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Time for change at the Capstone
Alabama was out-coached by Auburn's Jeff Lebo in what has become a disturbing trend for Crimson Tide faithful. There is no way this current Auburn team should be able to play with Alabama and no way they should beat the Tide by 12 points. The Tigers are wellcoached and play as a team but do not have half the talent (right now) that Mark Gottfried and the Crimson Tide possess. But yet they looked superior over the reeling Tide and that has led me to the conclusion that change must be made and that starts with the head man. Gottfried is a former Bama player and a good person from all accounts. He has led a clean program for the most part and his players have graduated. But more and more they are looking helpless on the court. Lebo and the Tigers are on the verge of making Bama's basketball program the same whipping boy that the football team has been for the last six years. Alabama, now 14-13 and 3-9 in the S.E.C, has guaranteed itself another losing record in conference play for the first time since Gottfried had backto back losing seasons his first two years at the Capstone. Gottfried went into last season with an 11-6 record against Auburn and clearly had the upper hand against the Tigers. Auburn currently has only one player on scholarship from the state of Alabama on its roster. That is an amazing number when you figure the state has produced some pretty talented players over the years. Nearly every one of those have gone on to either sign with the Tide or bolted out of state. All of that is on the verge of changing if the Tide continues to plummet further into the S.E.C. West dweller while Auburn continues to climb the mountain back to the top. Auburn has taken three out of the last four games between the rivals including a clean sweep last year. Gottfried was asked early this week if he felt Auburn was beginning to get the upper hand in the series and responded with a very Mike Shula-like response. "When I first took this job,'' Gottfried said, "we were climbing a steep hill in the series. We turned that. They did a good job last year and we've split this year. There are a lot of ways to look at the numbers. But we'll be back. We'll be back.'' These quotes, as well as every other press conference for Gottfried, is beginning to sound a lot like the former Bama quarterback that was axed last year after failing to turn around the football program. Both Shula and Gottfried are good people. Both did some good things for their alma mater. Neither one was a very good leader or game day coach. If Bama plans on avoiding more embarrassing losses like the one it endured Sunday, then something has to be done immediately. The Tigers are in the process of building a new 9,600-seat arena that will definitely outshine Coleman Coliseum. The arena is currently in the planning stages with construction expected to begin in June 2008. If all goes according to plan, the arena will be complete for the 2010-2011-basketball season at a staggering cost of $92.5 million. It will house two practice courts, a weight room and 12 suites. So if Alabama plans to compete with the Tigers in anything other than gymnastics, now is the time to make a change in basketball. Mal Moore went out and hired one of the best football coaches in the country last year when he took Nick Saban away from the Miami Dolphins. While results were not immediate on the field, the feeling is that the program is on the verge of taking off especially after just wrapping up the number one recruiting class in the country. There is a major buzz about Alabama football (see last year's spring game where 92,000 people showed up). The only buzz coming from Coleman Coliseum is from watching Ronald Steele practice. There is no reason basketball should not be successful at Alabama. It just needs to get the right guy leading the ship. Right now Gottfried is no better than fourth in the state's coaching ranks behind UAB's Mike Davis, Auburn's Jeff Lebo and South Alabama's Ronnie Arrow. With hot young coaches like VCU's Anthony Grant or UAB's Davis out there, Bama fans have to hope change is imminent.
Can the Crimson Tide faithful withstand being taken to the woodshed many more times by that team down the road?
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