Alabama Plays Basketball?

After being snubbed from the 2011 Big Dance, Alabama

heads into this season with a chip on its shoulder,

and more dangerous than ever.

On Selection Sunday 2011, the reality set in for JaMychal Green, Tony Mitchell, and 21-11 Alabama. Despite finishing first in the SEC's west division in 2010-11, the Tide were denied an opportunity at glory by failing to qualify for the 2011 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament. However, Alabama bounced back and finished second in the Postseason NIT, losing to a talented Wichita State team in the Finals. This year, Alabama has enough talent & experience to not only make the tournament, but win a game or two along the way.

While I could sit here and criticize the NCAA selection committee for controversially denying Anthony Grant's team a chance to go dancing this past season, the potential of an exciting team from Tuscaloosa makes me bite my tongue. If you had the pleasant opportunity to observe this team last year, you know exactly what I am talking about.    They have scary athletes on their team, most notably Tony Mitchell and JaMychal Green.  And, considering the experience that Green gained over the summer from playing for Team USA in the World University Games, expect him to improve drastically in 2011-12.  I know, that's a scary thought.  Green was a force last season for the Tide.  Anyone that watched him play noticed how he single-handedly Now, with even more experience under his belt, consider him to make a legitimate push for SEC Player of the Year, or at least make one of the all-conference teams if nothing else.  Another reason to be excited for Crimson Tide Basketball this year is Tony Mitchell.  The 6'6" forward from Swainsboro, Georgia was 'Bama's second leading scorer last year, and often wowed fans with his athleticism and rim-rattling dunks.  Don't forget about Trevor Releford, who played the role of leader as a freshman and displayed talent & poise at the point guard position last year.

Then, you have the recruiting class.  Levi Randolph & Trevor Lacey are just two of the six players that signed with the Crimson Tide this past summer.  While both Randolph and Lacey are shooting guards, their skill sets compliment each other quite well.  Randolph is more of an all-around threat, a leader.  Trevor Lacey on the other hand can be quite the scorer when the Tide need a big time basket late in a close game.  It should be interesting to see the types of minutes both players will receive. 

Alabama's non-conference schedule is one that should not be taken lightly however, as they play in a very tough field in the Puerto Rico Tip-Off tournament to begin the year.  They start off the tournament with a quarterfinal match up against Maryland, a team that many college basketball fans will be paying attention to because of Gary Williams' recent retirement.  If they get past that test, there is a possibility that we will see a rematch of last year's NIT Championship Game, as the Crimson Tide would take on Wichita State in the Semi-Finals.  Although they are picked to win the Tip-Off  tournament, the tests don't stop there.  As a matter of fact, they get much harder.  They face off against last year's Cinderella team VCU and their exuberant young head coach Shaka Smart on November 27th, followed by a match up at Coleman Coliseum against John Thompson's Georgetown Hoyas.  Freshman phenom Lebryan Nash comes to town, and the Yellow Jackets host the Crimson Tide on 1/3 to tip off 2012.  In conference play, the Tide must also go on the road to Kentucky, a team that they defeated at Coleman last year. 


Despite their tough schedule, Alabama has the talent, and now the experience to win against the nation's top college teams.  Anthony Grant is an underrated coach, the 1-2 punch of Mitchell/Green should be exciting to watch, and the "new guys on campus" should make an immediate impact.  This is a team that, not only will make the tournament, but should win quite a few games.  Expect a 4 or 5 seed from Alabama. 

Lone Star Championship

With everyone wondering "What's wrong with the Heat?", the world needs to take

a step back and realize that there is a lot right about the Dallas Mavericks.

One and done. Too old. Overrated. These were all used to describe the Dallas Mavericks heading into the 2010-2011 NBA Season. In 2010, they had earned the second overall seed in the playoffs, and seemed to be on their way to the finals once again, especially after the additions of Shawn Marion, and former Wizards Brendan Haywood and Caron Butler. However, a place at the top of the pro basketball mountain was not to be as they were ousted in the first round by an experienced San Antonio Spurs team. And with that, the labels started to arrive.

 However, at the beginning of the 2010-11 NBA season, the Mavericks acquired Tyson Chandler, a 7'0" Center that is a defensive stopper in the purest sense of the word. A team without the firepower of Miami's Big Three, the History of the Lakers and Celtics, or even the eye candy of being a young, exciting team like the Thunder, the Mavs were a team that wasn't going to draw the casual fan to watch them on a nightly basis. Name one person that says "I want to see Dirk and Jason Terry play tonight." Down the home stretch of the regular season, I often eluded to Dallas as the team to look out for come playoff time, a true sleeper team that had one very good, maybe great player, and a group of solid role players who could knock down shots and make plays when called upon.

Even with all that being said however, I did not think that they would even make it past Portland. "Who can contain LaMarcus Aldridge?" "Can Jason Terry guard Brandon Roy?" "Gerald Wallace is too much for Brandon Roy." I must admit that I was very surprised that Dallas, not only won, but won easily in six games, only losing on a miracle comeback by Portland in Game 4, and the game two nights earlier, when Dallas dropped a close one to the Blazers when they simply could not convert in the final minutes on open opportunities.





Okay, you beat the Blazers, a young talented team, but now you play the two time defending champion Lakers.  After going 1-2 against Los Angeles during the regular season, Dallas a Texas sized list of excuses to lose in the Conference Semi-Fianls:  They have two All-Stars, the Sixth Man of the Year, arguably the greatest coach of all time, we don't have Caron Butler, they have Home court Advantage.  Even after a game one shocker, many people assumed that the Lakers would eventually take control and win the series.  However, after a game three nail biting win and a game four laugher, the Mavs had caught the proverbial eye of the NBA nation.  Dallas was definitely not a team to sleep on anymore.

And then you have the Thunder.  With all-stars Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, many people thought that Oklahoma City's time may be now.  Serge Ibaka, who has turned into one of the league's best shot blockers, and Kendrick Perkins, a former world champion in his own right as a member of the 2008 Celtics, controlled the Oklahoma City front court.  Mix that in with an improving shooting guard in James Harden, and you have a young team that may be ready to take the next step.  But, unfortunately for people that wanted to "Thunder Up" all the way to the finals, Dirk decided to make history.  If you average 32 points per game on a stage like the Conference Finals and shoot 96% from the charity stripe, something positive will usually happen.  The Thunder showed signs that they will be a great team in the future, but this was simply not their time.  The Mavericks have a big time player who stepped up in a big time situation.  Now, for the second time in franchise history, they would advance to play LeBron James, Dwayne Wade and the Miami Heat for the Larry O' Brien trophy.

Miami in five.  That was my personal prediction of how the series would unfold.  Okay, Dallas has Dirk, but Miami is simply too talented, and LeBron too driven to let this championship opportunity slip away.  In game one, all signs pointed to an easy Miami championship, as the Heat rolled to a 92-84 win, as Wade and James connected on a spectacular alley-oop with under a minute to play.  Game two seemed like it may be getting ugly as the fourth quarter began.  With Miami going up 88-73 after a Dwayne Wade three pointer, Americans may have started to turn off the television.  Can you blame them, though?  The Heat have the best team assembled in years, two of the best three players in the world, and they're up by double digits with 7:13 to go, and, one more thing:  they're at home.  However, the comeback was on, and Dallas fought their way back to within four with 3:11 to play in the fourth quarter.  And, while Dirk eventually gave Dallas the lead with a dagger three pointer, Mario Chalmers managed to navigate his way to the right corner on an inbound play, hit an open three with 24 seconds remaining and tie the game.  When the game is on the line, you have to demand the ball, which is exactly what Dirk Nowitzki did.  And after Dirk scored, LeBron James passed up a shot from half-court to give D. Wade an opportunity to put them up 2-0 with a 28 foot jumper.  Wade's shot clanked off the back iron, and Dallas had tied the NBA Finals with one of the most improbable comebacks in NBA history in front of a stunned crowd at Miami's American Airlines Arena. 

Although game three went to Miami after Dirk missed a buzzer beating jump shot from the free throw line, the Mavericks survived a game four in Dallas which saw Dwayne Wade drop the ball and Mike Miller hit nothing but air on the Heat's final possession.  As history shows, the winner of game five traditionally goes on and closes out the series, the majority of the time in game six.  Although James rebounded from his terrible 8 point performance in the fourth game, it was not enough, as Jason Terry and future Hall of Famer Jason Kidd broke Pat Riley's back with clutch outside jump shots.  Now, just one win away from a championship, all Dallas had to do was win another game in Miami and they would be able to call themselves world champions, but that was a feat easier said than done.

I don't think I need to go into it very much.  Dirk and Jason Kidd got their rings after a game six victory.  LeBron James and the Miami Heat had to eat their words, and to say that their passionate owner Mark Cuban has been ecstatic ever since Sunday would be an understatement.  Unfortunately, even with Dallas being the ones who have their names in the record books as champions, the focus remains on what the Heat couldn't do rather than what the Mavericks were able to accomplish.  The Heat will be back, but let's focus this win on Dallas.  After Mark Cuban presented the Trophy to the team's founder, Dirk received his Finals MVP award, after averaging 26 points per game in the finals, and shot 96 percent from the line.  Jason Terry's tattoo of the Larry O' Brien trophy was a risky move, but I believe that he can breathe a little bti easier now.

I would like to mention - O & B - -, the guy who brought me to this website, has been so supportive of my work, and gave me the idea for this particular blog.  Thank you to everyone else as well.