I've enjoyed reading about recruiting. We need some infusion of talent, especially in ball handling and scoring. We lose 3 post players next year, so bringing in big men is important. Ratliff would be a good get, but we need some freshmen or we'll be top heavy.
What is the state of Bama's basketball recruiting?
- Thread starter bonehouse81
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Stats from Frosh JUCO year (he missed last season with a torn ACL): 8.5 ppg, 7.9 rpg, 2 blks per game, FG 55%, 38% FT.
A definite project.
Guys, I have been following UA since about 9th grade (over 3 years), and I have been following recruiting since CNS arrived, and as a result I didn't see us lose a recruit we needed until last year. It wasn't in football, but basketball. I saw Alabama get swept by Indiana and, of course, UK. There were 3 top 100 players that all got away from us. DeMarcus Cousins, Eric Bledsoe, and Christian Watford.
Those were all players we needed to land and losing them really stung, especially seeing all 3 tear it up right now. If we could have landed them, we would have a final four team, no doubt in my mind. I just don't understand why we can't lock down the state like we do in football. Why don't these players realize what they can accomplish by staying home?
At Bama they would have the opportunity establish what has the potential to be a national powerhouse in basketball. I can see why players would want to go to UK and UCONN right now, but Indiana? My point is, due to letting players that should be ours go their seperate ways, CAG is faced with a pretty dire situation. The talent at Bama is draining quickly, and we need to plug the tub fast. We need Cothron and Ratliffe, plain and simple.
Those were all players we needed to land and losing them really stung, especially seeing all 3 tear it up right now. If we could have landed them, we would have a final four team, no doubt in my mind. I just don't understand why we can't lock down the state like we do in football. Why don't these players realize what they can accomplish by staying home?
At Bama they would have the opportunity establish what has the potential to be a national powerhouse in basketball. I can see why players would want to go to UK and UCONN right now, but Indiana? My point is, due to letting players that should be ours go their seperate ways, CAG is faced with a pretty dire situation. The talent at Bama is draining quickly, and we need to plug the tub fast. We need Cothron and Ratliffe, plain and simple.
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The thing is that we used to have a lock on recruiting. In the 80's our big coup was stealing "Buck Johnson" from UAB which was big in the state. Under Coach Sanderson we did very well in recruiting and getting "basketball players" and not just "athletes". After he left it seems to have gone down hill. UK, Indiana, and UCONN are high profile for NBA potential and always will. Hopefully, CAG can reach down into Florida and pick-up some of that talent.
A few pics I took in Nashville:
That's why kids want to go to UK.
Here is another pic I took in Nashville last weekend:
That was the largest group of Bama fans in the arena.
That's why kids don't want to play for us.
UK and Cal have made a lot of basketball players wealthy, and I don't mean while they're in college.
Most of our big time players have struggled to make it to/in the NBA, I wouldn't be shocked if that's scared away a few recruits.
That's why kids want to go to UK.
Here is another pic I took in Nashville last weekend:
That was the largest group of Bama fans in the arena.
That's why kids don't want to play for us.
UK and Cal have made a lot of basketball players wealthy, and I don't mean while they're in college.
Most of our big time players have struggled to make it to/in the NBA, I wouldn't be shocked if that's scared away a few recruits.
I know where you are going, but at the same time, UK fans always dominate the tournament. The SEC championship game was an away game for MSU. Bama was not the only school that had a poor showing compared to Kentucky. IIRC, Cal said the other day on ESPN that over 100,000 UK fans were in Nashville! I'm willing to bet that is more than the other 11 SEC schools combined.A few pics I took in Nashville:
That's why kids want to go to UK.
Here is another pic I took in Nashville last weekend:
That was the largest group of Bama fans in the arena.
That's why kids don't want to play for us.
UK and Cal have made a lot of basketball players wealthy, and I don't mean while they're in college.
Most of our big time players have struggled to make it to/in the NBA, I wouldn't be shocked if that's scared away a few recruits.
Give Bama fans something to see and they will show up. Put junk on the floor and nobody will,even ky fans.
You missed the point.
It was being debated why kids like to go to UK over us so often. Those pictures are all you need to know.
In football, it's always a question of "why would a kid want to play anywhere besides Alabama?" We've got the best facilities, best fans, best tradition, etc...
In basketball, Kentucky says the same thing, and some of our fans can't figure out why. After being in Nashville for a weekend, I now know what it feels like to be a visitor at Bryant Denny. It's overwhelming.
Rivals really got moving in the last couple of days, I originally didn't even post Ratliffe's profile cause it was so out of date but now he's listed as a four star with up to date offers. Now Aziz N'diaye's (the 7 footer) profile doesn't list us at all, presumably cause we never offered. They have also updated Cothron's profile to include an offer from Kentucky. I don't know if Kentucky's offer is 100 committable or not.
Basically its just a wait and see thing cause there's far far less info out there about bb recruiting as compared to football recruiting. I would be disappointed to say the least if we missed on Ratliffe and Cothron.
Basically its just a wait and see thing cause there's far far less info out there about bb recruiting as compared to football recruiting. I would be disappointed to say the least if we missed on Ratliffe and Cothron.
I don't believe that for 1 second. UK fans will show up and support their team. Our fans even showed when we were have horrible years under CMS.
If that is the case, wouldn't the other SEC schools have the same problems? I don't have a lot of experience with SEC basketball, so I'm asking.
A lot of them do have them same problems, actually I'd say most of them do. UF benefits from a ridiculous talent pool, both in football and basketball. As long as they have a semi-competent coach in there, they'll continue to win 20 games a year. Many fans still don't fully support the basketball team, especially considering they're back to back titles.
In terms of fan support, I'll give MSU credit. They travel fairly well, and even when Larry Templeton stopped putting any effort into making the basketball team any good, MSU fans stuck it out. MSU fans want something to root for, even if its just for one good season from a non-major sport, they'll take it. If basketball is even remotely good, which it has been for the last decade (at least in terms of the SEC.) They'll throw all their support behind it.
My uneducated guess at fan support for basketball in the SEC.
1. Kentucky - They're so far ahead of the rest of the league it's not even funny. They had more fans at the SEC Tournament than all other SEC schools combined. When UGA played Arkansas on the first night of the tournament, the Sommet Center was still draped in Kentucky blue.
2. UT - I'd guess that most of this stems from Pat Summit's success on the lady's side and their proximity to the state of Kentucky. UK has been so good for so long that many UT fans consider them their only major rival in basketball, and of course, you always want to beat your rival.
3. MSU - This has really only happened in the last decade. If Rick Stansbury wouldn't forget how to coach the last 5 minutes of each half, MSU would be a perennial top 20 team. He's recruited just about as well as anyone in the country over the last decade, but he's had some troubles with keeping that talent on campus after signing day, and he's had some trouble with that talent not developing.
4. Vanderbilt - They've never had anything to root for in Nashville, and Stalling's has at least given them some glimmer of hope over the last few years. Not sure about how they travel, but I've heard Memorial Gym is one of the hardest places to play in the SEC.
5. Alabama - Even through some pretty lackluster years, we still find a way to at least look respectable in the stands. ( Putting us here at #5 should show you just how poorly most SEC fans support their basketball programs.)
6. Arkansas - Great under Richardson, but support has been pretty nonchalant over the last 5-6 years.
7. Florida - It's sad that they're this far down.
8. Ole Miss
9. LSU
10. Auburn
11. South Carolina
12. Georgia
ACC and SEC schools regularly raid Georgia for top talent. Georgia could be what Florida is in basketball if they really wanted to, tons of talent, all they need is someone to coach it. I've never seen a school more apathetic about a major sport, especially one in which they have all the ingredients for success. Look at the talent from 2008 in the state of Georgia alone to see what I'm talking about. It's unreal.
Mississippi has lost a ton of in-state talent over the years. Mo Williams anyone? Al Jefferson would have signed with Arkansas if he hadn't gone to the NBA. Courtney Fells, Cyrus McGowan, etc...
It's definitely not a problem limited to Alabama, and I'm not sure exactly how much fan support has to do with it. But I do know kids from out of state go to UK because of the tradition, and most of that tradition is wrapped up in fan support, a history of sending kids to the NBA, and Calipari being a great (even if he is sleazy) head coach.
It looks like Mark Fox and Philip Pearson are making some serious progress with many of the top players in their state and surrounding states. They were the first to offer Bama star Levi Randolph, so we might miss out on him if he decides to go with the first major college that offered.
Georgia basketball looks to be doing much better than Football at this point.
You're right LD. I drove up to Lexington one year to watch us play a bad Kentucky team buried in the Sutton probation years, and Rupp was jammed and rocking.
Even during our glory days, attendance was episodic. Again, the last straw for C.M Newton fell when we beat Top 10-ranked Kentucky and LSU on the same road trip, and came home and played Georgia in a half-filled Coleman.
I drove over to watch the game and have never been more embarrassed for our basketball program. Of course, I've long since grown accustomed to turning on the TV here in the Carolinas and seeing rows of empty Coleman seats.
Wimp should get credit for keeping attendance at a reasonable level. Still, the only times we can count on a big home basketball crowd is for Kentucky or when Auburn hands over the football trophy.
Say what you want about this year's team, but it deserved far more turnout than it got.
I also appreciate your info, and I agree that this class and next year are important for us. Even with a pretty weak hand, I think Grant demonstrated what he is capable of doing here. As an old coach used to say, though, potential only means you haven't done anything yet. If we get four or five guys who can play, we can be competitive next year. I really want to see if Grant can develop basketball players. We need guys who know the game and who can do the little things well. We definitely need guys who can shoot the stinking ball. I really want to be excited about Bama basketball again. I went to a couple of games this year, but I didn't watch many others on TV. I hope Grant can put a good team on the floor next year.
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