MuchMany

Just wanted to say that this isn't at all what my comments were about. It was only about the cobbled together roster construction. I don't think Adams and Chatman were models of effort and consistency, but I also don't agree with your harsh characterizations.

Doty listed as class of 2025 on this summer's City Rocks roster, so maybe we're targeting him for next year after a prep season. https://www.instagram.com/p/C5i9P3wN9uG/?igsh=cGYyOHJyZzZzaDFw

Curious if you saw tough defense or constant movement on offense with last year's team? Felt like the exact opposite to me. UConn has a dominant center - we hardly have a center on the roster. Their roster is dripping with skill, all five starters will at least get a look in the NBA. Ours is...not. Even adjusting for the different levels of competition and expectations between us and them, I don't see it. GH3 is trying to build Villanova because that's all he knows, but without Jay Wright that's not even working for Villanova anymore. UConn has genius level assistants like Luke Murray designing the most innovative offense in the country. Those assistants were not interested in our job. I think it's wishful thinking unfortunately. I take your point that not all players fit all systems and I think last year's roster was a non-complementary mismatch of players. I'm interested to see what this next group looks like, but it's hard to really be optimistic.

Is that a two year sample? Because Kentucky was significantly better than Bama in 2022. Kentucky's "struggles" have mostly resulted from Cal slowing down, some bad luck in the tournament, and CBB being full of 25 year olds since covid. Combining everything that Kentucky has to offer WITH everything that Oats himself brings would have been frightening for the rest of the country. As a Duke fan, I'm happy he's staying at Alabama. It's still a football school and always will be - there's a good chance Oats enjoys that situation and the lack of pressure.

Wow. I get it, but it's going to be a challenge to get Bama consistently to the level that Cal had Kentucky. The resources, facilities, NBA connections, etc are just different. Aside from Brandon Miller, Oats hasn't really sniffed the best talent in the country yet. Maybe this Final Four run will change that, but it's the next step needed to consistently challenge the blue bloods. Let's see if his recruiting cranks up now with his new contract and success.

It's always been Oats to Kentucky. Such a wild storyline but it feels like it was written already.

Pretty valiant effort by Oats and his guys against a juggernaut. Thought it was a fun watch especially compared to the Purdue game. Still it felt like Alabama was on the ropes even when the score was close because UConn might just be inevitable. It's the most dominant CBB two years in a very long time if they finish it off Monday, which I think they will easily. If Clingan cancels out Edey, UConn is 100% superior. And I hate UConn and hate to say it 😂 Not a news flash to the True Believers™, but Oats' system is going to be very hard to beat if he ever gets truly elite deep shooters and rim protectors/runners. Sears is awesome but Alabama was outmanned in the end. This isn't a top two roster he's had there imo. He's going to hit it big on one of these recruiting cycle and win a title in the next five years. I'd want to play in that scheme if I was an elite-at shooting guard or PF.

I was just coming to post the opposite lol. Don't think Bama has anywhere near the structure or talent to keep up with the machine that is UConn. They'll need to shoot out of their minds to keep it close. No idea how they plan to deal with Clingan either. 15+ point win.

Yeah we'll see who needs a slow 6'6 PF whose only production came when the roster got thin enough that literally anyone had to take the shots and get the rebounds. Sorry for the snark, I just never thought he was up for this level of play. Thus marks the end of Whitesell's players on the roster. Five of seven of GH3's initial class remain, with five newcomers incoming. Three spots are currently open. If we can find veterans at the spots we all see as needing help, I'll be pretty interested in the upcoming season.

Sorry to interrupt the football chat gents.

Any chance a moderator could split the football conversation into the appropriate thread/forum? Do we even have moderators?

Oats was never staying here long term. He was among the hottest coaching commodities in the country when he left. Now he's solidified himself as a top 10 coach (and still rising). We're lucky to have had him here for as long as we did. Alnutt's failure to build on the success of Hurley then Oats with his next hire has always been the story, but that's been discussed ad nauseum (as it all has).

Which approach? The one we're seeing so far this year getting even younger or the one reported that we're looking to add veterans?

We're adding four HS seniors and a sophomore and losing a senior and four juniors as it stands. Two open spots remain. Not sure I'm seeing any evidence of the strategy you describe.

Young players improve. Following the development of players is one of the most enjoyable things about following college basketball with as young as the athletes are. Will they develop well? Only time will tell, but to me there's more optimism in trying to build young players up than randomly piecing transfers together each year. Of course there's the risk of players transferring out eventually, but that's just life now and the frequency is overstated imo. Our current freshman class seems to be pretty well bonded and happy here for the time being. Am I optimistic overall for next season? No. I do think we have the chance to be significantly better than this season with a roster of more than eight healthy players, the continuing development of our guys, and hopefully the improvement of the coaching staff after a year of tough lessons. We'll know a lot more when the last two roster spots get filled and we get some eyes on all the new guys on campus.