Alabama Basketball = Titanic

by Bama philosophe on Jan 20, 2009 11:17 PM CST

Ron Steele has announced that his career at Alabama is over. Whether this is genuinely due to injury or whether it's because he wants to get out and save himself for the NBA draft no one will know for sure, but what is apparent is that Alabama basketball is totally, incontrovertibly, and sadly at rock bottom.

After attending the Auburn-Alabama game last Saturday, I was pretty well convinced that Gottfried's death warrant was officially signed, sealed, and delivered. The team had no life. If you think the 1st quarter of the Sugar Bowl was a no-show, then you weren't in Auburn on Saturday. Defensive intensity was totally absent. Ball-handling ability was non-existent. Auburn applied ball pressure and we folded faster than a cheap tent during a hurricane. Furthermore, when we were on the offensive end we were sending our big guys out to the top of the key and trying to post Hillman and A. Steele against Auburn's guards. Alabama's performance on Saturday was pure garbage by any and all accounts.

We've all seen this coming, but it's really getting ugly now. That team hit the iceberg a few weeks ago and is now totally upright in the water, about to snap in half and sink into the cold depths of the ocean. Unfortunately for Mark Gottfried, there don't appear to be anymore lifeboats.

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fare thee well

as a loyal supporter of MG, I agree. As T. Paine said at the end of Common Sense- tis time to part. I still dont know which is sadder- MG’s lack of player development or the boosters who refuse to support the team- as well as the other fans who show no support. Losing steele is the final blow or the wrenching of our achillies hill( bad pun intended) . However, I still think we need to support the guys and MG for the rest of the season.

by fahq2k9 on Jan 21, 2009 12:13 AM CST reply actions

I still dont know which is sadder- MG’s lack of player development or the boosters who refuse to support the team- as well as the other fans who show no support.

Unfortunately, basketball has to win (or at least have the hope of winning) to get support at Alabama. People just don’t care enough to go out and spend time/energy/money on a bad product.

RollBamaRoll.com

by Nico2.0 on Jan 21, 2009 9:25 AM CST up reply actions

Winning begats attendance.....

We are not a power basketball school and the only time I remember people truly caring about basketball was during the 70’s with Reginald King and T.R. Dunn . And then during Wimp’s plaid days and the mania that was. But since that time with David Hobbs and the always hopeful next year we’ll be better Mark G. we’ve have sunk into the bottom of the not just the SEC but of college basketball in the nation.
We are a joke, and why would anyone want to attend. The product being put on the floor is substandard at best, and as someone who feels the pinch of the economy right now, I would not waste the time, gas and money to watch them.

Well, are you gonna pull them pistols, or whistle dixie?

by jtCRIMSON on Jan 21, 2009 1:30 PM CST up reply actions

couldnt have said it better nico

that is why my chips are in football and working on gymnastics….mainly because they WIN

"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit."

by comer4tide on Jan 22, 2009 6:10 PM CST up reply actions

Mark Gottfried...

…is the only one to blame, and perhaps Mal Moore for allowing this to go on this long. The only way fans can emphatically show their displeasure is to simply not show up to games.

I really feel that Steele needs to be selfish, and it was probably the smart thing to not play the rest of the season. I am not overly optimistic, but I hope that it is possible for Steele to regain his Sophmore form and have a chance at a pro career. I will never forget how good he was that year, when he was arguablly one of the best players in the nation. I am sure in Gottfried’s next press conference that he will still be talking about how the injury to Steele has effected this team and its ability to win, three years after the fact. Gottfried is a loser, who has an excuse for everything.

As for Gottfried he needs to be fired today. I do not think there is a way to save this season, but there is simply no reason to allow him to continue.

by Kenny483 on Jan 21, 2009 6:32 AM CST reply actions

I

hate to say this but MG reminds me alot of Tuberville. Forever making excuses and spinning like a politician. Much like Tubbs lived off 13-0 and the streak, MG has lived off of the Elite 8 appearance. One thing I will say for him is he can pull talent, he just doesn’t seem to know what to do with it.

Thirty-Six to Nothing

by Bens4vcobra on Jan 21, 2009 8:31 AM CST reply actions

Eh?

Tuberville had like a .800 winning percentage, something like a 10-2 record against top 10 teams, and a crazy-good SEC record. Gottfried’s had three winning SEC seasons in three years, has an abysmal road record, and has only gotten past the second round of the tournament once.

by Bama philosophe on Jan 21, 2009 9:32 AM CST up reply actions

Agree

Like him or not, Tuberville was a pretty good coach. I would say a better comparison would be Ron Zook at Florida. He could seemingly get talent in there, but could not develop talent, and too many of the players would leave or transfer early.

by Kenny483 on Jan 21, 2009 10:05 AM CST up reply actions

He

reminds me of Tubbs in the sense that he is living off of past success that was a “one shot” deal (the 13-0 season for TT and the Elite 8 for MG), and they both are both expert spin and excuse makers. I didn’t mean in terms of their career as a whole.

Thirty-Six to Nothing

by Bens4vcobra on Jan 21, 2009 1:58 PM CST up reply actions

I think MG should be allowed to ride out the terrible season

and then we can fire him and move on. He prolly should have been let go several yrs ago, but he is a likeable guy from a great family and a UA alumnus. I really wished he could have coached players, bc he sure could recruit. It is really sad for guys like Gee, Steele, and others over the yrs that they never fully developed while at UA. He reminds me a lot of Larry Finch the former Memphis coach. He had the best talent in the world and those guys got worse while at UM not better. Same situation now at UA.

I wouldn't piss off the boys from Alabama . . .

by I hate UT on Jan 21, 2009 12:37 PM CST reply actions

It's confirmed

The injury wasn’t the reason Steele left.

http://www.tidesports.com/article/20090121/NEWS/901210297/1011?Title=Steele__injury__not_the_reason__for_departure

by Bama philosophe on Jan 21, 2009 3:29 PM CST reply actions

CMG

bet his career on Steele and now Steele quits on him- Bye -Bye CMG.

I’m kinda funny about this but I still want this team to win. I don’ t know if they can win even 1 more game but I do want them to win. I’ll actually be pulling for them tonight on the radio.

Excitement for Bama Basketball would return with a top 20 type coach. Don’t know if we could get one, but if we could we would have good fan support.

by 5026 on Jan 21, 2009 3:41 PM CST up reply actions

I want...

…us to beat UT, and Auburn, and Florida (‘cause orange is ugly), but, sadly, we need them to lose in order to insure that the arrival of a new HC is imminent. It stinks for the seniors, but it’s time to move on, and we can’t win the rest and expect that to be easy. Of course, it appears this team has a lot of losses in its future, so this should be a non-issue.

by NiceLittleSaturday on Jan 21, 2009 3:46 PM CST up reply actions

Well...

I’m going to keep going to the games (because I’m a student and it’s free, and I like the game of basketball, period), but I’m going to root for the team to do well. I think it’s safe to say that the current state of the program is such that there’s no way Gottfried is back next year, barring some sort of elite 8/final four run. Still, I hope the current players who have put in all the time and effort win, because they deserve that. I’m not going to start casting moral judgments about Mark Gottfried like most people who want him fired do. He seems like a nice guy, and it’s unfortunate for him that he couldn’t maintain a sufficient level of success in the program, but that professional failure does not merit the kinds of ad hominem, personal attacks that are being launched his way. I hope he has a great future, but I do not hope that future is leading the Alabama basketball program.

by Bama philosophe on Jan 21, 2009 4:01 PM CST up reply actions

Hey...

…I agree with you. I’m not rooting for us to lose. I’m just saying that we need a new coach, and if losing hastens the inevitable. I’ll root for us to win every game…I just expect to continue to be disappointed a lot…at least for this year. I was a student the year after Gottfried, Derrick McKey, Jim Farmer, Terry Coner, and James Jackson left the program. We had Michael Ansley and lots of youth. We lost a lot, but I did the same as you…showed up and rooted for the Tide.

And I’ve got nothing to say about MG as a person ‘cause I’ve never met him and he seems like good people. I don’t want him to die, I just want him to find a new job. I want us to win again.

by NiceLittleSaturday on Jan 21, 2009 4:15 PM CST up reply actions

Sorry...

I wasn’t trying to intend my statement as a reply to you, but rather as a commentary on some of the more inflammatory pseudo-fans who keep spewing vitriolic garbage about Gottfried as a person/family man/etc.

by Bama philosophe on Jan 21, 2009 4:49 PM CST up reply actions