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Alabama Team Report
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Updated: April 03, 2012 06:42 EST
GETTING INSIDE When Alabama coaches, players, and fans look back on the 2011-12 campaign, they will be able to sum up the season in two words:
What if? What if troubled forward Tony Mitchell, the team's No. 2 scorer and rebounder, not been suspended for the last month-and-a-half of the season? Could he have been the difference in the Tide's close losses to Florida and Creighton in the SEC and NCAA tourneys? What if three other players, including top scorer forward JaMychal Green, not been suspended as well? Could they have kept Alabama from losing back-to-back games at LSU and at home against Florida when victories would have resulted in a first-round bye in the SEC tourney and a likely higher seeding than a No. 9 in the NCAA event? What if guard Andrew Steele had played the entire season? Steele, whose career was thought to be over because of injuries that included concussion issues, didn't join the team until early January after the Tide had dropped a two-point game at home to Georgetown and lost to Dayton and Kansas State. But that's in the past now. As former Marquette coach and basketball announcer Al McGuire used to say, "If ifs and buts were candy and nuts, we'd all have a Merry Christmas." Looking ahead, coach Anthony Grant has the nucleus of a potential contender in the SEC with four starters returning from a team that won 21 games and was within two points of winning its first game in the NCAA tournament. The loss is a big one with Green departing, and Mitchell's future is still in doubt, but Grant will have an experienced backcourt with Trevor Releford back to man the point for a third season and Trevor Lacey, Levi Randolph, and Rodney Cooper back with a year's experience. The big concern will be finding help for Nick Jacobs, who started 15 games as a freshman, at the low post. |
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NOTES, QUOTES --The lack of a consistent perimeter game hampered Alabama throughout the season. The Tide shot only 28.9 percent from 3-point range and had only one player, backup guard Charles Hankerson, shoot over 32 percent from long range, and he was barely there with his 32.7 mark. Ironically, one of the Tide's better performances came in the NCAA loss to Creighton when the Tide was 7-of-17 on 3-pointers. --Alabama finished the season holding opponents to just 58.1 points a game and 38.9 percent shooting. Only three teams -- Dayton, Kansas State, and Kentucky -- got into the 70s against the Tide, which lost to all three of those opponents. Only 13 opponents reached the 60s. FINAL RECORD: 21-12, 9-7, fifth place in the SEC. 2011-12 SEASON RECAP: Bama went into SEC play with an 11-3 non-conference record that featured a home loss by two points to Georgetown and double-digit losses at Dayton and to Kansas State in Kansas City. The Tide figured to challenge for one of the top spots in the league, but got off to a tough start by losing four in a row after two wins to start off the conference. In February, Bama lost No. 2 scorer and rebounder Tony Mitchell to a suspension for the rest of the year and leading scorer and rebounder JaMychal Green for four games. Trevor Releford and Andrew Steele also were suspended for one. Nevertheless, the Tide remained in contention for one of the SEC tourney byes that goes to the top four finishers in the regular-season standings until losing at Ole Miss in the final game of the regular season. The Tide won one game (South Carolina) and lost to Florida by three in the SEC tourney before dropping a one-point decision to Creighton the NCAA tourney. QUOTE TO NOTE: "I think this was a basketball team that grew over the course of the season and it was really, really important for this team I think in our maturation to get to the NCAA tournament and to try to have some success." -- Coach Anthony Grant, after the first-round NCAA loss to Creighton. |
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STRATEGY AND PERSONNEL THE GOOD NEWS: Four players who started against Creighton in the NCAA tournament return along with all the backups. Coach Anthony Grant has his players buying into a system that emphasizes defense and patience on offense. The backcourt should be strong at both ends of the floor.
THE BAD NEWS: The certain loss of F JaMychal Green and uncertain status of suspended F Tony Mitchell depletes the frontcourt and puts a lot of pressure on F Nick Jacobs, who doesn't look to be a big point producer. The perimeter shooting must be improve, and improve in a big way, for the Tide to make a significant move up. KEY RETURNEES: G Trevor Releford averaged 12.0 points a game and does a solid job running the offense. G Andrew Steele added energy and defense when he joined the team in January. Freshman Trevor Lacey, Levi Randolph, and Rodney Cooper all had promising freshman campaigns, and sophomore G Charles Hankerson could be the answer to the 3-point shooting woes if he continues to develop. PLAYER NOTES: --F JaMychal Green wound up his career with 1,656 points and 912 rebounds despite missing seven games in 2011-12 because of injuries and suspension. He goes into the Alabama record book 11th in scoring and rebounding, fifth in blocked shots (212), and 10th in steals (125). The only other player in the top 15 in all four categories for the Tide is Robert Horry. --G Trevor Releford ended averaging 12.0 points and 2.8 assists per game after posting numbers of 11.0 points and 3.4, respectively, as a freshman. He has 124 steals in two years and looks to challenge Senario Hillman's school career record of 176 next season. --G Trevor Lacey ended up as the Tide's leading 3-point shooter with 31 treys in 103 attempts. |
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