The Starting Five: Cornell Five Stats, Facts, or People you need to know heading into the game against the Big Red.
The Crimson White (student newspaper of Alabama)
- The Anthony Grant Era begins. After much anticipation, speculation, and deliberation, Coach Grant will finally put a product on the hardwood when it really means something on Saturday. It has been seven and a half months since Grant first landed in Tuscaloosa to a large crowd (by basketball standards) at the Tuscaloosa Airport. He has mentioned he wants an up-tempo style of play and a defense that covers 94 feet of the floor. The jury is a long ways out on the offense, but the defense seems to be working quite well so far. In two exhibition games against Montevallo and D-II power Augusta State, the Tide gave up an average of 54 points per game. Say what you want about the competition, but holding a team in Augusta State who shot 50% from the field last year to 55 points was a feat in itself.
- Turnovers are going to haunt the Tide early. As I said, the jury is still out on the offense after two exhibition games. The points weren't too hard to come by in game one, but game two saw a struggle from the Crimson Tide on offense. Alabama has turned the ball over 45 times in two exhibition games while trying to learn the new offense. The Tide have thrown many errant passes as well as some that are ill advised in trying to play at a much faster pace. Mikhail Torrance said in the pre-season that the goal is to score 100 every time out. Right now that is not feasible, and the sooner the Crimson Tide figures this out, the better off they will be sooner.
- JaMychal Green needs to show up in the first half. I have said numerous times in the pre-season that in order for Alabama to sniff any post season tournament, JaMychal Green must play at an All-SEC level this season. The second half of games, Green can be considered All-American at this point, but he doesn't show up on the stat sheet until the second frame of twenty. Green scored 30 points between the two exhibition games and 28 of those points came in the second half. He only missed one free throw in the exhibition games, going 10-11 from the charity stripe. Producing in the first half will be huge for Green and the Tide, but he must stay on the floor and out of foul trouble. Green sat early against Augusta State because of fouls, and he knows to do his best to avoid foul trouble since the Tide is not deep in the post this year.
- Cornell is not your basic lower tier school. Many schools want to believe they are beginning the year off with an easy win, just something to set a foundation. The truth is, not every team can play Alcorn State to begin the year. There are going to be those teams, like Rider and Niagra, who will give you a run for your money. Cornell is beyond those squads. The Big Red are the two-time defending Ivy League champions. They are the first school other than Penn or Princeton to ever win back-to-back league titles. When breaking down their team, the question arises of where to start. You can start at senior guard Louis Dale, who has been the Ivy League Player of the Year for two years now. Or maybe last season's Rookie of the Year in Chris Wroblewski. How bout Cornell's most prolific three point shooter in school history Ryan Wittman. The list goes on and on for a team who returns eight of their top nine scorers from a year ago.
- Don't be shocked by a Big Red victory. With everything that was mentioned about the Tide's woes and the Big Red's strengths, do not be surprised if the Crimson Tide drop their season opener for the second straight year. Cornell is going with a smaller lineup to try and combat the Crimson Tide's fast paced offense, but Alabama still plays a good half-court set when they choose to pass the ball inside. The Crimson Tide will not only force turnovers, but will give the ball away themselves. This game will come down to who can shoot the ball the best, and Cornell seems to be that team. It also doesn't hurt that the Big Red have a lineup laden with seniors who are full of experience in their current system.
Montgomery Advertiser
November 14, 2009
A capsule look at Alabama's home game against Cornell today.When: 1 p.m. today
Where: Coleman Memorial Coliseum, Tuscaloosa
Records: UA (18-14 in 2008-09); CU (21-10)
On the air: TV -- none; Radio -- WXFX-95.1 FM
Tickets: $12 for adults; $8 for children 15 and under
Probable starting lineups:
Cornell -- F Ryan Wittman (6-7, Sr.) 18.5 ppg., F Alex Tyler (6-7, Sr.), 6.9 ppg., G Louis Dale (5-11, Sr.), 13.0 ppg., G Geoff Reeves (6-4, Sr.), 9.0 ppg, C Jeff Foote (7-0, Sr.), 11.8 ppg
ALABAMA -- F JaMychal Green (6-9, 220 So.) 10.3 ppg., F Justin Knox (6-9, 240, Jr.), 5.7 ppg., G Anthony Brock (5-9, 165, Sr.), 5.6 ppg, G Mikhail Torrance (6-5, 210, Sr.), 10.0 ppg, G Senario Hillman (6-1, 192, Jr.), 9.2 pph
Notes: Alabama makes its debut under first-year coach Anthony Grant, who has preached an uptempo style of attack and an aggressive defense, although the Tide hasn't been consistent in its two preseason exhibitions . . . JaMychal Green returns as the Crimson Tide's most experienced post player who must stay out of foul trouble today in his matchup with 7-foot Cornell senior Jeff Foote . . . The Big Red return all five starters from last year's team that won 21 games and captured its sec ond consecutive Ivy League championship . . . The two teams have met once before, with Alabama taking a 107-84 win under C.M. Newton in the 1972-73 season opener on Dec. 1, 1972 . . . This game was scheduled by former coach Mark Gottfried last season.Montgomery Advertiser
November 14, 2009
TUSCALOOSA -- Alabama makes its 2009-10 debut under new coach Anthony Grant today, but the matchup with Cornell University certainly isn't one Grant would have wanted for his first game as the Crimson Tide head coach.
"It's a very tough game to open the season considering the success that they've had and the caliber of team they have coming back," he said. "It's a very deep team and a very well coached team. It'll be a challenge for us, but we're excited about getting on the court and starting the season."
Cornell returns all five starters from last year's team that won the Ivy League championship, earned an NCAA Tournament berth and won 21 games, creating a huge obstacle for the Tide in any case. But after a lackadaisical performance against Division II power Augusta State in an exhibition game on Tuesday, Grant isn't sure his team is ready for any opponent just yet.
"As a coach, I've got to figure out a way to get these guys to understand what we're supposed to do and how we're supposed to do it," he said. "We've got a team right now that really doesn't understand. We've got to figure some things out.
"I think for this team it's going to be a process all year for us to try and get better. To be honest, I feel like we have too many issues to say right now that we can deal with them in the short term."
Mikhail Torrance, the senior point guard charged with directing the Crimson Tide's uptempo offense, pointed to the Tuesday night matchup as an indication of Alabama's inconsistency, particularly on offense, where the Tide has committed 45 turnovers in its two preseason games.
"I'm excited, but at the same time I know we've got a lot of work to do," Torrance said. "Coach expects a lot out of us. We have to come together as a team and know what we have to do. We can't have lapses where we go up by 12 and then we give up 10 points. We can't turn the ball over down the stretch. We're excited, but at the same time we know we need to get a lot better."
Alabama's team returns a mixture of veterans and new talent. Four starters return, including Torrance, forwards Justin Knox and JaMychel Green and wing man Hillman, but the Tide hasn't looked very experienced in its two exhibition games."The last couple of days, we've been practicing, trying to work on our mistakes from the Augusta game," Green said. "We made a lot of turnovers, weren't executing well and really didn't play with a lot of energy. (Grant) was very disappointed. I think we had 25 turnovers, something like that. He always preaches to us about valuing the ball, and he was very upset by the way we played."
Several newcomers have made strides, including shooting guard Charvez Davis, forward Chris Hinds and Tony Mitchell on the wing, but the mixture of young and old has Grant thinking he may cut down on the number of players who see action in today's game.
"I thought outside of maybe the first few minutes of each half, I thought our guys played hard," Grant said. "I thought we played with intensity. We didn't play very smart. We didn't play with discipline. I look at it as a learning experience. Every day, every game brings different challenges. That's behind us. Now we've got to look forward and get prepared to start our season."
Davis, the former Jeff Davis star who transferred from Northwest Florida State, said the Tide is looking forward to tipping off the 2009-10 season.
"I think we're ready," Davis said. "Coach Grant, he's a straight-forward guy. He lets you know what you need to improve on and what he expects from us. We're just trying to go out and do our best and do the things he asks us to do. We're tired of practicing against ourselves. We're ready to see what we're all about and test the system out and see how far we've came as a team."Birmingham News
November 14, 2009
TUSCALOOSA -- An Alabama basketball season starts today, and one of the teams on the Coleman Coliseum court will be a two-time defending conference champion that has made two consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances.
The Crimson Tide will be the other team.
And so begins the Anthony Grant era. The new coach has a challenge on his hands, beginning with the opening tipoff at 1 p.m. against Cornell.
"We're a young basketball team," Grant said. "Guys are still trying to understand our system. We had two exhibition games. . . . There are a lot of concerns in terms of who we are and what we need to do.
"And then you look at Cornell. A great handling and passing team. Skilled at being able to put the ball in the hole. They play a variety of defenses. They're very disruptive."
It sounds like the kind of team Grant wants the Tide to become. But he was far from encouraged following Tuesday's final tune-up, a 61-55 victory over Division II power Augusta State.
"We had moments when we looked good and moments when we didn't look good," Grant said of two exhibition games, the first of which was an 81-53 victory over Division II Montevallo.
The good was holding opponents to 53 and 55 points. The bad was 22 and 23 turnovers.
"I thought we had breakdowns offensively," Grant said. "Obviously 23 turnovers was quite a bit.
"But on the defensive end as well, we gave them some open looks that they weren't able to convert. With a team like Cornell, if you give them those opportunities, chances are it will be a long game."
Cornell returns all five starters from a team that was 21-10 last season and won the Ivy League championship for the second consecutive season. It lost to Missouri 78-59 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
The Big Red is led by Ryan Wittman, a 6-foot-7 forward who is a two-time unanimous first-team AllI-vy League player and the No. 2 career scorer in school history. He averaged 18.5 points per game.
Senior guard Louis Dale (13 ppg), a former star at The Altamont School, was the 2008 Ivy League player of the year. Jeff Foote (11.8 ppg), a 7-foot, 265-pound senior center, was the 2009 Ivy League defensive player of the year.
"It will be a tremendous test," said Grant, who did not schedule this game.
"We're not where we need to be. We're not where we're going to be. The important thing with our basketball is getting better. You need to understand. These guys have been with me for a month."
Sophomore forward JaMychal Green led Alabama (18-14 last season) with 30 points in 37 minutes in the exhibition games combined. He and two other returning starters -- point guard Mikhail Torrance and shooting guard Senario Hillman -- were joined in the starting lineup by guard Anthony Brock, a backup last season, and forward Chris Hines, a junior college All-American last season.
"I believe we've got a team that can continue to get better all year," Grant said. "That's my goal."
Press Register
November 14, 2009
TUSCALOOSA — Ready or not, it's time for the Anthony Grant era to begin for Alabama's basketball program.
Grant, however, could have drawn an easier debut than the one he inherited from the previous coaching staff. Two-time Ivy League champion Cornell visits Coleman Coliseum at 1 p.m. today in the season opener for both teams.
The Big Red returned all five starters from a team that won 21 games before falling to Missouri in the first round of last year's NCAA tournament.
"They're a very deep team, a very well-coached team," Grant said of Cornell. "It will be a challenge for us, but we're excited about getting out to the court and starting the season."
Expectations are modest for Grant's first Crimson Tide team, although four starters return from a squad that went 18-14 while enduring a midseason coaching change. Mark Gottfried was asked to step down and assistant Philip Pearson took over in late January, but ultimately the season ended like the previous two—without a bid to the NCAA tournament.
To try to reverse the program's downward trend, Grant was lured away from VCU with a $1.8 million salary and plans for a new practice arena. He is committed to a fast-paced style that has been exciting — and sloppy — for Alabama so far.
It rolled 81-53 past Montevallo, but stalled against Augusta State, surviving an unsightly 61-55 game that wasn't what Grant had in mind. The Crimson Tide committed 23 turnovers and led by only two points in the final minute.
"He was very disappointed," forward JaMychal Green said of Grant. "He always preaches to us about valuing the ball, and he was very upset by the way we played. We didn't have energy coming out. It started in shootaround. No one had any energy, so we just came out slow."
Afterward, Alabama's new coach didn't hold back, calling his team "undersized and under-skilled," while adding, "We've got a team right now that really doesn't understand."
"We have a group that basically is 11 freshmen," Grant said. "Even though they're not all new to college basketball, they're new to me, they're new to our terminology, they're new to the system and they're trying to figure it out as we go through."
Green, a preseason All-SEC selection, led Alabama by averaging 15 points through the two exhibition games. He is expected to be joined in today's starting lineup by senior guard Anthony Brock, junior guard Senario Hillman, junior forward Justin Knox and former Mary Montgomery standout Mikhail Torrance, the senior point guard.
Alabama takes on Cornell in season opener
Dothan EagleNovember 14, 2009
Alabama opens its basketball season today with a new coach, a new system and all eyes focused on … well, the football game 83 miles away in Starkville. Actually, fans could catch a doubleheader. The Anthony Grant era begins today in Tuscaloosa at 1 p.m., and the Tide’s third-ranked football game kicks off against Mississippi State at 6. But judging from Grant’s postgame comments following Tuesday’s exhibition victory over Division II power Augusta State, the coach might prefer anonymity. “I told the guys this past weekend that our basketball team is a team that is undersized and under-skilled and the way that we are going to win games is to play hard, play together, play with focus and play with passion,” Grant said following his team’s 61-55 victory. “Right now, we really don’t understand that as a team. … Maybe this is a wake-up call to guys that don’t understand that we have a very slim margin of error in order for us to be successful.” Today’s opener, two-time defending Ivy League champion Cornell, could very easily drive that point home. The Big Red was 21-10 a year ago and has all five starters and 11 veteran players returning. Birmingham native Louis Dale was the Ivy League Player of the Year two years ago. He averaged 13 points per game last season. Seven-foot center Jeff Foote, the Ivy’s Defensive Player of the Year last season, is back. He averaged 11.8 points and 7.2 rebounds per game. But Cornell’s leading returnee is Ryan Whittman, who averaged 18.5 points per game a year ago. This wasn’t an opener Grant chose. It was already on the schedule. “Obviously, it’s a very tough game to open the season with, considering the success that they’ve had and the caliber of team that they have coming back,” the coach Alabama was 18-14 last season and returns four starters, including preseason all-SEC pick JaMychal Green, who averaged 15 points and eight rebounds in the Tide’s exhibition wins over Montevallo and Augusta State. Senior point guard Mikhail Torrance averaged nine points and 6.5 assists in the preseason. Senario Hillman and Justin Knox are also returning starters. Anthony Brock got a lot of playing time also. The biggest addition, of course, is Grant, who won three league titles in three years at Virginia Commonwealth. The former Florida assistant under Billy Donovan has promised to bring an up-tempo, full-court style to Coleman Coliseum this season. It has been a whirlwind preseason for the players and the coach. “I still remember the first practice, and it doesn’t feel like that we play tomorrow our first game. It went by pretty fast,” Green said. Grant agreed time has flown by. “We have a group that basically is 11 freshmen. Even though they’re not all new to college basketball, they’re new to me, they’re new to our terminology, they’re new to the system and they’re trying to figure it out as we go through,” the coach said, adding he’s not sure what the playing rotation will be. “To be honest with you, I feel like I’m still learning my team. My team is still learning what my expectations are in terms of how hard we need to play, how hard we need to practice, what we need to do preparation-wise.” The learning will continue, particularly through the non-conference season, but the games start counting today.
said Friday. “They’re a very deep team, a very well-coached team. It will be a great challenge for our team. We’ve got to be prepared to play.”
November 14, 2009
TUSCALOOSA | The opening game of the season is always a good time to buy a program and familiarize yourself with new faces in the University of Alabama basketball program.
Coach Anthony Grant suggests that you might want to ignore the traditional designations of a player’s class as well.
“We have a group that is basically 11 freshmen,” Grant said Friday before the Crimson Tide wrapped up preparations for today’s regular season opener against Cornell. “They are not all new to college basketball, but they are new to me, new to our terminology and new to our system. They’re trying to figure it out as we go through.”
Grant is new, too, after being hired in March. His track record of success as an assistant coach and as the head coach at Virginia Commonwealth has caused plenty of anticipation for today, the opening of his tenure at Alabama. But that anticipation also includes the recognition that a rebuilding job is at hand.
It was clear that the Crimson Tide had plenty of learning remaining after two ragged exhibition wins over Montevallo and Augusta College. Cornell, the preseason favorite to win the Ivy League, will provide a much sterner test.
The Big Red has won the Ivy League two years in a row and is expected to have its best team yet in 2009-10. Cornell returns five senior starters with championship experience and has last year’s Ivy League Rookie of The Year Chris Wroblewski coming off the bench. Unlike the usual November and December opponents, they are also bigger than the Crimson Tide with 7-foot center Jeff Foote creating the most significant matchup problem. Ryan Wittman, a 6-foot-6 small forward is the top scorer (18.5 ppg) from last year’s 21-10 team.a
“I don’t know that the Ivy League has ever had a team that has gotten this many accolades,” Grant said. “We’ve got to be prepared to play.”
That will start with protecting the basketball after 45 turnovers in two exhibition games. And even with Grant’s admonition that the team is “all freshmen,” it will be a relatively seasoned lineup including two seniors (Anthony Brock and Mikhail Torrance) and two juniors (Senario Hillman and Justin Knox) along with sophomore star JaMychal Green.
Green has been Alabama’s leading scorer in the two exhibition games, despite recurring foul trouble that has limited his production largely to second-half scoring.
Grant’s main focus, though, is on effort. His extreme displeasure after the Augusta College contest was focused mainly on the team’s lethargic play at times, prompting him to say the team “just doesn’t get it” at times.
“I do expect this to be a team that improves as the year goes along,” Grant said. “We should be better in the last game than the first game. But we’ve got a long way to go.”
Cornell coach Steve Donahue said his team is “excited to get started and play a team like Alabama.
“Any time you play these (major conference) teams, you’ve got to limit them to one shot and play defense without fouling. I hope we could play well Saturday in those departments.”
No comments:
Post a Comment