(btw, Hoops are on the toob tonight) http://www.al.com/printer/printer.ssf?/base/sports/1075229137128660.xml
Bama running out of bandages Add Winston to list of hobbling Tide players 01/27/04 By PAUL GATTIS Times Sports Staff [EMAIL PROTECTED] TUSCALOOSA - Tonight's opponent, as if it mattered, is 22nd-ranked Florida. To Alabama coach Mark Gottfried, it might as well be the Los Angeles Lakers or nearby Central High School. Quite simply, too much is wrong and too little is right these days for the Crimson Tide. "We have to figure out ourselves," Gottfried said Monday, "as well as figure out Florida." Sure, Alabama still has a sparkling RPI - checking in this week at No. 19 against the nation's third-toughest schedule despite the ugly loss Saturday at Ole Miss. Sure, the premature NCAA Tournament projections all have the Tide on their brackets. But that's the past and the future. The problems are in the present. Leading scorer Earnest Shelton will miss his second straight game with strained knee ligaments. Starting center Jermareo Davidson went down against Ole Miss with a knee injury of his own, though he's expected to play against the Gators. Then there's Kennedy Winston - who is the Tide's leading scorer in Shelton's absence. But his left knee, which required surgery in September to repair torn cartilage, was being temperamental Monday. "He woke up (Monday) morning and it looked like a grapefruit down there," Gottfried said of the swelling in the knee. So with this unsettling backdrop, Alabama (11-5, 3-2 Southeastern Conference) will try to maintain its 11-game winning streak at Coleman Coliseum. "Obviously," Gottfried said, "we've got to play a great game to have a chance to upset them. We're banged up and that's not where you want to be going into a game like this." Davidson will play but his knee won't be 100 percent, Gottfried said. The same goes for Winston, who has battled soreness all season. The wounded Tide must recover to face the Gators, who spent a week at No. 1 earlier this season and are 12-4 against the nation's toughest schedule. Florida snapped a two-game losing streak with Saturday's 68-52 win over Auburn. But the Gators are just 1-2 on their opponents' home floor this season, losing at Louisville and Vanderbilt and winning at South Carolina. "We've been a pretty good road team the last several years," coach Billy Donovan said. "But maybe we're starting over on the road from the standpoint of having a lot of young guys trying to figure out how to play on the road." Indeed, the Gators (12-4, 3-2) started four sophomores and a junior against Auburn. But four starters - forwards David Lee and Christian Drejer and guards Anthony Roberson and Matt Walsh - are scoring in double figures. And while all four are capable of carrying the Gators themselves, Gottfried is particularly wary of Roberson - the sharpshooting point guard who has made 44 percent of his 3-pointers this season. "I'm not sure there are a whole lot of guards better than him," Gottfried said. "He shoots it quickly and effectively. He's a big-time basketball player." ______________________________________________________ RollTideFan - The University of Alabama Athletics Discussion List "Welcome to RollTideFan! Wear a cup!" To join or leave the list or to make changes to your subscription visit http://listinfo.rolltidefan.net
