First things first – I want to apologize for not having anything together for the USF game earlier this week – my oldest kid was home sick and between that and my actual job, it just wasn’t going to happen.
Shoutout to Josh for covering for me from the Atlanta airport. He gets paid the small bucks for a reason, folks. Fortunately, Nate Oats’ squad did show up, winning a fun, fast paced battle with Bryan Hodgson and Alabama Lite (not the beer). Pretty much what you sh0uld expect considering the coaching matchup and the disparity between the two rosters.
Before I get to today’s game, I would be remiss if I didn’t touch on the Arizona game last Saturday. I’ve compared this team to the 2024 Final Four squad a lot, and that game last week in Birmingham only underscored the comparison. In the first half, Alabama was taking care of the ball, knocking down shots, playing inspired defense – shoutout to Aiden Sherrill for his shot blocking against the Wildcats, and generally matching every punch Arizona threw.
The second half though…yeesh. For all of his flaws, there is a precipitous drop-off when Sherrill isn’t in the game and we have to rely on minutes from Noah Williamson. I try not to bad mouth players on here, but they are essentially pros now, and Noah is about the worst basketball player I’ve seen log consistent minutes for an Oats-coached Alabama team. I know a lot of guys struggle going from low-major ball to high-major ball, but how in the world did this kid win Patriot League Player of the Year?
We also really struggle offensively when Labaron Philon is off of the floor and the other team has a bigger, more physical guard to defend Aden Holloway. We tried Amari Allen as point for that reason against Arizona and it simply didn’t go well. Allen has been a great player as a true freshman, but he simply isn’t ready to be the primary ballhandler against Kennesaw State, let alone Arizona.
There was about a five-minute stretch in the second half of the game last Saturday where we went without either Philon or Sherrill. And the results were about what you would’ve expected – just an abject disaster. It didn’t help that Oats refused to call a timeout – a philosophy of his I just will never agree with. He had a quote after the game rhetorically asking about what that would have accomplished, and I’m genuinely wondering still if he was trolling the media when he said that. I don’t know Nate, get the obvious problems on the floor addressed? By the time he did, Brayden Burries got hot from three and the game was over. That’s on coaching. Nate’s been a godsend for our program, but his refusal to call timeouts is mind-boggling.
Now back to today’s game.
How to Watch
What: The Rocket City Classic: Kennesaw State (8-3) vs #16 Alabama (8-3)
Where: Von Braun Center, Huntsville, AL
When: 1:00 pm CT
TV: SEC Network+
Line: Tide -21.5
It’s Round Two of ‘Master v Apprentice’ Week for Tide Hoops, as Alabama plays host to Tide legend Antoine Pettway and his Kennesaw State Owls this afternoon in Huntsville. The Owls aren’t quite as good as Hodgson’s South Florida squad, but they should contend in Conference USA this season. That being said, today’s game is really about Alabama. The number one thing I’m watching for today is Jalil Bathea and his usage. There’s not a ton the Tide can do about the lack of an interior post presence besides Sherrill – probably just going to have play small when Aiden needs a break – but Bathea’s rehabilitation and development could be massive for this team.
Going to forego a ‘Three Keys’ section today for somewhat obvious reasons – Kennesaw is unsurprisingly the lighter version of USF, so Alabama Lite-r. I hope everyone here gets plenty of time to spend with their loved ones over the course of the next week, no matter what you celebrate. Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and I’ll see you all back here on the other side when the Tide wraps up nonconference play with Yale.
