By: VaBeachBama08
The Alabama Crimson Tide basketball team has had its own fair share of struggles as of late. Today, the Tide get a chance to get their first SEC win, and it couldn’t come at a better tine. The Crimson Tide (11-8) will take on the Auburn Tigers (12-5) today at Coleman Coliseum.
Led by their big man Richard Hendrix, Alabama will try and avenge their loses to Auburn last year. Any post-season hopes can formidably begin or end today.
While most of the hubbub surrounding Alabama’s basketball program has happened solely because of their recent performances, not everything is as grim as it sounds. The Tide are stocked full of talent, and when Coach Gottfried’s team falls of its slide, things could really begin to be on the up and up.
At 11-8 overall and 0-4 in conference play, Alabama clearly has work to do. However, the team has proved that they can win, and win with decisiveness as well. After earning a 6 game winning streak, Alabama abruptly crashed into SEC play and are now looking for anything to grasp hold of to pull themselves back up. Hopefully, with the sellout crowd on hand this afternoon, the Crimson Tide can get back into the winning column and begin to make a strong push into the SEC tournament. Only time will tell. We’ll keep you posted.
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With only ten days left in the 2008 recruiting period, the Crimson Tide are looking to add to their imminent success by signing one of the top recruiting classes in the nation. Already, the Tide has twenty six commitments. On February 6th, the Crimson Tide could land up to five more prospects. No matter who signs with Alabama, this recruiting class will without a doubt be considered one of the greatest in Alabama history.
Jerrell Harris and Julio Jones are the hot names on the board for Alabama. Harris will announce his college of choice on February 6th at 2:00 P.M. (CT) . While it remains uncertain who is leaders are, some sources close to Harris indicate that it is a tight race between Auburn and Alabama. Julio Jones is also set to announce where he will attend school on the 6th. Jones is currently scheduled to announce some time in the mid-morning to early after noon on ESPNU. As is the case with Harris, no one has a good read on Julio’s favorite. He is at Oklahoma University this weekend, and a possible visit to Texas Tech University could happen next week.
Amidst all the confusion from the prospects who haven’t lent a hand at their favorite school, there is still room for educated predictions. The following commitment predictions are only based upon speculation. Nothing is definitive about these predictions, because no prospect has signed a letter of intent yet.
1. Julio Jones
2. Jerrel Harris
3. Alonzo Lawrence
4. Mark Ingram II
5. Robert Quinn
6. Burton Scott
7. Star Jackson
8. Melvin Ray
9. Brad Smelley
10. Terrence Cody
11. Barrett Jones
12. Tyler Love
13. Mark Barron
14. Kerry Murphy
15. Courtney Upshaw
16. Michael Williams
17. Devonta Bolton
18. Chris Jackson (back-counted to 2007 recruiting class)
19. Robby Green
20. Destin Hood
21. Chris Jordan
22. Undra Billingsly
23. John Michael Boswell
24. Don’ta Hightower
25. Robert Lester
26. Jermaine Preyear
27. Wesley Neighbors
28. Damion Square
29. Ivan Matchett
30. Brandon Lewis
31. Corey Smith (back-counted to 2007 recruiting class)
Should the Crimson Tide close out their recruiting class as such, they main attain the number one recruiting class in the nation. Regardless, the work that has been done by this coaching staff is nothing short of amazing. The talent pool is getting filled up quickly, and the Tide is beginning to rise.
Stay tuned to thecrimsonpride.net on National Signing Day (February 6th) to get updates on commitments and signings. Feel free to visit our forums. Up to the minute updates will be available when signing and commitments are reported. Roll Tide!
