I figured I'd start an actual game thread.
This should be an exciting one. We open favored by 1.5. Alabama reminds me of our team in a few ways, as you'll see below.
Primer on Alabama:
- They are expected to make the tournament, picked preseason 5th in what should be a very competitive SEC. (I believe we were picked preseason 4th in the PAC-12?)
- They are currently #48 by KenPom; we are #35.
- They return 3-4 starters and another important rotational piece or two. Similarly to us, they had their stud PG from last year declare for the NBA, drafted #13.
- Their 2020 recruiting class was #11 in the country, with 5 players including 2 high 4*s. Ours ended up at #17 because ESPN decided to put Michael O'Connell in their database with no ranking, tanking his composite. Thanks, ESPN.
Further notes/observations:
Alabama has played one game, a home opener against creampuff Jacksonville State (#268 by KenPom). I'm honestly not sure how much to take away from a body bag game like this, as they won by 24 points and were clearly WAY more athletic and talented. In any case...
- Their big name grad transfer, All-Ivy center PF/C Jordan Bruner from Yale, got the start but had a bad game in the opener, scoring 4 points and committing 3 PFs. 2 returners ended up playing more minutes so I'm not sure whether he will start again (hence "3-4 starters" above).
- Undergrad transfer Jahvon Quinerly from Villanova is stepping right into the PG role. He put up 18 points in their opener.
- Also like us, they run small. Bruner is their tallest rotational player, and he's 6'9"/10". Oscar should feast inside, especially if he can go at Bruner and get him in foul trouble early, as it appeared Jacksonville State did.
- Offensively they run through their 3 guards: Quinerly (18 points), former 4* Jaden Shackelford (18 points and 11 rebounds), and former 5* whale John Petty (14 and 6). We should worry about whomever isn't being guarded by Davis/Wills.
- Defensively, returning starter at the 4 Herb Jones was an All-SEC Defensive team member last season. He had 12 points and 12 rebounds.
- 2 of their freshmen played significant minutes (17/18) in the game. They combined for 5 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 PFs. Welcome to the big time, boys.
Get excited!
Also of note: Both teams received votes in the AP poll.
This should be an exciting one. We open favored by 1.5. Alabama reminds me of our team in a few ways, as you'll see below.
Primer on Alabama:
- They are expected to make the tournament, picked preseason 5th in what should be a very competitive SEC. (I believe we were picked preseason 4th in the PAC-12?)
- They are currently #48 by KenPom; we are #35.
- They return 3-4 starters and another important rotational piece or two. Similarly to us, they had their stud PG from last year declare for the NBA, drafted #13.
- Their 2020 recruiting class was #11 in the country, with 5 players including 2 high 4*s. Ours ended up at #17 because ESPN decided to put Michael O'Connell in their database with no ranking, tanking his composite. Thanks, ESPN.
Further notes/observations:
Alabama has played one game, a home opener against creampuff Jacksonville State (#268 by KenPom). I'm honestly not sure how much to take away from a body bag game like this, as they won by 24 points and were clearly WAY more athletic and talented. In any case...
- Their big name grad transfer, All-Ivy center PF/C Jordan Bruner from Yale, got the start but had a bad game in the opener, scoring 4 points and committing 3 PFs. 2 returners ended up playing more minutes so I'm not sure whether he will start again (hence "3-4 starters" above).
- Undergrad transfer Jahvon Quinerly from Villanova is stepping right into the PG role. He put up 18 points in their opener.
- Also like us, they run small. Bruner is their tallest rotational player, and he's 6'9"/10". Oscar should feast inside, especially if he can go at Bruner and get him in foul trouble early, as it appeared Jacksonville State did.
- Offensively they run through their 3 guards: Quinerly (18 points), former 4* Jaden Shackelford (18 points and 11 rebounds), and former 5* whale John Petty (14 and 6). We should worry about whomever isn't being guarded by Davis/Wills.
- Defensively, returning starter at the 4 Herb Jones was an All-SEC Defensive team member last season. He had 12 points and 12 rebounds.
- 2 of their freshmen played significant minutes (17/18) in the game. They combined for 5 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 PFs. Welcome to the big time, boys.
Get excited!
Also of note: Both teams received votes in the AP poll.
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