timeouts, getting the guys to slow down in late game situations, etc).

You have to look at who's driving the train, how it has developed, how issues are improved upon. The current outlook isn't very bright IMO. I do believe we will have some more length next year that will adhere to how CNO wants to play, but if he refuses to make tiny adjustments to match his team's strengths, then he is essentially a one trick pony and won't be able to maintain much success in a power 5 basketball league.

Well said!

 

[BamaNavyCPO]

We all want to reach the pentacle of success as a program. Hang in there. It’s year 3. The fan support jumping ship right now would be catastrophic

I haven't given up totally, just like everyone else (almost everyone) very frustrated.

 

[WmMinter]

@Harper41 - I really enjoy your recaps and posts and typically agree with you on most things, but the way this season has gone is very concerning to me relative to CNO and our style of play. You being a coach yourself you should be able to understand where I'm coming from and I'm struggling to find why you have not pointed this out. As a coach it would drive me absolutely insane.

We play a reckless style of basketball that is not based on fundamentals of the game. CNO talks about effort, turnovers ad nauseum. We're constantly jumping to pass, dribbling to the corner or baseline (which in most cases leads to turnovers), we're not under control when we drive, which again, leads to turnovers via a charge call or just plain losing the ball. These are all things we learn not do do in Jr High.

In regard to the defense. We're almost as reckless there as we are on the offensive end. We body-up the ball handler instead of staying arm's length away and containing the dribbler. Not doing so is leading to over-help and open looks for the opposition. We don't have the length that we did last year to play reckless on the defensive end. When you can't do a basic thing like containing the dribbler, you're always going to be scrambling. Oats has to adjust to his personnel and play a more conservative style on defense and rely on rotations and guys being in the right spot to create havoc.

The real concerning thing to me, there has not been a single improvement in any of the categories where we are struggling. Guys still play out of control, turn the ball over, get beat on defense, etc.

This style of basketball is not going to be effective for long-term success unless there are some minor tweaks, and they are just minor tweaks. You can still play fast and get the shots you want and still play under control and to the strength of your team. You can't just say be happy with the status quo because it hasn't happened in 27 years. You also can't be okay with is because it happens to other teams. It's basketball, I get it, but there are a multitude of things the team can do to prevent teams making a run (efficient use of timeouts, getting the guys to slow down in late game situations, etc).

You have to look at who's driving the train, how it has developed, how issues are improved upon. The current outlook isn't very bright IMO. I do believe we will have some more length next year that will adhere to how CNO wants to play, but if he refuses to make tiny adjustments to match his team's strengths, then he is essentially a one trick pony and won't be able to maintain much success in a power 5 basketball league.

Your assessment is spot on

 

[D Isaiah T Billings-Clyde7]

@Harper41 - I really enjoy your recaps and posts and typically agree with you on most things, but the way this season has gone is very concerning to me relative to CNO and our style of play. You being a coach yourself you should be able to understand where I'm coming from and I'm struggling to find why you have not pointed this out. As a coach it would drive me absolutely insane.

We play a reckless style of basketball that is not based on fundamentals of the game. CNO talks about effort, turnovers ad nauseum. We're constantly jumping to pass, dribbling to the corner or baseline (which in most cases leads to turnovers), we're not under control when we drive, which again, leads to turnovers via a charge call or just plain losing the ball. These are all things we learn not do do in Jr High.

In regard to the defense. We're almost as reckless there as we are on the offensive end. We body-up the ball handler instead of staying arm's length away and containing the dribbler. Not doing so is leading to over-help and open looks for the opposition. We don't have the length that we did last year to play reckless on the defensive end. When you can't do a basic thing like containing the dribbler, you're always going to be scrambling. Oats has to adjust to his personnel and play a more conservative style on defense and rely on rotations and guys being in the right spot to create havoc.

The real concerning thing to me, there has not been a single improvement in any of the categories where we are struggling. Guys still play out of control, turn the ball over, get beat on defense, etc.

This style of basketball is not going to be effective for long-term success unless there are some minor tweaks, and they are just minor tweaks. You can still play fast and get the shots you want and still play under control and to the strength of your team. You can't just say be happy with the status quo because it hasn't happened in 27 years. You also can't be okay with is because it happens to other teams. It's basketball, I get it, but there are a multitude of things the team can do to prevent teams making a run (efficient use of timeouts, getting the guys to slow down in late game situations, etc).

You have to look at who's driving the train, how it has developed, how issues are improved upon. The current outlook isn't very bright IMO. I do believe we will have some more length next year that will adhere to how CNO wants to play, but if he refuses to make tiny adjustments to match his team's strengths, then he is essentially a one trick pony and won't be able to maintain much success in a power 5 basketball league.

Undeniable truths in this post and im a big fan of what oats is doing. I’m very interested to see next years team.. it’s a bit of an opportunity at a reset

 

[CrmsnTusk4]

Undeniably truths in this post and in a big fan of what oats is doing. I’m very interested to see next years team.. it’s a bit of an opportunity at a reset

Same. I haven't given up on them yet. I'm interested to see how next year goes. I think at the end of next season there's some evaluation that needs to be done to look at long term success.

 

[MobileBama]

Hope we go to Greenville as the 7 seed. We should have a decent crowd

 

[D Isaiah T Billings-Clyde7]

Same. I haven't given up on them yet. I'm interested to see how next year goes. I think at the end of next season there's some evaluation that needs to be done to look at long term success.

The recruiting class has a lot to do with my thoughts about the direction of our program. I really like the class coming in. If we keep the fight guys around and get a couple good fits out of the portal it could look totally different next year

 

[tydzbk]

We will play the 10 and a 2 next if we get a 7 seed. 6 seed we’ll play 11 then 3

Sorry, meant 8/9. I really don't think we deserve better than 7 spot. That might help in playing a 2. One thing is certain. If we are so fortunate to get through to 32, we better break out our early season form in that second game or we'll be embarrassed.

 

[vegas man]

I'm not giving up on Oats. However, it seems as though he has completely abandoned the dribble drive and kick offense that worked so well for us last season. Of course to run this offense you need at least 4 guys on the floor who can shoot the three ball (they don't exist), or drive hard under control to the basket (they don't) or make free throws (can't seem to do so and not sure why). The entire roster needs an overhaul in the off season. And while I understand the need for a big or two to control the middle/protect the rim/rebound, the roster needs more big guards who can shoot (6-5 types). I know a lot of guys on the board were excited to hear Gurley would be returning next season but I have no idea why. I'm sure he's a good kid and he shows effort but he's done absolutely nothing for this team. He hasn't rebounded at all and he's a turnover machine. I'm not sure I've have ever seen such an experienced player with his skill set look so uncomfortable when the ball is in his hands. And if he somehow manages to get off a shot you know the end result. He should have adjusted to SEC level competition by now. And while I like Jusaun Holt he was a career 37% three point shooter coming out of high school. For Bama, he's been a miserable 2/19 or 10.5%. He's been lucky to even draw iron. How is this possible?

 

[jmillerbama]

I have been covering basketball here for nearly 10 years. Through Grant, Avery, and now Oats. Grant made the tournament one year. Avery made the tournament one year. Oats is about to do something that hasn't been done here in 17 years and thats make the tournament in back to back years. If Alabama wins a game in the tournament, it'll be the first time in TWENTY SEVEN years since Alabama won a tournament game in back to back years. I remember the Grant and Avery days of everyone complaining every year saying "All I want is to at least make the tournament consistently" or "If we just made the tournament every year that's all you can ask for". What has changed? Oh I guess it is because he won the SEC regular season and tournament title in his second year and everyone expected Saban like consistency. Well, I hate to break it to you but basketball is a lot tougher to win consistently than football. I know the FOGs will hate to hear that, but it's true. He had a great group that bought in last year and had an incredible season. This season there was too much selfishness for them to play together. There will be a new roster next year and it will be much needed. Is Oats to blame? Sure, the whole team top to bottom is. However, like I stated before the program has to take baby steps. They took one giant leap and a good step forward being a 6/7 seed the year after. Alabama isn't a blue blood and wouldn't have made it past the sweet 16 if not for a fluky run in 2004. Can Oats take them there? Absolutely. Will he do it every year? No. He will continue to pull top 15 classes every year and give them a chance and that's all you can ask for.

I was disappointed last night as much as anyone. Being up 15, not hitting shots, the ticky tack foul calls all night, not making free throws, etc. was frustrating. The effort was there. The problem is no leadership on the court. Oats can call all the timeouts he wants and draw up all the plays he wants, but at some point the players have to not make boneheaded turnovers. JQ is supposed to be the leader of this team, but that should tell you all you need to know. He is the most mentally fragile player on the team and that spreads. You can tell how they react when they miss shots or turn it over and hang their heads. When things are going good, they're fired up. Face them with some adversity? They fold. You don't need a bunch of Herb Jones type players to win. You need a bunch of guys who think like he does. He was unflappable and made his teammates be that way. Turnovers and shooting were a huge issue, but the foul calls constantly really played in the favor of Vanderbilt in terms of slowing the game down and them shooting a lot more free throws. The team last year turned it over 1 less time a game than this year, but this year seems the turnovers are boneheaded and not trying to make a play.

Yesterday you saw top teams blow big leads and lose to underachieving teams. It's March and it's fun! (unless it's your team). Anything can happen and at this point, the season is back to 0-0 for everyone once Sunday's bracket is revealed.

Spot on! The only thing i dont like after watching Vandy twice this year is the refs really seem to favor calls for pippen! Other than that Bama did this to themselves!

 

[BamaNavyCPO]

You know your team is in troubled when the conversation becomes centered around "next year."

 

[cola68]

I have been covering basketball here for nearly 10 years. Through Grant, Avery, and now Oats. Grant made the tournament one year. Avery made the tournament one year. Oats is about to do something that hasn't been done here in 17 years and thats make the tournament in back to back years. If Alabama wins a game in the tournament, it'll be the first time in TWENTY SEVEN years since Alabama won a tournament game in back to back years. I remember the Grant and Avery days of everyone complaining every year saying "All I want is to at least make the tournament consistently" or "If we just made the tournament every year that's all you can ask for". What has changed? Oh I guess it is because he won the SEC regular season and tournament title in his second year and everyone expected Saban like consistency. Well, I hate to break it to you but basketball is a lot tougher to win consistently than football. I know the FOGs will hate to hear that, but it's true. He had a great group that bought in last year and had an incredible season. This season there was too much selfishness for them to play together. There will be a new roster next year and it will be much needed. Is Oats to blame? Sure, the whole team top to bottom is. However, like I stated before the program has to take baby steps. They took one giant leap and a good step forward being a 6/7 seed the year after. Alabama isn't a blue blood and wouldn't have made it past the sweet 16 if not for a fluky run in 2004. Can Oats take them there? Absolutely. Will he do it every year? No. He will continue to pull top 15 classes every year and give them a chance and that's all you can ask for.

I was disappointed last night as much as anyone. Being up 15, not hitting shots, the ticky tack foul calls all night, not making free throws, etc. was frustrating. The effort was there. The problem is no leadership on the court. Oats can call all the timeouts he wants and draw up all the plays he wants, but at some point the players have to not make boneheaded turnovers. JQ is supposed to be the leader of this team, but that should tell you all you need to know. He is the most mentally fragile player on the team and that spreads. You can tell how they react when they miss shots or turn it over and hang their heads. When things are going good, they're fired up. Face them with some adversity? They fold. You don't need a bunch of Herb Jones type players to win. You need a bunch of guys who think like he does. He was unflappable and made his teammates be that way. Turnovers and shooting were a huge issue, but the foul calls constantly really played in the favor of Vanderbilt in terms of slowing the game down and them shooting a lot more free throws. The team last year turned it over 1 less time a game than this year, but this year seems the turnovers are boneheaded and not trying to make a play.

Yesterday you saw top teams blow big leads and lose to underachieving teams. It's March and it's fun! (unless it's your team). Anything can happen and at this point, the season is back to 0-0 for everyone once Sunday's bracket is revealed.

The loss and the way this team has played this season is just a sh1t show.

I think my expectation Is for a team, any bama team that I watch in any sport, is to improve.

That is not evident.

This is NOT Oats and coaching staff’s finest hour.. indecisive and inconsistent rotations, inbounds and half court offense stuck,
JD continually making the same mistakes by dribbling into a double or a lazy pass or Q committing three straight turnovers, or having Rojas in at any time when this team needs to score.

This team has the backbone of a jellyfish… I hope they pass on the pretty looking shooters and bring in some players that are more Mr T than mrs buttersworth

 

[BamaNavyCPO]

The loss and the way this team has played this season is just a sh1t show.

I think my expectation Is for a team, any bama team that I watch in any sport, is to improve.

That is not evident.

This is NOT Oats and coaching staff’s finest hour.. indecisive and inconsistent rotations, inbounds and half court offense stuck,
JD continually making the same mistakes by dribbling into a double or a lazy pass or Q committing three straight turnovers, or having Rojas in at any time when this team needs to score.

This team has the backbone of a jellyfish… I hope they pass on the pretty looking shooters and bring in some players that are more Mr T than mrs buttersworth

You need to get over your shyness and say what you really feel. 👍 😎

 

[gdh1954]

I agree with just about everything that has been said in this thread. The loss yesterday was incredibly disappointing. That really doesn’t even do it justice. It’s beyond disappointing. We’ve seen how successful Oats’ style of play can be when the right type of players are on the floor. Last year we always had 4 players on the floor who could hit an open three consistently. Guards and our bigs could. Reese, Bruner, Petty, Shack, JQ, Primo, Ellis and even Herb would hit one every now and then. We don’t have that this year. Ellis, Shack and JQ are really the only guys who can consistently hit threes. That fact along with the turnovers and lack of leadership makes us a fairly easy team to defend. I’m not even gonna address the problems with rebounding and defense because I feel like that’s 90% effort. It was painfully obvious this team didn’t give good effort enough. I don’t think this team ever TRULY bought in. I think they were riding high on last years success and expected it to happen again. One good thing about basketball is that the roster can be completely transformed from one year to the next and that’s exactly what we need to happen. Nowhere near giving up on Oats. This just wasn’t our year.

 

[D Isaiah T Billings-Clyde7]

…. Atleast auburn is playing bad now too lol. Salt in the wound if they had caught fire and won like 9 straight

 

[Jordan Harper]

@Harper41 - I really enjoy your recaps and posts and typically agree with you on most things, but the way this season has gone is very concerning to me relative to CNO and our style of play. You being a coach yourself you should be able to understand where I'm coming from and I'm struggling to find why you have not pointed this out. As a coach it would drive me absolutely insane.

We play a reckless style of basketball that is not based on fundamentals of the game. CNO talks about effort, turnovers ad nauseum. We're constantly jumping to pass, dribbling to the corner or baseline (which in most cases leads to turnovers), we're not under control when we drive, which again, leads to turnovers via a charge call or just plain losing the ball. These are all things we learn not do do in Jr High.

In regard to the defense. We're almost as reckless there as we are on the offensive end. We body-up the ball handler instead of staying arm's length away and containing the dribbler. Not doing so is leading to over-help and open looks for the opposition. We don't have the length that we did last year to play reckless on the defensive end. When you can't do a basic thing like containing the dribbler, you're always going to be scrambling. Oats has to adjust to his personnel and play a more conservative style on defense and rely on rotations and guys being in the right spot to create havoc.

The real concerning thing to me, there has not been a single improvement in any of the categories where we are struggling. Guys still play out of control, turn the ball over, get beat on defense, etc.

This style of basketball is not going to be effective for long-term success unless there are some minor tweaks, and they are just minor tweaks. You can still play fast and get the shots you want and still play under control and to the strength of your team. You can't just say be happy with the status quo because it hasn't happened in 27 years. You also can't be okay with is because it happens to other teams. It's basketball, I get it, but there are a multitude of things the team can do to prevent teams making a run (efficient use of timeouts, getting the guys to slow down in late game situations, etc).

You have to look at who's driving the train, how it has developed, how issues are improved upon. The current outlook isn't very bright IMO. I do believe we will have some more length next year that will adhere to how CNO wants to play, but if he refuses to make tiny adjustments to match his team's strengths, then he is essentially a one trick pony and won't be able to maintain much success in a power 5 basketball league.

I agree with most of what you said. He has made adjustments I think from last year, but the difference isn't offense. This offense is more efficient this year than last year. It is hard to see that, but the biggest difference is defense. He ran a lot more sets last year because he had more guys that could handle the ball, so he has adjusted to more iso offense/drive and kick this year. The main difference offensively is the 3%. They're still shooting an elite level inside, but thats off the high pick'n roll we have run so much this year. When you only have 1, maybe 2 guys that can really handle the ball then it makes it tough to run much else. I understand everyone's concern with nobody getting better this year, but guys like Shack, JQ, Keon, Gary may have already peaked and hit their ceiling and was due regression.

 

[tydzbk]

We lost this game with horrible play and coaching. But I'd also like to know why Stackhouse has the officials in his pocket. It's pretty irritating.

 

[pwestbro61]

We lost this game with horrible play and coaching. But I'd also like to know why Stackhouse has the officials in his pocket. It's pretty irritating.

Bama shot 35 free throws. He owns no one. But Pippen Jr does get away with murder.
This is just the most fundamentally flawed team I have see as far as the basics are concerned/ shooting, ball handing, basic defense and overall basketball IQ.

 

[Codie B]

You know your team is in troubled when the conversation becomes centered around "next year."

The long standing battle cry of the Bama BB fan.

 

[tydzbk]

According to the box score, Bama was called for THIRTY pfs and Vandy shot 45 free throws, vs their 24 fouls and our 34 attempts. We did a great job winning the rebound margin, but we shot under 60% on those free throws and once again we had a low 20s percentile from beyond the arc.

It's really interesting to me how a team consistently shoots like shit on the only shot they're instructed to take that's not at the rim. If you remove shack, do we have a guy that can hit 2 out of 10?

 

[cola68]

We lost this game with horrible play and coaching. But I'd also like to know why Stackhouse has the officials in his pocket. It's pretty irritating.

Pippen got fouled called if a bama fan farted in the stands

 

[anon_z8qxv7qt5719f]

I can find no positive aspect to a disappointing year unless this team wins 2 or more games in the tournament. I need to see more on the defensive end to say we will even beat anyone higher than a 12th seed. I don't care about what we've done in the past. What are we doing now?

 

[G.O.A.T-23]

I have been covering basketball here for nearly 10 years. Through Grant, Avery, and now Oats. Grant made the tournament one year. Avery made the tournament one year. Oats is about to do something that hasn't been done here in 17 years and thats make the tournament in back to back years. If Alabama wins a game in the tournament, it'll be the first time in TWENTY SEVEN years since Alabama won a tournament game in back to back years. I remember the Grant and Avery days of everyone complaining every year saying "All I want is to at least make the tournament consistently" or "If we just made the tournament every year that's all you can ask for". What has changed? Oh I guess it is because he won the SEC regular season and tournament title in his second year and everyone expected Saban like consistency. Well, I hate to break it to you but basketball is a lot tougher to win consistently than football. I know the FOGs will hate to hear that, but it's true. He had a great group that bought in last year and had an incredible season. This season there was too much selfishness for them to play together. There will be a new roster next year and it will be much needed. Is Oats to blame? Sure, the whole team top to bottom is. However, like I stated before the program has to take baby steps. They took one giant leap and a good step forward being a 6/7 seed the year after. Alabama isn't a blue blood and wouldn't have made it past the sweet 16 if not for a fluky run in 2004. Can Oats take them there? Absolutely. Will he do it every year? No. He will continue to pull top 15 classes every year and give them a chance and that's all you can ask for.

I was disappointed last night as much as anyone. Being up 15, not hitting shots, the ticky tack foul calls all night, not making free throws, etc. was frustrating. The effort was there. The problem is no leadership on the court. Oats can call all the timeouts he wants and draw up all the plays he wants, but at some point the players have to not make boneheaded turnovers. JQ is supposed to be the leader of this team, but that should tell you all you need to know. He is the most mentally fragile player on the team and that spreads. You can tell how they react when they miss shots or turn it over and hang their heads. When things are going good, they're fired up. Face them with some adversity? They fold. You don't need a bunch of Herb Jones type players to win. You need a bunch of guys who think like he does. He was unflappable and made his teammates be that way. Turnovers and shooting were a huge issue, but the foul calls constantly really played in the favor of Vanderbilt in terms of slowing the game down and them shooting a lot more free throws. The team last year turned it over 1 less time a game than this year, but this year seems the turnovers are boneheaded and not trying to make a play.

Yesterday you saw top teams blow big leads and lose to underachieving teams. It's March and it's fun! (unless it's your team). Anything can happen and at this point, the season is back to 0-0 for everyone once Sunday's bracket is revealed.

That's a lot of sugar-coating for what has been a shit produce the last 23 games of the season. Heard it mentioned that Bama is 11-12 since the Houston game; that's shitty for a team with the talent this team has.

 

[pwestbro61]

That's a lot of sugar-coating for what has been a shit produce the last 23 games of the season. Heard it mentioned that Bama is 11-12 since the Houston game; that's shitty for a team with the talent this team has.

Agree on Sugar Coating- Harper does that all the time. But Bama talent is simply not that good. Rankings be damned.

 

[D Isaiah T Billings-Clyde7]

That's a lot of sugar-coating for what has been a shit produce the last 23 games of the season. Heard it mentioned that Bama is 11-12 since the Houston game; that's shitty for a team with the talent this team has.

I’m coming to the conclusion we really aren’t THAT talented. I think we are less talented than all of the big time Wins we managed to get

JD has incredible athleticism, his basketball skills are not where we needed them to be.

Bediako has a lot of potential and will be good for us the next couple years.. possible high draft pick if he develops and gets strong, but this years team isn’t benefitting from what he can become.. same with JD.

Ellis is our best all around player right now… he MAY catch on an nba team.

Quinerly is outstanding at his best and a complete liability the rest of the time. Seems like a head case situation.

shack can shoot the 3 most games. He’s a very quality piece to the puzzle for oats style… I think we needed him to be much more than a piece to the puzzle for this team and it’s not his fault he’s not that guy..

Gary… somethings up with Gary. I have to assume he’s hurt. He can hardly get off the floor when he jumps and his minutes have been greatly reduced. Just not what he was last year or early this year. I think we have overlooked the impact his lack of contribution has made on this team. He’s a guy that Oats loves so something has to be up

Miles, decent skill set. Brain dead. Some potential but we needed too much out of him for what he’s currently capable of.

Gurley. Decent skill set when he takes then MF’n LUBE off his hands. Not

Rojas.. not talented. Good hustler. Bad at basketball

Holt… idk. He may end up being pretty good as a junior and senior.


This is not a defend oats posts. Just saying. I see a ton of comments by our fans and talking heads that portray this team as being riddled with lotto picks and it’s kind of outrageous.

 

[G.O.A.T-23]

Agree on Sugar Coating- Harper does that all the time. But Bama talent is simply not that good. Rankings be damned.

I’m coming to the conclusion we really aren’t THAT talented. I think we are less talented than all of the big time Wins we managed to get

JD has incredible athleticism, his basketball skills are not where we needed them to be.

Bediako has a lot of potential and will be good for us the next couple years.. possible high draft pick if he develops and gets strong, but this years team isn’t benefitting from what he can become.. same with JD.

Ellis is our best all around player right now… he MAY catch on an nba team.

Quinerly is outstanding at his best and a complete liability the rest of the time. Seems like a head case situation.

shack can shoot the 3 most games. He’s a very quality piece to the puzzle for oats style… I think we needed him to be much more than a piece to the puzzle for this team and it’s not his fault he’s not that guy..

Gary… somethings up with Gary. I have to assume he’s hurt. He can hardly get off the floor when he jumps and his minutes have been greatly reduced. Just not what he was last year or early this year. I think we have overlooked the impact his lack of contribution has made on this team. He’s a guy that Oats loves so something has to be up

Miles, decent skill set. Brain dead. Some potential but we needed too much out of him for what he’s currently capable of.

Gurley. Decent skill set when he takes then MF’n LUBE off his hands. Not

Rojas.. not talented. Good hustler. Bad at basketball

Holt… idk. He may end up being pretty good as a junior and senior.


This is not a defend oats posts. Just saying. I see a ton of comments by our fans and talking heads that portray this team as being riddled with lotto picks and it’s kind of outrageous.

My problem with this is what you guys are saying is that Bama has had the bad luck of having all their highly recruited players that everyone else wanted just not pan out.

Whereas other schools highly ranked recruits does end up panning out. I'm not buying it; these kids were highly ranked for a reason and at times, plays like it.

Player development is on the coach and y'all know that was one of my biggest gripes about Avery. He didn't develop his players.

Rojas was never considered to be good. He should be out there doing all the dirty work and that's it.

Gurly had a two-game stretch where he showed he can score with his back to the basket. For a glimpse, I thought Oats was going to start going to him in the post more but then that quickly went away.