UA hoops back in action Experience key to Tide’s success
By Cecil Hurt Sports Editor October 15, 2004
TUSCALOOSA | Experience will be one of the key ingredients for the University of Alabama men’s basketball team this season -- and it won’t just be their hard-won success on the court last season.
Obviously, the Crimson Tide’s stretch run -- which included a series of close, critical contests -- will be invaluable for the returning starters in the 2004-05 season, which opens with a 6 a.m. practice on Saturday at Coleman Coliseum. Those wins, and Alabama’s Elite Eight appearance, should have a carry-over effect on the Tide.
There are, however, other types of experience, including experience with handling expectations. Several Crimson Tide players learned that tough lesson two years ago. Now, with preseason expectations once again at stratospheric levels, they hope to handle the hype.
“I think we’ll do a better job with it," Tide guard Earnest Shelton, one of the team’s senior leaders, said on Thursday.
“There are three or four guys who watched that happen. I was on that team. Chuck and Kennedy were on that team. We saw what happened, and we don’t want to see it happen again."
What happened, precisely, was a No. 1 ranking in December, 2002, that turned into a disappointment by March, 2003. The year wasn’t an utter disaster -- Alabama did win 17 games and earn an NCAA Tournament berth that led to a first-round loss to Indiana. But, given the lofty preseason rankings, it was far from a satisfying season.
On the other hand, last season’s Tide team was picked to finish fifth in the six-team SEC West, and wound up 20-13, advancing all the way to the Phoenix Regional finals of the NCAA Tournament before falling to eventual national champion Connecticut.
“It’s easier when you’re the underdog, but we won’t have that luxury this year," Shelton said. “We’re going to have that high ranking, but we’ll have to deal with it.
“You have to play hard every game. You’ve got a target on your back every night. Teams want to try and make their mark by beating you. We found that out when we had the No. 1 ranking. We got that, and then we just sort of faded out of it. I don’t think we will duplicate that. I think this team will stay hungry."
As the only senior in the Tide’s tentative starting lineup, Shelton’s leadership will be critical for the Tide’s success. A midseason swoon in 2004 coincided with Shelton’s two-week absence due to a knee injury. He is also the team’s second leading scorer (15.8 points per game last year) and with Kennedy Winston, the top returning scorer, expected to ease into the lineup slowly due to his own knee problems, Shelton may have to carry more of the early-season scoring load.
“I’m 100 percent ready to go," Shelton said. “There is a lot of excitement about this season. We’re going to bring a lot of energy to practice Saturday."
Shelton said he would take time to work with the Tide’s three freshman guards -- Ron Steele, Glenn Miles and Albert Webber -- in order to assure a smooth transition as they seek to replace last year’s emotional leader and point guard, Antoine Pettway.
“They are all good players," Shelton said. “They are going to make some mistakes, but I think they’ll make a good adjustment to college ball."
Alabama will hold its first public scrimmage on Saturday, Oct. 30, when it plays the Crimson-White game at 6 p.m. The Tide will also host two exhibition games (Stillman College on Nov. 10 and Athletes In Action on Nov. 13) before opening its regular season against host team Alaska-Anchorage in the first round of the Great Alaska Shootout on Nov. 24.
-- ROLL TIDE! Rick
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