What are your REALISTIC expectations of Alabama basketball?

If you say Final Fours and National Championships, step on out and check crazy at the door, then come back in.

On my flight back I was thinking about it and this is what my expectations of Alabama basketball is right now, 1-3 years from now, and 5years down.

Right now- I want us to be competitive. Pull off a few upsets, steal a couple of road games, and play hard. As long as I see that I'm good with the 2010-2011 season. I'm the pessimist poster of this site concerning this season... I'm predicting 15-15.

1-3 years from now- NIT next season, possibly a low seed NCAA berth. It usually takes 3 years for a coach to install his system and I figure CAG's 3rd year will be where we see the most improvement. 2-3 years from now I expect us to compete for the SEC title and be somewhere between a 4-6 seed in the NCAAT.

5 years down the road- under the belief that CAG is here for the long term, I fully expect us to be one of the top 3 teams in the SEC, win a conference title or SEC tournament. I also expect us to play into the 2nd week of the NCAAs.

In a 10 year span my expectations for Alabama basketball is 7 years in the NCAAT (3 of those in as a 5 seed or higher), 2 NITs, and one rebuilding year. I don't think those are overly lofty goals. IMO we should at least aspire to what Wisconsin is in hoops. If we hit that watermark then we can reset our expectations accordingly.

We're not going to be Kentucky, UNC, Duke, UCLA, Kansas, Michigan St, Syracuse, or Pitt. We're a football school 1st with a fan base that'll show up according to who we play, if we're good, and if it doesn't interfere with football. It is what it is.

JaMychal Green named to All-SEC 1st team

Kind of surprised by this considering how the last 1/4 of the season turned out for him. We'll need him to step up BIG TIME for us this season. I suspect him and Mitchell will carry the offensive load.

The rest of the 1st teamers:

Dee Bost, Mississippi State, G
JaMychal Green, Alabama, F
Scotty Hopson, Tennessee, G
Travis Leslie, Georgia, G
Chandler Parsons, Florida, F
Marshawn Powell, Arkansas, F
Jeffery Taylor, Vanderbilt, F
Trey Thompkins, Georgia, F
Chris Warren, Mississippi, G

Mikhail Torrance Update

There is very good news about Mikhail Torrance.  I saw his father today and he said Mikhail is doing very well.  He won't be playing professional basketball but his health is good and he is living a normal life. 

If you are one of the many Bama Basketball fans who prayed for Mikhail, thank you.  Your prayers have been answered along with those of his family and everyone else who cares for him. 

Charvez Davis out indefinitely

Recovering from hernia surgery. Hopefully he will be back soon. Meanwhile, we will need a shooter to step up.

Guess our Crimson Tide hoops opening day starting lineup

I'm going to be honest and say I'm not sure. Lots of new faces and since I don't follow recruiting I have nothing to base the freshman class on.

For giggles:
SF- Mitchell
PF- Hines
F/C- Green
PG- Releford (based on the hype)
SG- Hillman

Nick Jacobs in the house!

Coach Grant just landed a committment from 4 star, top 100, 6'8" PF Nick Jacobs from Atlanta. He announced at his school today, and picked the Tide over UGA and Clemson. He said he wanted to get the announcement over with before the start of his senior season so he can focus on winning another state championship. Coach Grant is putting together one hell of a recruiting class for next year.

Coach Grant Gets A Bit 2013 Commitment

A 6' 6" post player from Tennessee named Shannon Hale has committed to play for the Tide!  Here's a link to the story.  I hope people will stop whining about being out recruited by some other school and learn to trust Coach Grant and his staff to know what they are doing. 

Roll Tide!

Alabama picked to finish 3rd by media.

A panel of select members of the SEC and national media released their preseason SEC basketball standings today. Alabama was picked to finish 3rd in the SEC West. Missisippi State was picked to win the division with Ole Miss claiming the second spot. Arkansas, LSU and Auburn claimed spots 4-6 in that order.

In the East, Florida was picked to win the division followed by Kentucky. In a bit of a surprise, Georgia was picked to finish third with Tennessee, Vanderbilt and South Carolina behind them.

I have to admit I'm surprised Georgia was picked as high as 3rd place. There's no doubt Georgia will be improved from last seasons' 5-11 finish, but 3rd seems high. Tennessee has some off-court worries with the NCAA sniffing around, but their talent is as good as anyone in the league including Kentucky. Vanderbilt is a well-coached veteran team that knows how to win. Even South Carolina's overall talent level is higher than it's been in years. One thing is for certain, the East is going to be fun to watch this season.

In the West, I think Alabama at 3rd is about right. It's hard to justify picking them higher with the lack of experience at point guard, lack of depth in the paint, etc. In their favor, the West should once again be wide open. With the exception of Auburn, every team in the West has held steady or improved. There still probably won't be more than one team that makes the NCAA tournament from the division, but it does seem to be moving in the right direction.

My final preseason SEC predictions.

East

1. Florida
2. Kentucky
3. Tennessee
4. Vanderbilt
5. Georgia
6. South Carolina

West

1. Ole Miss
2. Mississippi State
3. Alabama
4. Arkansas
5. LSU
6. Auburn

SEC East 2010-11 basketball schedules

Tennessee
Florida
Kentucky
South Carolina
Vanderbilt
Georgia


Predictions:
UGA: 9-3 OOC
Vanderbilt: 11-2 OOC
South Carolina: 10-3 OOC
Kentucky: 11-3 OOC
Florida: 11-3 (not sure if Gtown, KY is exhibition or not... counted as EXH)
Tennessee: 14-3

I'll do a complete SEC prediction at a later date.

UT Basketball tickets on sale

For anybody planning to make the trip to Knoxville for the UT game on Saturday Feb.5, they are having a presale today. Hit the link below and enter password "UTBSKT" Most of the sections appear to already be sold out, but I got a couple of seats in Sec. 325.

UT tix

Bama lands top JUCO Center in the nation

The number one rated JUCO Center, Moussa Gueye, has committed to Coach Grant and the Crimson Tide. He was previously committed to Valparaiso, and also had offers from Indiana and Texas. He is listed at 7 foot, 270 lbs. Orinially from Senegal, he is playing at Lake Land College in Mattoon, IL, where he averaged 11 points, 9 rebounds, and 3 blocks per game.

The good news is, it will give us more depth at center, and he obviously has good size. I am a little concerned as to whether he can run the court in our style of play at 270, but all the reports I have read describe him as "very mobile" and a great athlete. I just hope this doesn't mean we are not getting Angelo Chol. If we could still land Chol, along with Gueye and Endstrom, we will easily have our most internationally diverse team ever next year.

Auburn and South Carolina 2010-11 basketball schedules

... cause neither deserve their own post.. and I'm too lazy to make them separate.
Auburn
South Carolina

Prediction on the Barn: 12-2 Non-conference and 6-10 SEC. They have a super weak non-conference schedule.

Prediction on the Gamecocks: 9-4 non-conference and 6-10 SEC. Decent games at Ohio State and Michigan State with Clemson and Boston College at home.