Gottfried signs point guard from Mississippi JUCO
Ken Rogers
Alabama basketball coach Mark Gottfried addressed a huge need Friday when he announced the signing of junior college point guard Anthony Brock.
The 5-foot-9 player from Little Rock, Ark., has played the past two seasons at Itawamba (Miss.) Community College.
The Tide has a huge need at the point. Last year’s freshman starter Rico Pickett has transferred and senior Ronald Steele has declared for the NBA draft, but could still return.
Brock averaged 18.5 points, 4.7 assists, 3.5 rebounds and 3.4 steals last season at Itawamba, which was 30-4 last season. He was a second-team All-America for junior college this past season.
“Anthony is a very good point guard,” said Gottfried in a statement released by the university’s media relations office. “He has shot the ball extremely well, handles the ball well and can run a team. I like the fact that he is a tough competitor and winning is important to him. He finds a way to help his team win.“
Brock was a 47.3 percent (86-182) 3-point shooter this past season, shot 48 percent (196-408) from the field and 76.7 percent (151-197) at the free throw line.
He will have talented teammates. Gottfried signed three high school players during the November signing period — including 2008 McDonald’s All-American JaMychal Green, a 6-foot-9 center/forward from Montgomery. Green was voted the 2008 Mr. Basketball in the State of Alabama by the Alabama Sportswriter’s Association and led St. Jude to the Class 1A state championship. In early July Green has been invited to participate in the USA Basketball tryouts for the USA’s 2008 U18 FIBA American Championship Team that will compete in Argentina.
The other signees included Andrew Steele, a 6-foot-3 guard from Birmingham’s John Carroll Catholic who was the Class 5A Player of the Year., and Tony Mitchell, a 6-foot-7 small forward from Swainsboro, Ga., who averaged 19 points, 8 rebounds and 5 blocks a game his senior year. Mitchell was the Class AA Player of the Year and the region Player of the Year in addition to being selected to Georgia’s 2008 North-South All-Star game squad.
Posted by Ken Rogers on 04/25 at 07:37 PM
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Tide, Tiger fans can back Saban’s plan for better Iron Bowl
Ken Rogers
How to make college football’s most intense rivalry even better?
Alabama head coach Nick Saban shared a quick thought on the Iron Bowl before meeting with several hundred Crimson Tide fans Thursday night at the Crimson Caravan stop in Dothan.
Asked how many questions he anticipated fielding from the audience about the Auburn game, the coach said, “They did’t ask about it at the last one,” referring to Tuesday night’s Caravan trip to Mobile. “We’ll see.
“I know it’s an important game and it’s a great rivalry. Probably the best thing that can happen to that rivalry is that one of us were (No.) 1 and one of us was 2 when we went into the game.”
It’s not like he’ll be pulling for the Tigers. But Saban isn’t a guy who thinks bad news for Auburn is good news for Alabama.
“So tearing the other one down doesn’t necessarily help us be any better,” Saban said. “We try to focus on what we need to do to be the best we can be.”
That starts with talent. Recruiting for 2009 hasn’t stopped, even though Saban and all head coaches can’t visit high schools.
“This is a recruiting time for spring evaluation,” Saban said Thursday night. “We spend a lot of time on that. It’s important to next year’s recruiting we do a good job making good decisions now.”
The Tide has picked up three big early commitments from Darius McKeller of Jonesboro, Ga., Kellen Williams of Snellville, Ga., and D.J. Fluker of Mobile. Big as in large bodies. McKeller is a 6-foot-6, 280-pound lineman. Williams is 6-5, 288. Fluker is listed at 6-6, 327.
Posted by Ken Rogers on 04/24 at 07:08 PM
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Iron Bowl rivalry spills into, gulp, knitting and crocheting
Ken Rogers
I’m all for playing up the Iron Bowl rivalry whenever possible. I tell friends and relatives from other parts of the country that the single greatest matchup in sports is an Auburn-Alabama football game.
When players from those schools tangle in basketball, baseball and other sports they bring the best out of each other, which is how I define a great rivalry.
Until yesterday, I never really thought the rivalry could be overhyped. Until an email was brought to my attention. It was flagged with a red exclamation point and the importance, of course, was “high.”
Did JPW break his arm? Did Tubs tell a Southern Cal booster group he would replace Pete Carroll? Nope.
Turns out, knitters and crocheters on both sides of the Alabama-Auburn rivalry will be competing for a charity event. The 2008 Ultimate Knit to Win Challenge is a contest to see which team’s supporters can produce the largest number of hand-knitted and crocheted caps for premature and high-risk infants. The contest will run through Nov. 20. Caps will be presented to local hospitals in Tuscaloosa and Auburn/Opelika, as well as Children’s Hospital in Birmingham for their neonatal intensive care units.
Serendipity Needleworks out of Tuscaloosa issued this challenge. For details, check out their web site at http://www.serendipityneedleworks.com
So what, you say? Sew what? It’s for a good cause, but I’m not sure it warranted the red flag on the email.
Still, bringing nine-inch needles into the Iron Bowl debate could be irresistible, like bring a gun and knife show to an international soccer friendly.
Posted by Ken Rogers on 04/17 at 10:21 PM
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Tide’s A-Day format could change as program adds depth
Ken Rogers
TUSCALOOSA—Nick Saban liked the format for Saturday’s A-Day game, but said it could change in the future.
The team used a first-team offense and second-team defense vs. second-team offense and first-team defense format to keep it competitive, build continuity and put first- and second-teamers head-to-head.
Ideally, however, Saban said he’d like to see the players hold a draft and pick their own teams.
“I just think it’s fun for the players,” Saban said. “I think the way we’re playing the game is probably the best way for the coaches. I think it really makes it a lot of fun for the players when they can choose up sides, take more pride in the team that they pick.
“I always did it that way (with a draft) in the past, but I felt like I made a mistake my second year at LSU, the same spring we’re in right now. We had some good players, but we didn’t have a lot of depth.
“Rohan Davey ends up being the quarterback on one team, and the left tackle ends up being a walk-on. And then Marcus Spears ends up being the right end on the other team, and we can’t block him, and we end up getting sacked nine times in the first half, and everybody thinks we’ve got a horrible team. Well, we won the SEC championship the next year, but it wasn’t a very good spring game because of some of the inequities that were created by allowing the players to draft.
“Now, past that, we always had those kinds of games (with a draft) and it never occurred because we had a little more depth. Hopefully, when we get to that point here, in terms of numbers, we’ll be able to do the same thing.”
Posted by Ken Rogers on 04/12 at 12:58 PM
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Steele’s return crucial if Pickett transfers
Ken Rogers
Alabama senior point guard Ronald Steele is the second Crimson Tide player to announce he’ll enter the NBA draft in June.
Steele, who missed all of last season and the second half of the 2006-07 campaign with a devastating knee injury, has not retained an agent and could come back for his senior season next fall.
Steele and junior Richard Hendrix have joined many players with college eligibility remaining in this exploratory step.
Frankly, I don’t know why every junior in college basketball doesn’t take this route. You get feedback from the NBA — even if it’s laughter and ridicule — and, as long as you steer clear of an agent, you get to come back to school.
In Steele’s case, from this vantage point, it’s pretty unlikely that an NBA team would draft a player who hasn’t seen the floor in a year and a half due to injury. His chances are even slimmer since Isiah Thomas isn’t running the New York Knicks’ front office. So it’s likely Steele will be back.
Which should be good news for the Tide, considering freshman point guard Rico Pickett is reported to be transferring.
Pickett has been suspended indefinitely. Coach Mark Gottfried said it’s because the freshman hasn’t complied with team rules.
“We have standards and levels academically as well as athletically that our student-athletes need to meet, and there are consequences when they fail to do that,” Gottfried said.
Pickett’s father said grades had nothing to do with this. The freshman from Decatur said when Pickett informed the team he was leaving, he was suspended.
Pickett got schooled for much of his freshman year, although he returned to the starting lineup and directed the team down the stretch.
If he doesn’t come back and Steele doesn’t return, Alabama will be under the gun to find a point guard. A number of weapons are coming back, but each will be limited without someone getting the ball to the right people in the right spots on the floor.
Even if Steele comes back, he will shoulder a greater burden without Pickett’s presence. The beating and banging, wear and tear of an SEC season takes a toll on the healthiest of players — let alone one coming back from rehab with so much to prove.
Posted by Ken Rogers on 04/07 at 10:43 PM
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