Bama Game Thread: MBB Bama vs Vols - 3.1 3p CT - ESPN

[Bazza]

Sorry guys...that was a very tough loss.

For me.....that in bounds pass 5 sec. violation contributed to the loss more than anything else. The good news is that's something easily correctable and now you have a chance on Wednesday to get back on track.

Looking forward to our game on Wednesday!

 

[imauafan]

For many years I remember there was wringing of hands and lamenting that the basketball support among UA fans was lacking. This basketball forum received little attention and the primary focus was always on football and recruiting. A few of us hung around here and posted during some of the lean years. I tried to be more an active poster for a while and then as the overall activity started to increase, I stopped posting as much (I never was a heavy duty poster compared to some).

I'm a long time basketball fan, I've followed the Tide since the early days of Wimp, but I don't consider myself to be a very knowledgeable fan especially in regards to the X's and O's. When I played in high school the game was much different than it is now so my knowledge has not kept up with the changes. I would say the same for football, my knowledge is rooted in an older style of football so I don't understand the game as much as I did when I was younger. But that doesn't mean that I can't enjoy the game and comment where I can.

I've never been considered a sunshine pumper nor do I care to only see posts made that are positive when I can clearly see the negative as much as the next guy. Sometimes it's good and necessary to point out the obvious even when it's not pleasant. And sometimes fans need to vent and I don't see the harm in that as long as it's kept within certain boundaries (e.g. no vulgar language, no personal attacks, etc). We all wear our emotions on our sleeves sometimes and in a tight game our emotions can ebb and sway. I can be upset with a player one moment and then praising him a short time later.

The point to my rambling is that we should be careful not to condemn posters coming to the basketball forum just because they aren't posting exactly what you want them to post. Be grateful that we have people posting because that means Bama basketball is receiving attention that we haven't been getting for a long, long time. IMHO if we want to continue to grow this forum then we will be more encouraging and less condemning of each other otherwise don't be surprised when only a few folks are posting because people don't feel welcome.

 

[CajunCrimson]

For many years I remember there was wringing of hands and lamenting that the basketball support among UA fans was lacking. This basketball forum received little attention and the primary focus was always on football and recruiting. A few of us hung around here and posted during some of the lean years. I tried to be more an active poster for a while and then as the overall activity started to increase, I stopped posting as much (I never was a heavy duty poster compared to some).

I'm a long time basketball fan, I've followed the Tide since the early days of Wimp, but I don't consider myself to be a very knowledgeable fan especially in regards to the X's and O's. When I played in high school the game was much different than it is now so my knowledge has not kept up with the changes. I would say the same for football, my knowledge is rooted in an older style of football so I don't understand the game as much as I did when I was younger. But that doesn't mean that I can't enjoy the game and comment where I can.

I've never been considered a sunshine pumper nor do I care to only see posts made that are positive when I can clearly see the negative as much as the next guy. Sometimes it's good and necessary to point out the obvious even when it's not pleasant. And sometimes fans need to vent and I don't see the harm in that as long as it's kept within certain boundaries (e.g. no vulgar language, no personal attacks, etc). We all wear our emotions on our sleeves sometimes and in a tight game our emotions can ebb and sway. I can be upset with a player one moment and then praising him a short time later.

The point to my rambling is that we should be careful not to condemn posters coming to the basketball forum just because they aren't posting exactly what you want them to post. Be grateful that we have people posting because that means Bama basketball is receiving attention that we haven't been getting for a long, long time. IMHO if we want to continue to grow this forum then we will be more encouraging and less condemning of each other otherwise don't be surprised when only a few folks are posting because people don't feel welcome.

if you’re not going to be a consistent contributor when times are good. It’s hard to accept when people come just to complain or vent.

And I do believe that if you (not you specifically, but those who fall into this category) have thick enough skin to call out people you don’t know and kids who are trying to play a game to the best of their abilities, you should have thick enough skin to get called out when your posts are so glaringly one-sided. Sort of like how you didn’t like my post and are calling me out here and telling me how I should or shouldn’t post. Am I right?

There are plenty of posts that I disagree with. And many of them are from folks who populate the board with some level of frequency and tend to balance out posts over time

Some folks, however, only visit after a loss, and only to criticize. And yes, I am a sunshine pumper

 

[CajunCrimson]

Passink made a comment after the Tennessee game basically saying he was happy with where the team was. And wasn’t upset after the loss and had confidence that we are trending strong.

That got me to thinking a little bit. Look how much had to go wrong for us, and how much had to go right for Tennessee in order for them to beat us in their gym on a 40 ft prayer

Bryan is right. We are trending the right direction headed into the postseason.

 

[BamaMoon]

Passink made a comment after the Tennessee game basically saying he was happy with where the team was. And wasn’t upset after the loss and had confidence that we are trending strong.

That got me to thinking a little bit. Look how much had to go wrong for us, and how much had to go right for Tennessee in order for them to beat us in their gym on a 40 ft prayer

Bryan is right. We are trending the right direction headed into the postseason.

It certainly felt like a game we played good enough to win, but there's a couple of things we know we've got to tighten up.

It's easy to pinpoint Philon missing a late free throw, but what about the other 10 or so we missed, like Holloway missing 3 in a row!

OR, CNO not calling a TO when we get the 5 second call?

Little things get you beat, but these are things we can fix. It's better than having gaping holes in our program.

A loss in basketball can sometimes go a long way to help correct some problems. The loss means nothing except it might drop us in the SECT seedings. In the bigger picture, it can help us if we let it!

 

[Bama Shoals]

This team has a lot of good parts but so far, Oats and the team have not been able to put it together to win against the great teams. Another example and no one has mentioned it, but Youngblood was a complete no-show almost. He had a great game against State but we really needed him to show up in a tough, physical battle against UT. He's a big-bodied guard that would seem to do well in that kind of game but it was almost like he didn't exist. 27 minutes with 2 points, 1-4 FG, 3 rebounds, 1 foul, 1 assist, and 1 turnover. And I remember a couple of times where he just got caught behind screens on defense and was content to stay there, leading to wide open 3s for UT that they hit. We definitely need more from him in games like that.

 

[BamaMoon]

This team has a lot of good parts but so far, Oats and the team have not been able to put it together to win against the great teams. Another example and no one has mentioned it, but Youngblood was a complete no-show almost. He had a great game against State but we really needed him to show up in a tough, physical battle against UT. He's a big-bodied guard that would seem to do well in that kind of game but it was almost like he didn't exist. 27 minutes with 2 points, 1-4 FG, 3 rebounds, 1 foul, 1 assist, and 1 turnover. And I remember a couple of times where he just got caught behind screens on defense and was content to stay there, leading to wide open 3s for UT that they hit. We definitely need more from him in games like that.

Like a lot of great shooters, Youngblood needs to see a few go in. But if he only took 4 shots in 27 min. against the Vols that should signal to CNO he needs to get him more early shots.

 

[BhamToTexas]

This team has a lot of good parts but so far, Oats and the team have not been able to put it together to win against the great teams.

That's a bit of an overreaction. We have a lot of great wins this season. And I expect we will have a lot more.

 

[OakMtn4Bama]

Nearly every close game comes down to missed free throws during the game. Not withstanding the rest.

 

[TIDE-HSV]

Like a lot of great shooters, Youngblood needs to see a few go in. But if he only took 4 shots in 27 min. against the Vols that should signal to CNO he needs to get him more early shots.

I've mentioned that I played until I was quite old. I was an outside shooter. One game, I missed the 1st three. I passed on the next. One of our inside guys whirled and yelled "Earle, you're a shooter. Keep shooting. It'll come." I did and he was right...

 

[Coach D]

Agree, we have had some big wins against big teams last few years. Winning the SEC and SEC tourney a few times and being a number one overall seed once shows that.

(above is agreeing with BhamToTexas)

 

[Bama Shoals]

That's a bit of an overreaction. We have a lot of great wins this season. And I expect we will have a lot more.

The reason I'm saying that is because we are 1-4 against the other 6 top teams in the conference. The one win was against A&M without Taylor, their best player. Houston is far and away our best win. After that, it's dicey whether we've beaten another great team. We've beaten some good teams but no other potentially elite teams. The Oregon loss has looked worse and worse as the season has gone on. The Illinois win looks less and less impressive as the season has gone on. We played Creighton the game after they lost their second leading scorer. UNC is a dumpster fire. Now, I know we lost Wrightsell and Reid's been gone or banged up almost the last two months. So, there's potential reasons for some of it. But this team has got to improve to be elite and it's got to do it in a hurry.

 

[BamaNation]

Passink made a comment after the Tennessee game basically saying he was happy with where the team was. And wasn’t upset after the loss and had confidence that we are trending strong.

That got me to thinking a little bit. Look how much had to go wrong for us, and how much had to go right for Tennessee in order for them to beat us in their gym on a 40 ft prayer

Bryan is right. We are trending the right direction headed into the postseason.

Overall, (and I think I posted this immediately after the game), I think we played a great game until the last 90 seconds. the last 35 seconds made no sense and Oats has admitted he messed up with not taking a timout and in his sub patterns. But we were after it the whole game until then. I think the frustrations came with how we didn't finish it when we had the chance. Didn't hear Passink's comments but I agree with his take.

 

[CajunCrimson]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1896277163730673852

 

[CajunCrimson]

Overall, (and I think I posted this immediately after the game), I think we played a great game until the last 90 seconds. the last 35 seconds made no sense and Oats has admitted he messed up with not taking a timout and in his sub patterns. But we were after it the whole game until then. I think the frustrations came with how we didn't finish it when we had the chance. Didn't hear Passink's comments but I agree with his take.

I think a lot of the frustrations are more about the fact that Auburn is having a better season, and as a result, many of our fans are not able to enjoy what we are accomplishing. Right now I believe if Auburn was 18 and 11, most of our fans would be over the moon happy

Personally, I don’t understand, but at the same time I know it’s probably somewhat true

 

[DzynKingRTR]

I think a lot of the frustrations are more about the fact that Auburn is having a better season, and as a result, many of our fans are not able to enjoy what we are accomplishing. Right now I believe if Auburn was 18 and 11, most of our fans would be over the moon happy

Personally, I don’t understand, but at the same time I know it’s probably somewhat true

I hope auburn becomes the 3rd 1 seed to lose to a 16 seed.

 

[alabama mike1]

This is an example of why football fans frustrate the hell out of me.

If all you’re going to do is come and be negative, what’s the point of participating?

I get being frustrated But if all you’re going to do is rant about the players, just stay out of the threads.

I’m all for the occasional frustration and even the occasional complaint.

This is probably the best team we’ve ever had. Time will tell us if that’s true. And yes for all of you that remember Alabama basketball in the 70s and 80s, this team would absolutely destroy any of those teams…

Dear Friend,
I am not not only a football fan but a die hard basketball fan. I coached bb from 84-04. It was not my intent to frustrate you or to be negative toward you or our other posters. My intent was to state why we got beat on Saturday by a very good Tennessee team. Please accept my apology it I angered you.

Since I retired, I have not been able to get on TF for about 7 months due to my old email being disconnected from my previous job. Thankfully, one of the members got in touch with someone here and fixed the issue. Glad to be back!

 

[countrytider]

I think a lot of the frustrations are more about the fact that Auburn is having a better season, and as a result, many of our fans are not able to enjoy what we are accomplishing. Right now I believe if Auburn was 18 and 11, most of our fans would be over the moon happy

Personally, I don’t understand, but at the same time I know it’s probably somewhat true

Bingo. I have to admit that plays a part for me. The good news is, they are having a better season *up to this point*….it’s all about how you finish in basketball and everything other than the SEC Reg. Season title is still in front of them…

 

[dayhiker]

I think a lot of the frustrations are more about the fact that Auburn is having a better season, and as a result, many of our fans are not able to enjoy what we are accomplishing. Right now I believe if Auburn was 18 and 11, most of our fans would be over the moon happy

Personally, I don’t understand, but at the same time I know it’s probably somewhat true

I think you're onto something there. The quote, "Envy is the thief of joy," comes to mind.

 

[BAMARICH]

I think a lot of the frustrations are more about the fact that Auburn is having a better season, and as a result, many of our fans are not able to enjoy what we are accomplishing. Right now I believe if Auburn was 18 and 11, most of our fans would be over the moon happy

My frustration right now has nothing whatsoever to do with Auburn... it has to do with things such as continual mental mistakes, poor in-game situational coaching (at times), player rotation, inconsistent defensive play, etc. There's a self-inflicted aspect also. Prior to the season, people around the program and Oats himself was touting this team to be a Final Four contender. Like a poster above noted, we've not beaten Auburn or Tennessee and our best SEC win is against either Kentucky or TAMU. We are a veteran team... guys like Nelson, Omoruyi, Sears, Youngblood should be turning in consistent outings and not making freshman-type mistakes game in and game out. Things like sloppy passing, poor defensive positioning, game situation awareness, etc. should be routine for these guys - and all too often it's not and that's disappointing.

On the flip, the ceiling for this team is unreal. Any guy in the rotation is capable of going off in a game and it's unbelievable how poorly we sometimes play in one area while still winning by 15+ points. If we play our best game, very few teams in the country (and maybe none) can run with us... and we see glimpses of this potential at times. From an optimistic standpoint, last year's team found another gear in the big dance - and hopefully that will be the case again this year.

As far as Auburn goes, I'm happy they're doing good because it pushes us. Mediocrity looks good when your chief rival is down. And they've constructed a heck of a team this year - probably the toughest out in all of college basketball. More than that, they're playing closer to their potential IMO than we are right now... that's frustrating!