POSTERIZED: Tony Mitchell is "Mr. DVR"

Alabama's Tony Mitchell is the most prolific dunker in college hoops. No questions asked. Take it to the bank.

His hands frequent the rim so often that you need to set your DVR to record every Crimson Tide game on TV.

Alabama played Georgia Tech on Tuesday night, and "Mr. DVR" was once again on display. So much so, that he even did a bit of work on the defensive end.



This is just getting out of hand.

People, listen up:

IF YOU ARE GUARDING TONY MITCHELL, DO NOT LET HIM OUT OF YOUR SIGHT. DO NOT LET HIM BEHIND YOU, and for god-sake DO NOT FORGET WHERE HE IS ON THE FLOOR.

He will make you pay, and on more than one occasion.


But was it as good as these?

Trevis Simpson, UNC-Greensboro vs. Miami, 1/2
Orion Outerbridge, Rhode Island vs. Boston College, 1/2
Sam Thompson, Ohio State vs. Indiana, 12/31
DeShon Minnis, Texas Tech vs. Southeastern Louisiana, 12/30
Keith Gabriel, VMI vs. Old Dominion, 12/22
Eric Etherly, Loyola (Md.) vs. Kentucky, 12/22
Chris Evans, Kent State vs. Texas-Arlington, 12/21
P.J. Hairston, North Carolina vs. Texas, 12/21
Robbie Hummel, Purdue vs. IPFW, 12/20
Robert Brown, Virginia Tech vs. North Florida, 12/19
Tony Mitchell, Alabama vs. Kansas State, 12/17
Torye Pelham, Southern Mississippi vs. Ole Miss, 12/17
Quincy Diggs, Akron vs. Florida A&M, 12/17
Anthony Davis, Kentucky vs. Chattanooga, 12/17
Langston Galloway/C.J. Aiken/Ronald Roberts, St. Joseph's vs. Villanova, 12/17
Terrence Ross, Washington vs. UC-Santa Barbara, 12/16
Jared Cunningham, Oregon State vs. Howard, 12/15
Raheem Appleby, Louisiana Tech vs. McNeese State, 12/14
Tony Mitchell, Alabama vs. Detroit, 12/12
Vander Blue, Marquette vs. UW-Green Bay, 12/11
Ronald Roberts, St. Joseph's vs. Creighton, 12/10
Dion Waiters, Syracuse vs. George Washington, 12/10 (DotY Candidate)
Victor Oladipo, Indiana vs. Kentucky, 12/10
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Georgia vs. Georgia Tech, 12/10
Vander Blue, Marquette vs. Washington, 12/6
Terrence Ross, Washington vs. Marquette, 12/6
Deville Smith, Mississippi State vs. West Virginia, 12/3
Terrence Jones, Kentucky vs. North Carolina, 12/3
Tony Mitchell, Alabama vs. Georgetown, 12/1
Anthony Marshall, UNLV vs. UNC, 11/26
Michael Kidd-Glichrist, Kentucky vs. Portland, 11/26/11 (DotY Candidate)
Markel Brown, Oklahoma State vs. Virginia Tech, 11/25
Rodney Williams, Minnesota vs. DePaul, 11/24
Thomas Robinson, Kansas vs. Duke, 11/23
Stan Okoye, VMI vs. Ohio State, 11/23
Kyisean Reed, Utah State vs. Southern Utah, 11/19
Ra'Shad James, Iona vs. Western Michigan, 11/18
Alandise Harris, Houston vs. Arkansas, 11/18
Sam Thompson, Ohio State vs. Jackson State, 11/18
Tony Mitchell, Alabama vs. Wichita State, 11/18
Eric Griffin, Campbell vs. North Carolina A&T, 11/18 (DotY Candidate)
Olek Czyz, Nevada vs. Pacific, 11/17
Chris Watson, Pikeville vs. Mountain State, 11/16
Ray Willis, North Carolina Central vs. Wagner, 11/16
Mike James, Lamar vs. Ohio, 11/15 (DotY Candidate)
Quincy Acy, Baylor vs. San Diego State, 11/15
Deniz Kilicli, West Virginia vs. Kent State, 11/15
Chris Evans, Kent State vs. West Virginia, 11/15
Tony Mitchell, Alabama vs. Oakland, 11/14
Isaiah Brown, East Tennessee State vs. Virginia Tech, 11/12
Michael Lyons, Air Force vs. Army, 11/11
Dezmine Wells, Xavier vs. Morgan State, 11/11
Jeremy Lamb, UConn vs. Columbia, 11/11 (DotY Candidate)
Andre Drummond, UConn vs. CW Post, 11/4
Moe Harkless, St. John's vs. CW Post, 10/26







Continue reading...

POSTERIZED: Your weekly dose of Tony Mitchell

Say what you will about Alabama's recent struggles. They've lost three of four, and are averaging just 66ppg this season. The Crimson Tide play tough defense, but are almost inept on offense.

I say "almost inept" because even their recent struggles haven't slowed down Tony Mitchell's path of dunk destruction.

Another game, another highlight reel sequence of T-Mitch dunks.



So, regardless of Alabama's recent struggles, any televised Crimson Tide game is must-DVR-material. In fact, we might just have to start calling Tony Mitchell "Mr. DVR", because you never want to miss a game.


But was it as good as these?

Quincy Diggs, Akron vs. Florida A&M, 12/17
Anthony Davis, Kentucky vs. Chattanooga, 12/17
Langston Galloway/C.J. Aiken/Ronald Roberts, St. Joseph's vs. Villanova, 12/17
Terrence Ross, Washington vs. UC-Santa Barbara, 12/16
Jared Cunningham, Oregon State vs. Howard, 12/15
Raheem Appleby, Louisiana Tech vs. McNeese State, 12/14
Tony Mitchell, Alabama vs. Detroit, 12/12
Vander Blue, Marquette vs. UW-Green Bay, 12/11
Ronald Roberts, St. Joseph's vs. Creighton, 12/10
Dion Waiters, Syracuse vs. George Washington, 12/10 (DotY Candidate)
Victor Oladipo, Indiana vs. Kentucky, 12/10
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Georgia vs. Georgia Tech, 12/10
Vander Blue, Marquette vs. Washington, 12/6
Terrence Ross, Washington vs. Marquette, 12/6
Deville Smith, Mississippi State vs. West Virginia, 12/3
Terrence Jones, Kentucky vs. North Carolina, 12/3
Tony Mitchell, Alabama vs. Georgetown, 12/1
Anthony Marshall, UNLV vs. UNC, 11/26
Michael Kidd-Glichrist, Kentucky vs. Portland, 11/26/11 (DotY Candidate)
Markel Brown, Oklahoma State vs. Virginia Tech, 11/25
Rodney Williams, Minnesota vs. DePaul, 11/24
Thomas Robinson, Kansas vs. Duke, 11/23
Stan Okoye, VMI vs. Ohio State, 11/23
Kyisean Reed, Utah State vs. Southern Utah, 11/19
Ra'Shad James, Iona vs. Western Michigan, 11/18
Alandise Harris, Houston vs. Arkansas, 11/18
Sam Thompson, Ohio State vs. Jackson State, 11/18
Tony Mitchell, Alabama vs. Wichita State, 11/18
Eric Griffin, Campbell vs. North Carolina A&T, 11/18 (DotY Candidate)
Olek Czyz, Nevada vs. Pacific, 11/17
Chris Watson, Pikeville vs. Mountain State, 11/16
Ray Willis, North Carolina Central vs. Wagner, 11/16
Mike James, Lamar vs. Ohio, 11/15 (DotY Candidate)
Quincy Acy, Baylor vs. San Diego State, 11/15
Deniz Kilicli, West Virginia vs. Kent State, 11/15
Chris Evans, Kent State vs. West Virginia, 11/15
Tony Mitchell, Alabama vs. Oakland, 11/14
Isaiah Brown, East Tennessee State vs. Virginia Tech, 11/12
Michael Lyons, Air Force vs. Army, 11/11
Dezmine Wells, Xavier vs. Morgan State, 11/11
Jeremy Lamb, UConn vs. Columbia, 11/11 (DotY Candidate)
Andre Drummond, UConn vs. CW Post, 11/4
Moe Harkless, St. John's vs. CW Post, 10/26


Continue reading...

POSTERIZED: Tony Mitchell's weekly contribution

Tony Mitchell is officially your clubhouse-leader for "POSTERIZED Dunker of the Year".

He's made it on B.I.A.H POSTERIZED four times already, and has three multi-dunk games.

I'm not sure how anybody is going to catch T-Mitch. He's averaging close to four dunks-a-game.



From here on out, Alabama games are must-DVR stuff.


But was it as good as these?

Vander Blue, Marquette vs. UW-Green Bay, 12/11
Ronald Roberts, St. Joseph's vs. Creighton, 12/10
Dion Waiters, Syracuse vs. George Washington, 12/10 (DotY Candidate)
Victor Oladipo, Indiana vs. Kentucky, 12/10
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Georgia vs. Georgia Tech, 12/10
Vander Blue, Marquette vs. Washington, 12/6
Terrence Ross, Washington vs. Marquette, 12/6
Deville Smith, Mississippi State vs. West Virginia, 12/3
Terrence Jones, Kentucky vs. North Carolina, 12/3
Tony Mitchell, Alabama vs. Georgetown, 12/1
Anthony Marshall, UNLV vs. UNC, 11/26
Michael Kidd-Glichrist, Kentucky vs. Portland, 11/26/11 (DotY Candidate)
Markel Brown, Oklahoma State vs. Virginia Tech, 11/25
Rodney Williams, Minnesota vs. DePaul, 11/24
Thomas Robinson, Kansas vs. Duke, 11/23
Stan Okoye, VMI vs. Ohio State, 11/23
Kyisean Reed, Utah State vs. Southern Utah, 11/19
Ra'Shad James, Iona vs. Western Michigan, 11/18
Alandise Harris, Houston vs. Arkansas, 11/18
Sam Thompson, Ohio State vs. Jackson State, 11/18
Tony Mitchell, Alabama vs. Wichita State, 11/18
Eric Griffin, Campbell vs. North Carolina A&T, 11/18 (DotY Candidate)
Olek Czyz, Nevada vs. Pacific, 11/17
Chris Watson, Pikeville vs. Mountain State, 11/16
Ray Willis, North Carolina Central vs. Wagner, 11/16
Mike James, Lamar vs. Ohio, 11/15 (DotY Candidate)
Quincy Acy, Baylor vs. San Diego State, 11/15
Deniz Kilicli, West Virginia vs. Kent State, 11/15
Chris Evans, Kent State vs. West Virginia, 11/15
Tony Mitchell, Alabama vs. Oakland, 11/14
Isaiah Brown, East Tennessee State vs. Virginia Tech, 11/12
Michael Lyons, Air Force vs. Army, 11/11
Dezmine Wells, Xavier vs. Morgan State, 11/11
Jeremy Lamb, UConn vs. Columbia, 11/11 (DotY Candidate)
Andre Drummond, UConn vs. CW Post, 11/4
Moe Harkless, St. John's vs. CW Post, 10/26







Continue reading...

The secret to beating Alabama has been revealed

For now, we need to all cool our expectations for Alabama.

It pains me to say that, because I really like the makeup of this team. They are gritty defensively, they have an outstanding presence on the low-block in JaMychal Green and, of course, Mr. POSTERIZED himself, Tony Mitchell.

Alabama's problem is that they simply don't have enough offensive weapons. And teams have figured out how to exploit that.

Its simple really.

The first step is to protect the basketball. If you don't turn the ball over -- or, at the least, if you don't give up 'pick-six' turnovers that lead directly to run-outs -- than you force Alabama to play offense in the half court. Once you get them into the half court, the key becomes a sagging defense that helps defend the paint. Limit the number of touches that Green gets one-on-one on the block and cut off the driving lanes for Mitchell, and Alabama's offense sputters. They simply don't have enough perimeter shooting to make their opponent pay for packing it in defensively.

It worked for Georgetown last week, when the Hoyas went into Tuscaloosa and ended a two-year home-court winning streak for the Crimson Tide. But Georgetown is a good basketball team, one that has proven that they were underrated heading into the season.

Dayton hasn't.

The Flyers won a watered down Old Spice Classic and followed that up with a 29 point drubbing at the hands of Buffalo on their home floor and a 17 point loss at Murray State. It wouldn't be fair to call Dayton a bad basketball team. They are enigmatic, yes, and downright atrocious at times.

But the Flyers showed their mettle on Wednesday night when they beat Alabama 74-62. Dayton completely controlled the game, jumping out to a double-digit lead midway through the first half and, with the exception of an Alabama run midway through the second half that got the lead down to four, keeping from Tide from making any real threat. Part of the reason they were able to take control of the game was that Green go into foul trouble early, but even with their big man back in the lineup, it was a task just to ask them to make a run in the second half.

Alabama is still going to win plenty of games and should still be considered an NCAA Tournament team.

But until their issues on the offensive end of the floor get ironed out, the talk of the Crimson Tide being a sleeper to make the Final Four has to be quelled.
Continue reading...

POSTERIZED: Tony Mitchell. Need I say more?

There is still room for debate as to who the best dunker in the country is. But I'd argue that no player is as bountiful or as authoritative with his dunks as Tony Mitchell. Some might argue that it's Baylor's Quincy Acy. But in roughly 12 months, T-Mitch has logged roughly 12 #POSTERIZED-quality dunks.

Last night, in what was unquestionably the "Game of the Night", Alabama's Tony Mitchell put on a clinic against Georgetown, throwing down five dunks in 40 minutes. The best part about his performance is that his arsenal of dunks covered the gamut. He had two tip-dunks, two alley-oops and one fast-break slam.

Essentially, the dude just straight-up went off.



Yeah. Five dunks.

Call him "Five Slamma Jamma"


But was it as good as these?

Anthony Marshall, UNLV vs. UNC, 11/26
Michael Kidd-Glichrist, Kentucky vs. Portland, 11/26/11 (DotY Candidate)
Markel Brown, Oklahoma State vs. Virginia Tech, 11/25/11
Rodney Williams, Minnesota vs. DePaul, 11/24/11
Thomas Robinson, Kansas vs. Duke, 11/23
Stan Okoye, VMI vs. Ohio State, 11/23
Kyisean Reed, Utah State vs. Southern Utah, 11/19
Ra'Shad James, Iona vs. Western Michigan, 11/18
Alandise Harris, Houston vs. Arkansas, 11/18
Sam Thompson, Ohio State vs. Jackson State, 11/18
Tony Mitchell, Alabama vs. Wichita State, 11/18
Eric Griffin, Campbell vs. North Carolina A&T, 11/18 (DotY Candidate)
Olek Czyz, Nevada vs. Pacific, 11/17
Chris Watson, Pikeville vs. Mountain State, 11/16
Ray Willis, North Carolina Central vs. Wagner, 11/16
Mike James, Lamar vs. Ohio, 11/15 (DotY Candidate)
Quincy Acy, Baylor vs. San Diego State, 11/15
Deniz Kilicli, West Virginia vs. Kent State, 11/15
Chris Evans, Kent State vs. West Virginia, 11/15
Tony Mitchell, Alabama vs. Oakland, 11/14
Isaiah Brown, East Tennessee State vs. Virginia Tech, 11/12
Michael Lyons, Air Force vs. Army, 11/11
Dezmine Wells, Xavier vs. Morgan State, 11/11
Jeremy Lamb, UConn vs. Columbia, 11/11 (DotY Candidate)
Andre Drummond, UConn vs. CW Post, 11/4
Moe Harkless, St. John's vs. CW Post, 10/26


Continue reading...

POSTERIZED: Tony Mitchell is a freak, plain and simple

Alabama knocked off both Maryland and Wichita State en route to tomorrow's final of the Puerto Rico Tip-Off tournament.

The star for the Crimson Tide has, without a doubt, been Tony Mitchell. The 6'6" forward has averaged 21.5 ppg and 9.5 rpg in the two games, but that's not what's gotten people's attention. Mitchell is an insane athlete, and he flaunted that athleticism in Puerto Rico ...



... over ...



... and over.



(h/t half of my twitter feed)

But was it as good as these?

Eric Griffin, Campbell vs. North Carolina A&T, 11/18 (DotY Candidate)
Chris Watson, Pikeville vs. Mountain State, 11/16
Mike James, Lamar vs. Ohio, 11/15 (DotY Candidate)
Quincy Acy, Baylor vs. San Diego State, 11/15
Deniz Kilicli, West Virginia vs. Kent State, 11/15
Chris Evans, Kent State vs. West Virginia, 11/15
Tony Mitchell, Alabama vs. Oakland, 11/14
Isaiah Brown, East Tennessee State vs. Virginia Tech, 11/12
Michael Lyons, Air Force vs. Army, 11/11
Dezmine Wells, Xavier vs. Morgan State, 11/11
Jeremy Lamb, UConn vs. Columbia, 11/11 (DotY Candidate)
Andre Drummond, UConn vs. CW Post, 11/4
Moe Harkless, St. John's vs. CW Post, 10/26

Continue reading...

POSTERIZED: I told ya'll about Tony Mitchell

Alabama's Tony Mitchell was a three-time member of the 2010-2011 BIAH POSTERIZED class. Last week, I told you that he was one of the best dunkers in the country, and it took less than a full week for him to show us why.

We haven't even made it to Marathon Madness yet, and we've already got a nasty #POSTERIZED dunk today.




I love it when I'm right.

But was it as good as these?

Isaiah Brown, East Tennessee State vs. Virginia Tech, 11/12
Michael Lyons, Air Force vs. Army, 11/11
Dezmine Wells, Xavier vs. Morgan State, 11/11
Jeremy Lamb, UConn vs. Columbia, 11/11 (DotY Candidate)
Andre Drummond, UConn vs. CW Post, 11/4
Moe Harkless, St. John's vs. CW Post, 10/26
Continue reading...

2011-2012 Top 50 Countdown: No. 14 Alabama Crimson Tide

Over the coming weeks, we will be counting down our Top 50 teams in the country. Teams 26-50 will be posted in groups of five, while we will count backwards from No. 25 to the No. 1 team in the country. You can find a complete schedule of our 2011-2012 Season Preview coverage here. To browse through the rest of the Top 50, click here.

Last Season: 25-12, 12-4 (2nd SEC), lost to Wichita State in the finals of the NIT

Head Coach: Anthony Grant

Key Losses: Charves Davis, Senario Hillman, Chris Hines, Andrew Steele

Newcomers: Rodney Cooper, Nick Jacobs, Trevor Lacey, Retin Obasohan, Levi Randolph, Moussa Gueye

Projected Lineup:

- G: Trevor Releford, So.
- G: Trevor Lacey, Fr.
- F: Charles Hankerson Jr, So.
- F: Tony Mitchell, Jr.
- C: JaMychal Green, Sr.
- Bench: Levi Randolph, Fr.; Ben Eblen, Jr.; Carl Engstrom, So.; Moussa Gueye, So.; Nick Jacobs, Fr.; Rodney Cooper, Fr.


Outlook: I'm not sure there was a team in the country that had a more impressive turnaround in 2010-2011 than Alabama. They began the year 8-6 in non-conference play, losing to powerhouse programs like St. Peter's, Seton Hall, Iowa and Providence, and it looked like the Crimson Tide were headed to year another lost season. But something happened at the start of SEC play. All of a sudden, Anthony Grant's team started playing defense, got more efficient offensively and before you knew it, this group was 7-1 in the SEC and putting themselves into the discussion for earning an at-large bid. And if Alabama had managed to win a road game down the stretch, they may have actually ended up in the NCAA Tournament. Instead, the Tide -- who went 19-0 at home in 2010-2011 but finished just 6-12 when they had to travel -- wound up in the NIT, where they were able to make a run all the way to the championship game.

This season, Alabama's strength is going to be their front line, which is headlined by all-SEC first-teamer JaMychal Green. Green, who averaged 15.5 ppg and 7.5 rpg last season, is the horse on the block. He does the majority of his damage within 5-7 feet of the rim, scoring on post-ups, dump-downs and offensive rebounds. His go-to move on the block is a pretty jump hook that he can hit fairly consistently out to about 10 feet. At 6'8", Green is not an overwhelming athlete, but he does take up some space inside and is a capable rebounder. If there is any area where Green can stand to improve, its his face-up game. Its strange, really. For a guy that shoots 73% from the free throw line, Green is not a very good jump shooter.

Joining Green up front is Tony Mitchell, who is without a doubt one of the most exciting players in the SEC to watch. A 6'6" combo forward, Mitchell loves to run the floor in transition and will generate his fair share of POSTERIZED worthy dunks. Mitchell does spend a lot of time out on the perimeter, so it would be nice to see him shoot better than 31.6% from deep. But he's not on the court to be a shooter. He's out there to make plays defensively and to attack the glass, which he did to the tune of 15.2 ppg and 7.1 rpg last season.

Alabama lost a starter off their front line from last season as Chris Hines graduated. Hines was not a big-time scorer or rebounder, but he was a terrific defender, second on the team in terms of blocking shots. He played along side Green, which allowed Mitchell to slide over to the three, which is why Alabama was one of the best defensive teams in the country last season. Sophomores Moussa Gueye and Carl Engstrom and freshman Nick Jacobs will be the guys that provide depth up front this year. One of them needs to be able to provide consistent minutes as a shot blocker and a space eater inside.


Alabama's back court is going to be young next season, as it will consist of a junior, two sophomore and a trio of freshmen. The two sophomores are both likely going to start. Trevor Releford was the Crimson Tide's starting point guard last season, and he didn't disappoint, becoming the team's third-leading scorer and one of the best creators in the SEC. He turned the ball over a bit too much, but criticizing him for that seems a bit nit-picky when you consider that he started at the point in the SEC as a freshman and nearly led his team to the NCAA Tournament. Releford will need to take over more of a leadership role this year, being the guy that gets his team to execute offensively when they are on the road.

Charles Hankerson Jr. will be one of the guys to join Releford in the back court. He was inconsistent as a freshman shooting the basketball, something that plagued Alabama as a team, but he's got size at the two-guard spot and is a good defender, Expect two talented freshmen -- Trevor Lacey and Levi Randolph -- to come in and compete for a starting job right away. Lacey seems like the more likely of the two to get minutes early on as he comes in with the reputation of being a winner and a competitor with a big-time jump shot. Randolph, who is bigger but more slender than Lacey, has a better all-around game at this point in career. Both will see major minutes. Expect junior Ben Eblen and freshman Rodney Cooper to also see some time in the back court.

There is talent on this Alabama roster, but there are some issues that are going to need to be addressed. The biggest problem is leadership. The Crimson Tide went 19-0 at home last season and still managed to miss the NCAA Tournament. A 6-12 record outside of Tuscaloosa is simply not going to cut it. Who steps up and wills this team to execute offensively? Who can take and make big shots in a tough road venue?

The other issue is shooting the ball. While Alabama was -- and likely will be again this year -- one of the best defensive teams in the country, they were one of the worst when it comes to shooting the ball from the perimeter. The only guy that shot better than 31.6% from long range (Charvez Davis, who shot 34.6%) graduated. Hopefully, both Mitchell and Releford have improved their strokes in the offensive, but that stat is what makes the addition of Lacey so important. Can he be a guy that stretches the defense and opens up the paint for the Tide's talented front court players?

Alabama probably isn't going to win the SEC -- that will be Kentucky -- but they are right there with Florida and Vanderbilt when it comes to the second-best team in the league.
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VIDEO: Timeout may cost Georgia a tournament bid

Georgia has blown an 11 point lead with four minutes left in the game.

When Trevor Releford scored on a layup with four second left on the clock, it capped a 15-4 run, tying the game at 53 and giving Alabama's NCAA Tournament hopes new life, albeit it briefly. Dustin Ware took the inbounds and sprinted the length of the court, throwing up a 25 foot runner that banked in.

GEORGIA WINS! THEY'RE IN THE TOURNAMENT! BUZZER BEATERS! GUS JOHNSON JOKES!

Unfortunately, that was not the case:



Mark Fox, the Georgia head coach, inexplicably called a timeout with 0.8 seconds left on the clock, mere tenths of a second before Ware shot what would have been the game winner.

In the overtime, Tony Mitchell hit a tiebreaking three with just over a minute left, and Alabama held Georgia scoreless the rest of the way, winning 65-59. With this game billed as a play-out game, it puts Fox in an incredibly awkward spot -- his ill-advised timeout may end up costing Georgia an NCAA Tournament bid.

The Bulldogs still have a chance to dance, obviously. But they have just five top 100 wins (including Ole Miss) and finished the year just 9-7 in the SEC and 21-11 overall. Georgia's profile is thoroughly mediocre, which means that they will be stuck playing the dreaded "wait and see" game.

"If I don't call a timeout and that ball goes in, you're not asking that question. That's how close it is," Fox said after the game.

Alabama is close, but they certainly should not feel comfortable enough to consider themselves a lock. Not when you lost to the teams they lost to in the non-conference portion of your schedule. Not when your RPI is in the 80's. I'd advise Anthony Grant's team to beat the winner of Kentucky and Ole Miss tomorrow afternoon.
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POSTERIZED: Tony Mitchell does double time

It boggles my mind that Alabama is in first-place in the SEC. This is the team that lost to Seton Hall, Iowa, St. Peter's and Providence.

It also boggles my mind that Tony Mitchell can get up like this, twice:



On a night where we were watching a dude dunk over a brand-new car while a live gospel-choir sang "I Believe I can Fly", Mitchell may have delivered the two best dunks of the night.

But was it as good as one of these?:

POSTERIZED - John Williams, UNC-Asheville
POSTERIZED - Peyton Siva, Louisville
POSTERIZED - E'Twaun Moore, Purdue
POSTERIZED - DJ Newbill, Southern Mississippi
POSTERIZED - Scotty Hopson, Tennessee
POSTERIZED - Justin Brownlee, St. John's
POSTERIZED - Tyrone Johnson
POSTERIZED - Travis Leslie, Georgia
POSTERIZED - Terrence Ross, Washington
POSTERIZED - Justin Tubbs, East Tennessee State
POSTERIZED - Harrison Barnes, North Carolina
POSTERIZED - Andre Roberson, Colorado
POSTERIZED - Durrell Summers, Michigan State
POSTERIZED - Phillip McDonald, New Mexico
POSTERIZED - Kyle Kuric, Louisville
POSTERIZED - Anthony Nelson, Niagara
POSTERIZED - Cory Joseph, Texas
POSTERIZED - Will Sheehey, Indiana
POSTERIZED - Tom Pritchard, Indiana
POSTERIZED - Shay Shine, High Point
POSTERIZED - John Holland, Boston
POSTERIZED - Keith Gabriel, VMI
POSTERIZED - Travis McKie, Wake Forest
POSTERIZED - Jefferson Mason, Minnesota State (D-II)
POSTERIZED - Tyler Johnson, Fresno State
POSTERIZED - John Williams, UNC-Asheville
POSTERIZED - Derrick Williams, Arizona
POSTERIZED - Hollis Thompson, Georgetown
POSTERIZED - Darnell Wilks, Cincinnati
POSTERIZED - Rodney Williams, Minnesota
POSTERIZED - Darius Johnson-Odom, Marquette
POSTERIZED - Darrius Garrett, Richmond
POSTERIZED - Travis Cohn, Jacksonville
POSTERIZED - Ramon Galloway, South Carolina
POSTERIZED - Terrence Jones, Kentucky
POSTERIZED - Justin Tubbs, East Tennessee State
POSTERIZED - John Williams, UNC-Asheville
POSTERIZED - Kevin Smith, Richmond
POSTERIZED - Mitchell Watt, Buffalo
POSTERIZED - Chandler Parsons, Florida
POSTERIZED - Kenny Gabriel, Auburn
POSTERIZED - Paris Horne, St. John's
POSTERIZED - Travis Leslie, Georgia
POSTERIZED - Laurence Bowers, Missouri
POSTERIZED - Drew Gordon, New Mexico
POSTERIZED - Tony Mitchell, Alabama
POSTERIZED - Jeffery Taylor, Vanderbilt
POSTERIZED - LaMarcus Reed, UT-Arlington
POSTERIZED - Marcus Morris, Kansas
POSTERIZED - Jared Cunningham, Oregon State
POSTERIZED - Langston Morris-Walker
POSTERIZED - Chris Wright and Juwan Staten, Dayton
POSTERIZED - D.J Stephens, Memphis
POSTERIZED - Derrick Williams, Arizona
POSTERIZED - Reeves Nelson, UCLA
POSTERIZED - Kendall Marshall and John Henson, UNC
POSTERIZED - Terrence Jones, Kentucky
POSTERIZED - Rodney Williams, Minnesota
POSTERIZED - Joe Jackson, Memphis
POSTERIZED - Shay Shine, High Point
POSTERIZED - Harrison Barnes, North Carolina
POSTERIZED - Kent Bazemore, Old Dominion
POSTERIZED - CJ Fair, Syracuse
POSTERIZED - LeBryan Nash
POSTERIZED - Rodney Williams, Minnesota
POSTERIZED - Travis Leslie, Georgia
POSTERIZED - Terrence Jones, Kentucky
POSTERIZED - Marcus Jordan, Central Florida
POSTERIZED - Lorenzo Brown, NC State
POSTERIZED - Tai Wesley, Utah State
POSTERIZED - Trent Lockett, Arizona State, and Derrick Williams, Arizona
POSTERIZED - Brandon Paul, Illinois
POSTERIZED - Jordan Hamilton, Texas
Continue reading...

The Curious Case of an Alabama SEC title

Alabama just knocked off Tennessee 65-60.

In overtime.

In Tennessee.

Meaning that, as of today, the Crimson Tide is sitting at 7-1 in SEC play and all alone in first place in the SEC. Not the SEC West. The entire SEC. And if Florida loses to Kentucky tonight, the Tide will have a two game lead on both the Vols and the Gators.

That's crazy, considering Alabama's low expectations for the season were lowered during non-conference play. They went 8-6. They lost to Iowa, Seton Hall, Providence, Oklahoma State, and St. Peter's, who played without one of their best players.


Crazier?

Alabama could legitimately win the SEC regular season outright and not make the NCAA Tournament.

Don't believe me?

Right now, the Tide has two good wins. They beat Kentucky at home and Tennessee on the road. But for a team that is 15-7 on the season, that doesn't outweigh the number of bad losses they had earlier in the year.

The rest of Alabama's schedule looks like this:

• at Vanderbilt
• Ole Miss
• at LSU
• Arkansas
• Auburn
• at Ole Miss
• at Florida
• Georgia
  

Let's say that Alabama wins all of their remaining games against the SEC West and loses all three games against the SEC East. That puts them at 20-10 overall and 12-4 in the SEC. That would probably be enough to earn them at least a share of the SEC regular season title, if not winning it outright.

Alabama is currently 114th in the RPI. They have five losses to teams that are ranked 90th or lower. That wouldn't be enough to earn them a bid, and a run in the SEC Tournament may not be enough to help, either.

I can't predict the future. I don't know what Alabama is going to do down the stretch, I can only guess at what has happened thus far this season. They might win all eight of their remaining games. They may lose all eight. This season, neither would surprise me.

But if the NCAA Tournament started tomorrow, Alabama would be the SEC champion and would not be getting an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. That, my friends, is wild.
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Don't worry too much about Kentucky's loss at Alabama

Yes, I know.

Kentucky lost at Alabama tonight.

They dug themselves a 20 point hole with a sluggish start, and thanks to two late Brandon Knight turnovers, Alabama was able to hang on for a 68-66 win at Coleman Coliseum.

Don't fret, Big Blue Nation. These kind of losses happen. Kentucky is a young team -- they essentially play a six man rotation where three of those six players are freshmen -- and young teams have a tendency to get frazzled on the road. Alabama came out fired up, their home crowd was rocking, and a decent team with a couple of quality players got into a rhythm.


Like I said, it happens.

Kentucky came all the way back, and if it wasn't for a couple of miscues late -- Terrence Jones and company missed a couple of free throws, Knight was called for a charge with less than a minute left and the score 67-66, and with less than ten seconds left Ben Eblen got a hand in on Knight's hand-off to Doron Lamb -- the Wildcats probably would have won this game.

But Kentucky put themselves into a situation where they had to play perfect basketball over the final ten minutes to win, and unfortunately they were only really good down the stretch.

The loss does bring to light a bit of a disturbing trend, however.

Kentucky has played five true road games. They lost at UNC, at Georgia, and now at Alabama. Their wins? At Louisville, which is hardly a typical road atmosphere when those two teams get together, and at Portland. The ability to perform on the road -- offensive execution, shooting, and most importantly intensity -- is a learned skill, and it is not an easy one to learn. That's why road wins are emphasized so heavily by the NCAA Tournament selection committee and everyone that votes on a top 25 poll.

With four of their next six games on the road -- and home dates with Georgia and Tennessee -- Kentucky fans better hope this team figures out their road issues.

Two other thoughts from this game:

• Kentucky is developing a bad habit of starting slowly. It cost them in a loss to Georgia. It nearly cost them against Notre Dame. They were down double figures in the first half to Penn. They were down early to Louisville. That's a trend the Wildcats are going to want to buck.
• Late in the game, ESPN's cameras caught John Calipari mother-effing Terrence Jones pretty badly. While the casual hoops fan may be thrown off by this, I don't really have a problem with it. Coaches curse out players. It happens. Jones has heard it before, and Cal has certainly said it before. Moving on.
  
  What's important is that you pay attention to his message, not the way he said it. Cal has been critical off Jones' offensively, saying that the 6'9" freshman is too selfish when he gets the ball. Yes, he can score, and he can do that very well, but too often a possession dies when the balls touches his hands. And if you were one of the folks that read Cal's lips, you certainly saw him call Jones selfish, albeit it in a much more colorful way.
  

UPDATE: Finally found a youtube video of Coach Cal ripping into Terrence Jones:



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POSTERIZED: Tony Mitchell can dunk too

The SEC is a difficult conference to figure out.

The East is stacked and the West blows.

Georgia beat Kentucky then lost to Vanderbilt. Vanderbilt beat Georgia but lost to South Carolina. South Carolina beat Vandertbilt but lost to Alabama. Arkansas beat Tennessee but lost to LSU. In fact, both LSU and Alabama, two horrifically-bad teams are 2-0 in conference play.

But despite this mass confusion, one thing remains constant: There are dudes in the SEC who can flat-out soar.

Vanderbilt's Jeffery Taylor did this, Georgia's Travis Leslie has done this, and Kentucky's Terrence Jone's did this.

But now we have Alabama's Tony Mitchell.

He did this:



The SEC might not have the best basketball in the country, but boy can some of those dudes dunk.

But was it as good as these?

POSTERIZED - Jeffery Taylor, Vanderbilt
POSTERIZED - LaMarcus Reed, UT-Arlington
POSTERIZED - Marcus Morris, Kansas
POSTERIZED - Jared Cunningham, Oregon State
POSTERIZED - Langston Morris-Walker
POSTERIZED - Chris Wright and Juwan Staten, Dayton
POSTERIZED - D.J Stephens, Memphis
POSTERIZED - Derrick Williams, Arizona
POSTERIZED - Reeves Nelson, UCLA
POSTERIZED - Kendall Marshall and John Henson, UNC
POSTERIZED - Terrence Jones, Kentucky
POSTERIZED - Rodney Williams, Minnesota
POSTERIZED - Joe Jackson, Memphis
POSTERIZED - Shay Shine, High Point
POSTERIZED - Harrison Barnes, North Carolina
POSTERIZED - Kent Bazemore, Old Dominion
POSTERIZED - CJ Fair, Syracuse
POSTERIZED - LeBryan Nash
POSTERIZED - Rodney Williams, Minnesota
POSTERIZED - Travis Leslie, Georgia
POSTERIZED - Terrence Jones, Kentucky
POSTERIZED - Marcus Jordan, Central Florida
POSTERIZED - Lorenzo Brown, NC State
POSTERIZED - Tai Wesley, Utah State
POSTERIZED - Trent Lockett, Arizona State, and Derrick Williams, Arizona
POSTERIZED - Brandon Paul, Illinois
POSTERIZED - Jordan Hamilton, Texas




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Jeremy Hazell and Tracy Smith suffer injuries

Two teams expecting to have rebound seasons lost a key player in the opening game of their respective early season tournaments.

Tracy Smith of NC State will miss three weeks after injuring his knee early in the Wolfpack's Charleston Classic opener against East Carolina. He went back to Raleigh where he had arthroscopic knee surgery which found no significant damage to the knee.

NC State still advanced to the finals where they will face Georgetown Sunday night.

Seton Hall's Jeremy Hazell broke a bone in his wrist against Alabama in the Pirate's Paradise Jam opener. He will miss four to six weeks, including Sunday's semifinal matchup with Xavier.

The injury to Hazell has to be especially frustrating. He finally seems to have learned how to be an efficient scorer. His last two games, Hazell has taken 23 shots and scored 55 points.

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The difference between Rhode Island and the SEC

Much has been made the last couple of days about the trials and tribulations of players transferring between schools.

You will likely find nary a writer arguing that the process fair for the players.

Both Matt Norlander and Eamonn Brennan (twice!) have stood on their respective pedestals over the last couple of weeks to rail against the NCAA for issues involving the transfer of Justin Knox out of Alabama and Murphy Holloway out of Ole Miss.

To be honest, both players are getting a bit of a raw deal. Knox will have graduated from Alabama in three years at summer's end, and wanted to transfer to a different school to pursue a graduate degree and finish out his playing days. Alabama told him that was fine, but that he would not be allowed to go to another SEC school (pretty standard), any school on the 2010-2011 basketball schedule (not uncommon), or any school within the University of Alabama school system. That includes UAB, the school most believed that Know wanted to go to.

Alabama believes that UAB pursued Knox before he received his release, so they but the kibash on his attempts to be a Blazer.

Holloway is in a similar situation. Holloway has a daughter in South Carolina that he wants to be closer to while continuing his basketball career. He was looking at Clemson, South Carolina, Winthrop, and the College of Charleston as possible destinations.

Few expected Holloway to be allowed to transfer to South Carolina, as the Gamecocks are also a member of the SEC. But Ole Miss also nixed Clemson, meaning that Holloway is going to have to make a choice -- play basketball at a high major school in a different state than his family (the reason that he is leaving Ole Miss, mind you), or head to a low-major program, where becoming a pro is a much more difficult task.

Ole Miss claims that Clemson tampered with Holloway, contacting him before he he was officially released. In reality, Ole Miss comes off as bitter as a spurned ex-girlfriend.

On the one hand, there needs to be some measure in place to avoid schools recruiting players that are enrolled at another institution. Giving the first school -- the ex-girlfriend, if you will -- the authority to limit where that player can continue his career is a fairly effective incentive. You can recruit this kid from my team if you want to, but if I find out, rest assured he won't be going to your school.

But these are two cases of players looking to transfer for reasons outside of sports. Knox for a graduate degree. Holloway to help raise his daughter. You would think that a school that truly cared about the well being of their student-athletes would try to make things easier for these kids, not do everything in their power to hinder their personal growth.

As much as my fellow bloggers and I like to rail against the problems with the NCAA and its member institutions, we also need to highlight when a program gets it right.

Kyle Cain had signed a letter of intent to go to Rhode Island, but he told Adam Zagoria that "there were some things that were supposed to happen that wasn’t going to happen so I was kind of unhappy", eventually asking for his release from the LOI.

Now, Cain has since drawn interest from schools all over the country, including Kentucky, and it could have been very easy for Rhode Island not to grant him that release. Cain is a hot commodity right now, and regardless of whether that is a result of his talent or the late date, it isn't hard to imagine that Cain would have had an instant impact with the Rams.

Instead, coach Jimmy Baron allowed Cain out of his LOI, and Cain is now choosing between Alabama, Arizona State, West Virginia, and his home-state Fighting Illini.

So go ahead and rail against the NCAA for having too much authority and rip all the schools that abuse their ability to assert control over the student-athletes that represent them. I'll be right there next to you.

But while you sling as much mud as possible, be sure to give credit when credit is due.

Rhode Island did the right thing by Kyle Cain, and they deserve to be acknowledged for it.

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Late Breaking: Anthony Grant Accepts Alabama

Anthony Grant, who had coached three seasons at VCU (winning the CAA regular season title all three seasons, winning the tournament title twice, and beating Duke in the 2007 NCAA tournament), has decided to take the job at Alabama after finding out Billy Donovan would not be leaving Florida.

The Alabama program has been a bit down of late, but it seems as if the school is trying to turn themselves into a two-sport powerhouse. He does have a decent core coming back in Mikhail Torrance (rising senior), Senario Hillman (a rising junior), and JaMychal Green (rising sophomore). Continue reading...

Has Anyone Made the Mark "Got Fired" Gottfried Joke Yet?

This afternoon, Alabama head coach Mark Gottfried resigned after 11 years at the helm (although some outlets are reporting he was fired). To be honest, it doesn't exactly surprise me. The Tide had a good run a few years back, making it to five straight NCAA tournaments from 2002-2006, even reaching to Elite 8 in '04, but in recent years the program has fallen far below that plateau.

This year, despite having a talented backcourt of Alonzo Gee, Senario Hillman, and Ronald Steele surrounding Mickey D's all-american JaMychal Green, Alabama has sputtered to a 12-7 mark, 2-3 in the SEC, which includes losses to Mercer and Oregon.

Crimson Tide faithful could have seen the end coming last week when Steele left the team. Some reports said the reason for his departure was the plantar fasciitis, an inflammation of the muscle that supports the arch of your foot causing pain in your heel (I've had it before, and it f'in hurts).

But Steele has said the reason for his departure was something other than an injury, leading people to believe he was unhappy with Gottfried. From the Birmingham News:

But Steele said Wednesday that it wasn't an injury that forced his decision, that it was something else. And that leaves it open to speculate about the state of Alabama basketball, and Steele's relationship with Gottfried.

It opens up reconsideration of last season, when Steele elected to redshirt and Gottfried never sounded comfortable with that decision. Remember all those postgame press conferences when Gottfried made references to the fact that his "best" player was only playing in practice? Were those comments subtle shots taken at Steele, evidence that Gottfried felt if Steele was well enough to practice, he should have been well enough to play?

And how did hearing Steele referred to as Gottfried's best player make Richard Hendrix, arguably the best player on the floor for Alabama, feel? Did that contribute to Hendrix's decision to leave early?

All in all, it is a shame to see Steele go out like this. As a freshman and sophomore, he was one of the best and most promising PG's in the country. Now, he is a fifth year senior that quit midway through his final season. Continue reading...

Alabama: 2008-2009 Team Preview

2007-2008 Record: 17-16, 5-11 SEC West (5th)

Key Losses: Richard Hendrix (17.8 ppg, 10.1 rpg), Mykal Riley (14.9 ppg, 5.2 rpg)

Key Returnees: Alonzo Gee (14.5 ppg, 6.7 rpg), Ronald Steele

Newcomers: JaMychal Green (McDonalds All-America), Tony Mitchell, Andrew Steele, Anthony Brock

The loss of Hendrix (NBA) and Riley (graduated) leaves Alabama without their two leading scorers from last season, but the Crimson Tide return every other player from their rotation last year, including Alonzo Gee and Ronald Steele, who decided to withdraw their names from June's draft to return to Tuscaloosa for their senior years. Mark Gottfried was also able to land one of his best recruiting classes, which includes Mickey D's all-american JaMychal Green, top 100 recruits Tony Mitchell and Adrew Steele (Ronald's brother), and JuCo PG Anthony Brock.

Look for Gee and Green to both have big years for the Tide. Gee is a 6'6" athlete on the wing, who can slash, get to the rim, and is one of the best rebounders at his position in the country. Green, who is coming off a very good showing at the U-19 Fiba Championships, is a force under the basket, He is 6'9", athletic, and strong, but his ball skills are still a bit raw (think Patrick Patterson). Demetrius Jemison, the other projected front-court starter, should complement those two well, as he is a 6'7" ball of muscle. The freshman Mitchell (UPDATE: Mitchell was declared ineligible and will not join the team until at least December), who plays a similar style to Gee, should also provide quality minutes off the bench.

But how good Alabama will be probably depends on how well Ronald Steele is able to come back from his (multiple) knee surgeries. If he is anywhere near where he was in 2006 and 2007, Alabama could be a sleeper to win the SEC. If not, they are going to have to rely on freshman Andrew Steele and sophomore Rico Pickett to run the team. Pickett was inconsistent as a freshman, but the younger Steele could turn into a solid contributor. The Tide also return sharp-shooter Brandon Hollinger and high-flying Senario Hillman.

Outlook: The Tide return a lot of guys from last year's team, and combined with their recruiting class and the (hopefully) healthy Ronald Steele, expect Alabama to be in the thick of things in the SEC. Continue reading...