Alabama did its best impression of the Washington Generals last night as the team allowed a 28-point lead to shrink to 6. The Tide went almost 15 minutes without a basket as Florida went on a 21-2 run. Alabama won, but…
Mark Gottfried’s game management was abysmal. He once again failed to call a timeout to stop an opponent’s run. Gottfried watched the lead shrink to nine before calling a timeout. He let minutes tick from the clock. He let the Tide miss free throw after free throw. He watched as the intensity dropped from a first half high to a second half lull.
Last night’s win vindicated Gottfried critics. Even in success, there were moments of failure.
The game wouldn’t have been close if players hit free throws in the second half. The best way to beat Alabama would be to foul every possession.
Billy Donovan also made several coaching errors. During the first minutes of the game, he shuffled players on and off the court—which hurt his young players confidence (you could see it in their poor shooting), and their ability to get into the flow of the game (seen on the defensive end of the court.)
Donovan over-managed, and it put the Gators into an enormous hole.
Alabama’s offense was at its best pressing, pushing the ball up the court. Unfortunately, Alabama was at its worst running its half-court offense. Some things never change.
Gottfried should utilize his athletic advantage and run the court, play aggressive defense and generate fast break opportunities. For God’s sake do something different in our half-court game.
Hope remains for Alabama and even Gottfried, but each debacle like last night dampens what hope remains.
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Good take, as usual. Donovan called a timeout when we went up 4-0, but somehow that idea escapes Gottfried as an opponent is destroying our lead. That is one of the basics of coaching. There are few things you can control as a coach, but momentum is one of them. But as I’ve said for years, Gottfried NEVER has a plan B waiting. If his game plan (that’s a joke) isn’t working, there’s no adjustments to be made…so I guess what good would it be to call a time out? What would they discuss? Dinner plans?