Bama will be good only if Hendrix and Steele return. In that case Bama will be anywhere from a 4 seed to a 7 seed in the NCAA tourney. The core we have back is the 2006 team that nearly knocked off UCLA in the 2nd round when UCLA made it to the Finals. Except we don't have Jean Felix and Jemario Davidson (#2 and #3 scorers from that team). So actually the core is that of the early 07 team which was poised for a top 15 ranking until Davidson had his issues and Steele went down with the bad knees. Bama will have the best starting 5 next year in the SEC, but the bench is still not that great. Hollinger, Jemison, and one of either Torrence or Coleman could be good next year. The incoming class we got was a top 10 national ranking with Green, the other Steele, and Mitchell. I see us winning 25 games, but losing games we shouldn't due to coaching. Luckily Arkansas, LSU, Ole Miss, and AU should be down next year and MSU could lose Gordon (who is the best player in the SEC, maybe better than Ron Steele).
Starting 5
Steele (PG and All-American), Hillman (SG-slasher), Gee (SF-slasher), Green (PF--raw but talented in the post but will play high post in the UCLA offense), Hendrix (Low post/C All-SEC and All-American candidate)
Key Bench players:
Hollinger (PG/SG---3pt specialist), Jemison(PF--hustle-type player)
Guys who could possibly take Bama to a new level if they are either better or as good as advertised:
Tony Mitchell (SF--Rodney Carney type player), Yamene Coleman (C---big body), Andrew Steele (SG---slasher).
We could be a very deep team next year, but only if Coleman and Torrence step up (Steele can't play 40 mpg again in SEC play for us to win). But the key will be allowing Steele, Hillman, and Gee to make plays on the break and then focusing on getting the ball down low to Green and Hendrix in the half-court. Finally who will shoot the 3 for us? With Mykal Riley gone, we don't have a wing shooter than can shoot the 3. Hollinger is too short to take enough 3's, and Steele is the PG and needs to create opportunities and drive the lane (though he's a 45% 3-pt shooter).
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