The good news for Alabama is that Ronald Steele is healthy. After sitting out last season to recover from two knee surgeries, Steele will take over the reins of a club that has the potential to compete for an NCAA tournament berth again.

And that will make a big difference for a Crimson Tide bunch that struggled and missed the postseason in 2008 for the first time since 2000, when it finished only one game over .500.

Steele gives the Tide one of the best in the league at point guard, a position that was passed back and forth at Bama among three players without much success last season. But with Steele, backed up by his younger brother, incoming freshman Andrew Steele, point guard no longer is an issue.

That frees up Brandon Hollinger from ball-handling responsibilities and lets him roam the perimeter with Alonzo Gee. Especially if Senario Hillman steps up and becomes more consistent, the Tide is well set in the backcourt.

Up front can be another matter.

The Tide loses a double-double (points-rebounds) in Richard Hendrix, and the only returning starter is Demetrius Jemison. Jemison finished the regular season strong with games of 19, 17 and 14 points in three of the last four outings, but he had only 10 points total in Bama's two SEC tournament games.

A freshman holds the key to the inside game. JaMychal Green, a 6-9 forward, showed tremendous potential in playing for the USA Basketball 18U team in the FIBA Americas Championships. If not this season, Green could soon be matching Hendrix's numbers in his collegiate career.

Junior Yamene Coleman and sophomore Justin Knox are other returnees up front.

Three things hold the key to success for the Tide: Steele's health, the outside shooting of Gee and Hollinger and the rapid emergence of Green.

If those all come about, the Tide will be looking for role players to fill in the gaps, and it has the players for that to make Bama a contender in the SEC West.

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