More good than bad for the Tide...
I know that Anthony Grant is going to look at the game video and find a dozen ways the Tide could have won. That's a joke. Grant lives in the present moment which is one reason he is going to deliver some glory days for Alabama. I've never sat down with the Coach when he reviews a game tape. My bet is he has a list that essentially says, "this we need to correct" and another list "this was good let's keep that up." Alabama had one chance to win the game in Kentucky and that was to bang them all over the floor, and then bang some more. That's what I meant yesterday when we said the fouls called against Alabama were basically good calls. They just weren't called both ways.
Kentucky superstar freshman, Anthony Davis, said "they were bigger and more physical than us. We had to make up for that by making threes, and our free throws. They were, you know, more physical than anyone we had played and they just wouldn't quit. They have a good team." John Calipari said his team missed 14 one foot shots in the first half. I went back and watched the game again. Kentucky missed 7 shots that were point blank. They were point blank except for the fact that Green was all over them. Green deflected three of those shots. He also blocked a couple of others. Freshman Nick Jacobs had no back down in him either. He changed a lot of shots, and moved a lot of people around with his huge body frame. Moussa altered a couple of shots as well. Calipari just will not give credit to Bama. He knows that his team was lucky to have been playing at home and all that entails with the officiating.
I counted 16 fouls that could have been called against Kentucky but were not called. To be fair, Bama had five or six of those in their favor. The reason the Cats shot so poorly is that they is that they played a blue collar team (no pun) that wasn't afraid of them. If you want to know how you beat Kentucky Bama showed the world the game plan. Knock them silly, play them on the road, and hope for decent officiating. My prediction for the Cats is at least 3 SEC losses in the SEC. I thought that a couple of their freshman were clearly intimidated the first half. Credit to those kids for manning up the second half and playing rougher. The Wildcats are wildly talented but played soft at times. The Cats depend on skill and great coaching. A tough nosed team playing on their own home floor will beat 'em. Watch and see.
JayMychal Green has been up and down this season. His downs have been because he was trying to hard to carry his team. But on Saturday he was the man. He was clearly the best inside player on the floor and the Wildcats gave him wide berth inside. Young Nick Jacobs is going to be a player. I mean he is going to be one of those classic Bama players that drool at the thought of knocking people around insider. That little baby hook is going to get better and better. The Kentucky players blocked one from the backside. All the remainder of shots either went in or were close. One goal tend was missed on one of his shots but I think it might have been a Bama player who touched the ball close to the rim.
What can you say about Trevor Releford ? The guys comes to play. His second half performance was one of best I've seen by a Bama player in my 55 years of watching the Tide play. The sophomore mystified the Cats on their home floor. I cannot imagine what he will be like as a junior and senior. He had 3 assists to go along with his 2 steals and 3 rebounds. There isn't a stat to keep up with how many times he broke the press, and recovered loose balls. Trevor Lacey had 5 assists, 5 boards and 10 big points. The freshman is getting better as his knee improves. He seems to have caught up the speed of play as well. He has one three point play taken away on a clear block. Not even close. Kentucky hit a three point shot on the subsequent trip down the floor. Six point swing... hmmmm.
There is no way to easily explain the contribution of Andrew Steele. His stats are less than vanilla at times. He earns his living by defense and being a fearless player. The senior shut down whoever he guarded, that defense was as important as the red hot shooting of the Tide in half number two. I bet if Grant gave a defensive player of the game it would have gone to number 22. He has literally been knocked silly so many times you lose count. You know what? He always gonna be back for more. Mr. Courage. Mr. Class.
Next up: Alabama at South Carolina - coming on Mon.
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| Green blocks this Wildcat shot... |
Kentucky superstar freshman, Anthony Davis, said "they were bigger and more physical than us. We had to make up for that by making threes, and our free throws. They were, you know, more physical than anyone we had played and they just wouldn't quit. They have a good team." John Calipari said his team missed 14 one foot shots in the first half. I went back and watched the game again. Kentucky missed 7 shots that were point blank. They were point blank except for the fact that Green was all over them. Green deflected three of those shots. He also blocked a couple of others. Freshman Nick Jacobs had no back down in him either. He changed a lot of shots, and moved a lot of people around with his huge body frame. Moussa altered a couple of shots as well. Calipari just will not give credit to Bama. He knows that his team was lucky to have been playing at home and all that entails with the officiating.
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| Another No-Call |
JayMychal Green has been up and down this season. His downs have been because he was trying to hard to carry his team. But on Saturday he was the man. He was clearly the best inside player on the floor and the Wildcats gave him wide berth inside. Young Nick Jacobs is going to be a player. I mean he is going to be one of those classic Bama players that drool at the thought of knocking people around insider. That little baby hook is going to get better and better. The Kentucky players blocked one from the backside. All the remainder of shots either went in or were close. One goal tend was missed on one of his shots but I think it might have been a Bama player who touched the ball close to the rim.
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| Releford and Randolph double team to cause Kentucky turnover |
There is no way to easily explain the contribution of Andrew Steele. His stats are less than vanilla at times. He earns his living by defense and being a fearless player. The senior shut down whoever he guarded, that defense was as important as the red hot shooting of the Tide in half number two. I bet if Grant gave a defensive player of the game it would have gone to number 22. He has literally been knocked silly so many times you lose count. You know what? He always gonna be back for more. Mr. Courage. Mr. Class.
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| Defensive effort by Steele led to Tide turnaround |
Next up: Alabama at South Carolina - coming on Mon.
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| Three pretty good freshman |
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| Alabama Player of the Game - JayMychal Green |
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