Alabama Basketball: Memo To The Team After Second Straight Loss
By Ronald Evans
Alabama Basketball found three ways to lose to Texas A&M Saturday night. Maybe the team needs a memo: How to Not Lose a Basketball Game.
Alabama Basketball came up three points short on Saturday, losing to Texas A&M, 56-53. Despite the Tide only shooting 34% percent for the game, Alabama Basketball might have won a game it had no business winning.
In any game, the outcome is determined by multiple factors. A good place to begin is to make the other team beat you by not beating yourself.
I can only surmise that in the basketball careers of the 2016-17 team, the message of not beating yourself has been missed. These are fine young men, led by experienced coaches who understand the game, better than any fan, certainly better than this fan.
BUT, this team plays as if it does not understand three basic components of basketball. We can be kind and say they must not have gotten the memo: How to Not Lose a Basketball Game.
Let’s look at the three simple, tactical components.
Rule No. 1 – When you have the ball, do not give it to the other team. They cannot score when you have the ball. Two bad things can happen when you give the other team the ball; you don’t score and the other team can score easily in transition.
Rule No. 2 – You stop the other team from scoring by playing defense. You cannot play defense when the other team is at the foul line.
Rule No. 3 – After you get five fouls you must exit the game and you may not return.
Memo to the team: Commit your basketball lives to these three rules. Ignore them at your own peril.
For anyone who missed Saturday’s game, let’s look at what results when these rules are ignored.
Rule No. 1 Result – Alabama turned the ball over 15 times, leading to 19 Aggie points. TAMU turned the ball over 12 times, leading to eight Crimson Tide points. A nine-point deficit by not adhering to Rule No. 1.
Rule No. 2 Result – Alabama shot nine free throws. TAMU shot 37 free throws. The Aggies made 26 of their FREE shots. Did some bad calls go against the Tide? Yes, a few, but that did not determine the outcome of the game. A 19 point deficit by not adhering to Rule No. 2.
Rule No. 3 Result – No Aggie was disqualified for fouls. The Tide lost Norris and Ingram. Point guard is a weakness for the Tide. Ingram is not really a point guard, but his replacements are worse; point guards by definition, not execution. Avery often attacks the point guard weakness by having Braxton Key play point-forward. With Ingram only playing 22 minutes due to fouls, Key had five turnovers.
TAMU scored 45 of its 56 points off of Tide turnovers and at the foul line. And they won by three points.
Memo to the team: Don’t just commit these rules to memory, keep a copy with you at all times, always review them before stepping on the court. Your basketball lives will be better for it and so will the lives of Alabama Basketball fans.
Next: Send the Memo to these 2017-18 Players
Alabama Basketball returns to Tuscaloosa Wednesday night to face the Ole Miss Rebels or Black Bears or the Hotty Toddies, whatever they are called. Comment below or on Facebook about our Memo to the team.