never to early to start exacting some revenge.....I'll be watching, probably on ESPN3 since I am not local. I am excited about our basketball team this year....hurts to lose JOBIII for 4-6 weeks but I like the chemistry, tenacity and defense of this team. I also think we cannot over state how much Anthony Hickey has already meant to the team.
Alabama hasn't beaten any ranked teams this year, however they only lost by 2 to Georgetown, which is ranked 11th. All around they look like they should be a tough team, however I have not seen them play this year, and don't really know what to expect. Anyone seen them play??
Got beat by a top 20 team in Kansas State...by 13 if I recall correctly. I don't see much of a problem getting to a 11-5, 12-4 mark in conference play this season. It's a team coming together...how they come out tonight? We'll see. It's broadcast on CSS if you guys happened to have that channel.
Watched the G-town game and another game this season. They are are an athletic team that has bought into Grant's "hardcore" defensive mindset. They're smothering on d, but more of a half-court, in your face d. Watch for Mitchell down low, Releford at the point, and new freshman who's making some nice news at shooting guard. That said, they're not without their weaknesses, particularly their outside shooting and generating half-court offense without the transition basket. In a funny way, LSU (today) under Johnson and Bama under Grant, are similar in various ways. Both emphasize defense and rebounding, but I think Grant would like his defense to lead to transition scores, whereas Trent has at least some good experience getting his shooters open in more of an structured way. If the Tigers can survive the pressure d, and what should be an initial road onslaught, and remain smart and firm with the ball, the game should be a low scoring, tight affair--probably the team in the mid to high 60s can win. The good news is, at least this year, the Tigers have been in some close ones and have won. Bama is definitely considered one of the SEC's tourney teams, but they've been at times unimpressive, so there's definitely some "resume building" potential tonight. They'll have some issues matching up with Hamilton's height, but will throw some thicker bodies at him. I'll be interested in seeing how many SEC teams start to double Hamilton, knowing he's a factor. Hence, we'll need some good play from Turner/Stringer shooting better than they have, solid rebounding and help defense from guys like White and Warren, and continued good play at point from Hickey (particularly his ability to neutralize Releford), to win.
