Basketball talk in the off season in Tuscaloosa is as rare as a Saturday night with nobody on the Strip. It just does not happen very often.
But this off season, though still young, has been chock full of basketball discussions, dominantly pertaining to who would take over as the head coach. Could Alabama lure Mike Anderson from Missouri or Tubby Smith from Minnesota? Would Alabama be willing to pay Xavier coach Sean Miller’s buyout to get him to come to Tuscaloosa?
The answer came a week ago, as Alabama reached an agreement with former Virginia Commonwealth coach Anthony Grant.
Now that the search is over, do the students think it was a successful hire?
Jane-Ann Putman, a junior, liked Grant’s work at VCU, and she thinks it will translate well to SEC play.
“He’s young, and he did well at VCU, so hopefully he will be able to pull our team together,” she said.
Grant compiled a 76-25 record in his three years at VCU, posting a 45-9 mark in Colonial Athletic Association play. Though he won better than 75 percent of his games, Jim Piazza, a junior majoring in secondary education, really wanted a more proven head coach.
“I wanted Mike Anderson because he already knows the state, and because of his recent success (at Missouri),” he said.
That is not to say Piazza was disappointed when he heard the news about Grant. He just figured the search would have been a little more ongoing.
“I believe it is a decent hire, but I think we should have waited a bit longer,” he said. “Grant’s credentials look a lot like (Mark) Gottfried’s did when he was coaching a mid major. I’m intrigued by his court presence. He seems to be a very good communicator to his players.”
Speaking of Gottfried, some think his resignation under pressure, or firing, should have never even happened. Joey Bleekrode, a management student, wishes Gottfried still had his job.
“Either way, I don’t agree with his decision or the university’s decision to fire him, whichever way it went,” he said.
Recruiting has exploded into a national phenomenon in recent years, and Grant took advantage of it when he was an assistant at Florida from 1996-2006. He recruited nine McDonald’s All-Americans to Gainesville. Seven players he attracted to Florida ended up as first-round NBA draft picks.
Putman understands recruiting and how Grant’s success will more than likely turn the basketball program around sooner rather than later.
“I think that with our ability to get good recruits, our team should be able to perform a lot better than it has in the recent past,” she said.
Bleekrode, however, notices the monetary aspects of the hire. He also said the only thing he really knew about Grant prior to the hire was that he was an assistant coach at Florida.
“He makes nearly double what Gottfried did, which says a lot about loyalties,” he said. “In my eyes, he, along with (Nick) Saban, have a lot to prove about their loyalties to the Crimson Tide. To me, it’s not only about winning. But that’s what sets college sports aside from professional sports. There is so much more heart and emotion involved, not solely for the paycheck.”
Something else Putman thought about, because she is a student, is the student section at Coleman Coliseum. She has grown accustomed to the crimson “Mark’s Madness” T-shirts, but what now?
“I don’t know,” she said, “how about Grant’s Gang?”
Whether it ends up Grant’s Gang, Anthony’s Army or something else, he brings a fresh style of play that is needed to boost attendance and rack up wins. Piazza is ready to see the picks and rolls starting in November, and how the players react to Grant’s coaching.
“One thing that makes me feel better about it is the fact that Grant seems to be a good disciplinarian, which is something we desperately need,” he said. “Overall, I think it is definitely an upgrade, although only time will tell.”
