By intheknow72
The time has come where a landmark hire needs to be made at the Capstone. 50 years beyond the Civil Rights Movement, it is time to destroy the color barrier, look beyond skin color and hire a coach that can revive the Alabama basketball program. In fact, it is past time. Alabama needs to fire Mark Gottfried and hire Mike Davis or Mike Anderson.

Can anyone make the argument that Mark Gottfried is a better coach than either of these Mikes? Currently, we do not have a basketball program. Sure, football rules in the state of Alabama, and yes, the Tide is back to their rightful place in the SEC West with our collective foot on the throats of our foes. But what’s wrong with having a meaningful basketball program? When we permanently take back the James E. Foy Sportsmanship trophy on March 3rd, some 30 days after notching our second top 5 recruiting class in Saban’s second year as football Czar, what’s wrong with having a basketball coach, regardless of color, who can administer the same 36 point beat down that we put on the kitties on the gridiron?

Mike Anderson (now at Missouri) is that kind of coach, with a blinding, relentless style that debilitates opponents. Or at least it did at UAB…UAB.

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Mike Davis brings a different style, but fundamentally sound basketball committed to the basics that wins games. It seems that a commitment to the fundamentals in football is what restored us to being the most feared, physical team in the SEC. And with only eleven players departing (if two underclassmen leave, nine if they don’t), that fear will remain.

Mark Gottfried is just an absolute joke. Missed free throws, double-digit turnovers, horrible game planning, poor defense, lackadaisical effort and a Shula-like deer-in-headlights stare from the bench makes it abundantly clear that it is time for a change. And again, let me again encourage you not to darken the door of Coleman Coliseum until that change has come.

Finally, let me be clear: I don’t want a coach because he is black. I want a coach because he is best, regardless of color. Auburn missed their opportunity to hire a coach in football that could have made a dent in Saban’s current stranglehold in this state. Why? Because of racism, short-sightedness and stupidity. I just wish we wouldn’t make the same mistake in basketball, and when we make our next hire, we’d make a hire that sends a message from sea to shining sea: the state that is home to Selma is now home to basketball excellence.

5 thoughts on “Alabama ready for a new coach”

  1. i don’t think we should be focusing on a particular name as much as we should be watching.

    i thinking we need a young up-and-comer. someone who can come in and breathe some life into this program.

    at the same time the athletic dept needs to make a legitimate commitment to basketball. IF WE’RE NOT GOING TO DO THIS, WE MIGHT AS WELL KEEP GOTTFRIED!

    where to start? how about expectations? the new guy needs to know we EXPECT to win the sec west. we EXPECT to win the tournament. we EXPECT action in march. (final four)

    we have to be ready with a plan for upgrading the program to show potential candidates.

    WE HAVE TO GET OUT OF F’KING COLEMAN!!!! the blueprint is uconn. they hired calhoun. they built new facilities. they set into motion a plan for championships.

    we have to get nick saban on board. this helps him too. a championship caliber basketball program helps make a more attractive scenario to recruit for football. florida has figured this out. texas has figured this out. ditto oklahoma.

    in the end if we don’t make the commitment, there’s NO sense in firing gottfried. nothing will change.

    as my high school football coach used to scream at us as we were running wind sprints in the august heat, “you gotta WANT IT!”

  2. Those guys can coach but can they recruit? I’m sure you think they can because white perception is that a black coach has an easier task when recruiting black players. Black players don’t necessarily play any harder for a black coach than a white one, in fact ‘familiarity breeds contempt’, and a black coach has a little harder time winning the respect of black players because of reverse perception. I am certainly speaking in generalities here, but let’s speak our minds in no fear with the goal of increasing our understanding of the issues.
    Lastly, this is not really the best nor right time to bring up the subject of firing/hiring a new BB coach. Better to bring this up near the end of the season when something can more realistically be done about it.

  3. “Lastly, this is not really the best nor right time to bring up the subject of firing/hiring a new BB coach. Better to bring this up near the end of the season when something can more realistically be done about it.”

    yeah, well that’s because we’ve passed up about 17 right and best times thanks to a don’t-give-a-shit-about-basketball athletic dept. to fire the incompetent boob that currently coaches this basketball team.

    so forgive us, daddio, if we offend your sensibilities and ‘speak our minds’.

  4. mark Gottfried should have been fired at least 3 years ago. What the hell is it going to take to get rid of this idiot. Somebody please go to Mal Moores house and wake his dumb ass up and clue him in on whats going on!!!!! If Gottfried had any balls about him, he would step down now, he has to know he is pathetic and is just bringing the program further down. Somebody please help us BAMA basketball fans!!!!!!

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