Sunday, March 16, 2014




crimsontider said...

It's not March Madness without Anthony Grant sitting on his couch, watching Mark Gottfried in the NCAAT. That's for sure.
I, like you did not like the way things ended here with CMG, and I was pretty upset with the state of the program, and the part CMG played in it. I thought time would prove kind to CMG's legacy, but some 'Bama fans still hold ill will against him. I tend to think of the positives that Gottfried did in his time here, as he is the one of the top 3 coaches in program history. I will be rooting for him, while understanding that a lot of Alabama fans wont. To each his own.

finebammer said...

"........while understanding that a lot of Alabama fans won't."

you're goddamn right i won't.

i won't forget him using other job openings (on TWO occasions) to wedge more money out of Mal. (people don't realize - or forget - how he poisoned the basketball well at the time doing this)

i won't forget his stupid coaching.

i won't forget his arrogance.

i WON'T forget what he did to Ronald Steele.

i won't forget his stupid, arrogant fucking wife.

and i won't forget the way he left.

and knowing what went on between he and Gerald Wallace AFTER Gerald left for Sacramento, i can't prove it but i'd bet my house he poached Trevor Lacey.

FUCK gottfried.

bobbyjack said...

I also hold (held is the correct word now) a grudge against him for holding the University hostage for 2 raises. Then again... Nick Saban just did the same thing after losing to the Barn and OU (and got $2 million more a yr for it).

As much as we like to think xCMG got arrogant I'm starting to believe he saw the writing on the wall regarding commitment to hoops, said the hell with it and gave up.

I have issues with him actively rooting against us in 2011 for a NCAAT bid, but again... maybe there were things said behind closed doors that peeves him off.

I'll just appreciate his 5 straight NCAATs, the 02 SECT, and the 04 Elite 8 run. We probably won't see that kind of mediocre success (5 NCAATs in 11 yrs) again here for a long time...

crimsontider said...

"We probably won't see that kind of mediocre success again here for a long time…" Isn't that the sad truth? If Grant was even able to match his predecessor, we'd probably rename Coleman after him.

finebammer said...


bj, i regard you as one of the more level-headed individuals at this blog but you really didn't just compare gottfried and Coach Saban, did you???

Coach Saban has brought 3 national championships to the Capstone and untold millions in revenue. and it's not just about money either. recall that when rich rodriguez took his coal miner's daughter and went back to UWV, there were those questioning the stature of the position.

Coach Saban gave us back our 'kwon'. (Jerry Maguire) mark gottfried played here, went to school here, then came back and that no-coaching, name-dropping SOB is gonna show everybody how it's done.

i would remind you that had not Pettway hit that game winner against SIU to start that tourney run, had they come home one-and-done, he was likely gonna be fired. and for good reason.

i haven't forgotten who mark gottfried is. he's a snake that couldn't carry Coach Saban's straw hat.

fuck mark gottfried.

finebammer said...

and we're truly in a sad state when we're pining for a piece of shit like gottfried

bobbyjack said...

Ct and fb... it is pretty damn sad I'm wishing for what we had in the early 00s because it was 2 good teams, 2 bubble teams, and an 8 seed.

It is more than good enough for Bill Battle (who seems to be satisfied with the hoops program not getting in the way of fb) and the late Mal Moore.

I truly do despise how xCMG rode Ronald Steele til his body gave out. I wish RS read this blog back then and left for the NBA as a sophomore. The last 2 yrs of his career were as wasted as Releford's was. A shame as both of them have court vision you just can't teach.

While I don't blame Saban for the hit up in cash, the timing of it all was AUful.

crimsontider said...

The Ronald Steele situation was a complete failure on the part of the entire University. From the trainers, to the coaches, to the administration. I don't think there was malicious intent, but it was pure negligence. I feel bad for Ron, who had an NBA career go down the drain because of it. I do believe it was a fireable offense, and a big reason why CMG should have been shown the door at least a year earlier.
I really don't have a problem with somebody who is good at what they do maxing out their value. At the end of the day it's a business. Grant did it too, flirting with the Illinois, and Georgia Tech jobs, which is probably a big part of why he is still here.

Msmilie said...

Congratulations to the N.C. State program and their fans making the tournament, though I am of the opinion that they did not have the resume to warrant a bid. SMU may have played a horrible non-conference schedule but the top of the American Conference was pretty damn stout and they finished third. Hell, Florida State arguably deserved a bid more than N.C. State.

That said, the committee did give them a favorable draw as their game with Xavier is a coin flip type of game (I'm picking Xavier if Stainbrook is able to play) and St. Louis has been floundering down the stretch. The same holds true for Gottfried. Give him a season without expectations and his teams usually have some measure of success. However, the guy can't produce when there are expectations. It happened every season he was in Tuscaloosa and it has held true so far in Raleigh (his team last year was picked to win the ACC and got bounced in the 1st round).

And while my agreeing with Finebammer is a rarity, he's spot-on about the Elite Eight run. If I remember correctly, Bama came into that tournament with only 17 wins, and if Pettway doesn't hit that jumper it's merely another decent season. Look, the guy has had a fair share of success as a college coach, but I wasn't sad to see him go. If your only concern is NCAA tournaments, then, yes, he had a successful run. However, his teams consistently underachieved, were horrible on the road, lacked offensive efficiency and seemed to get worse defensively each season. Give Anthony Grant some of the talent Gottfried had (Ron Steele, Richard Hendrix, Erwin Dudley, Mo Williams, Gerald Wallace, Jermareo Davidson, and more) and Grant would at the very least match what Gottfried did. My contention remains that Grant's issues at Bama have been more to do with recruiting and roster management than with his abilities as a basketball coach.

Don't pine for Gottfried. Hope that Grant can get things together or, provided he doesn't, that Alabama can hire someone who finally can.

crimsontider said...

Who the hell cares if it was a fluke? It was one of the greatest moments in program history. Our program is dead right now. I'd take any sort of success I could get at this point, fluke or not.

bobbyjack said...

Don't take my post as pining for xCMG... it's more of a snapshot of what Alabama basketball is... and what the people in charge think about it.
Which makes me start questioning why stick around...

bobbyjack said...

The Illinois job was a quick call... once they heard how much he was making here they moved on. And GA Tech... LOL. They are broke from what they had to pay Hewitt thus why they hired Brian Gregory on the cheap.

bobbyjack said...

The sub was Mikhail Torrance... one of my favorites to ever play here. He got a raw deal from xCMG.

finebammer said...

just keep making my case for me.

Msmilie said...

Looks like Auburn has hired Bruce Pearl. Someone better check on CT to make sure he's okay.

finebammer said...

i know i shouldn't but:

David Cloninger @DCTheStateFollow

Keep in mind, Mark Gottfried wasn't the first guy NCSU went after. Or the second. Or the third. Or the fourth. Or the ninth.

9:01 PM - 20 Mar 2014

we know guys, we know.

crimsontider said...

Epic choke job by Gottfried and company last night, no doubt.