Just in case you were living under a rock yesterday and missed the news, University of Alabama athletic director Bill Battle sent out a vote of confidence for Coach Anthony Grant via his blog titled the “Battle Blog”. Some of the points made in the blog I didn’t agree with at all. Some of them, I did. All of us want the best for Alabama athletics and for the university as well. This whole season of basketball was totally unacceptable. I was thinking in retrospect last night if any season’s outcome had bothered me more than this did and I can’t really think of one. Some of those football seasons under Shula, Dubose and of course Mike Price’s short tenure was hard to get through. I’m also a fan of the Atlanta teams and I believe that city is cursed.
First few lines from Mr. Battle’s blog:
"Over the last year I have spent a fair amount of time with Coach Anthony Grant. I have watched our team practice. I have watched them play. We have had several philosophical discussions. In every meeting we have had, I came away impressed with his character, with his knowledge and belief in his approach to the game, with his commitment to win championships at Alabama, and with his ability to recruit and develop players, both on and off the court."
I’m not even gonna try to argue against Coach Grant’s character. There is no doubt in my mind that he has a lot of integrity and is a fine man. I really don’t understand the “commitment to win championships”. I’m sure any college coach or any coach for that matter is committed to doing everything that they can do to bring a championship to their respective schools. So far, our ceiling has been a one and done game in the NCAA Tournament for one season. Most of the time our defense is playing really well and keeping us in the games. It’s the offense that seems to give us more trouble than anything. These are the offensive numbers and ranking in the country taking from ESPN just a week or so ago.
"Off the court, Coach Grant’s teams have been very successful in the classroom, consistently averaging high NCAA Academic Progress Rate (APR) scores. Alabama leads all SEC men’s basketball programs in APR percentage and its APR ranks in the top 10 percent of all Division I men’s programs. We led all SEC men’s basketball programs in 2013 with six players named to the SEC Academic Honor Roll. In addition, every senior that has played for Coach Grant at Alabama has earned his degree."
The above quote should give anyone that loves Bama and loves to see young kids succeed a great feeling. It definitely does here on my end. Sadly, this won’t put any extra folks in the chairs at Coleman. I remember that old quote about all of those fans not showing up in the stadium to watch them take a test. That’s just the harsh truth.
"Without solid leadership, this year’s team could have folded at several points in the season. Coach Grant and his staff stayed the course and did not panic when things were going bad. The team continued to play with effort and competed hard, even after many of the preseason goals were out of reach. I am very proud of our strong finish, with our younger players stepping up their game. I am impressed with the development of our freshmen, Jimmie Taylor and Shannon Hale, encouraged about the leadership potential of our returning veterans, and looking forward to seeing a highly-rated group of signees join our team."
Everything about the above part is true. The team never did quit. I can commend them on that because I don’t know if I could have made it through the season with the way things were going. Our superstar Trevor Releford did so much for the team and without him, I cringe at what the season may have exactly looked like after everything was over.
All of the discussions now do not matter whether you were for Coach Grant keeping his job or if you wanted change. I think even with Coach Grant changing, there should be some changes. I agree with Shannon Terry from BamaOnline when he said that he believe there should be an offensive coach or consultant brought in during the off season to help reevaluate things and possibly give a fresh take on our philosophy on that end of the court. I think we need to attempt to fire up the fan base in some way. One way to do that is by winning and sadly, it’s going to be a few months before the Tide takes the court again. I just hope the damage has not been already done after this season. Attendance figures for this season already show an approximate 3 % drop in attendance, the lowest of Grant’s tenure. We need that mentality that a coach like Bruce Pearl has to re-energize the crowds. Winning can do that, too.
What will it take next season for Coach Grant to be able to gain another season? NIT appearance? Maybe a semifinal run there? What about just an appearance in the NCAA Tournament or would he have to go a few rounds to appease the folks that make the tough decisions? I guess we will find out about a year from now. I’ll support the team like I always do because I love Alabama sports and hope things turn around. The good thing is it can’t get much worse. He has some highly rated recruits on their way in as well as being in on a few guys for the inside that has seem to elude him since he has been there. If he can pull one of those in, who knows what will happen next year. Regardless of what happens, it’s time to turn this thing around.
You can read Athletic Director Bill Battle’s entire blog here.
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What Outcome For Next Season Will Satisfy You As A Bama Fan?