The Starting Five: Cornell

Five Stats, Facts, or People you need to know heading into the game against the Big Red.

1. The Anthony Grant Era begins. After much anticipation, speculation, and deliberation, Coach Grant will finally put a product on the hardwood when it really means something on Saturday. It has been seven and a half months since Grant first landed in Tuscaloosa to a large crowd (by basketball standards) at the Tuscaloosa Airport. He has mentioned he wants an up-tempo style of play and a defense that covers 94 feet of the floor. The jury is a long ways out on the offense, but the defense seems to be working quite well so far. In two exhibition games against Montevallo and D-II power Augusta State, the Tide gave up an average of 54 points per game. Say what you want about the competition, but holding a team in Augusta State who shot 50% from the field last year to 55 points was a feat in itself.
2. Turnovers are going to haunt the Tide early. As I said, the jury is still out on the offense after two exhibition games. The points weren't too hard to come by in game one, but game two saw a struggle from the Crimson Tide on offense. Alabama has turned the ball over 45 times in two exhibition games while trying to learn the new offense. The Tide have thrown many errant passes as well as some that are ill advised in trying to play at a much faster pace. Mikhail Torrance said in the pre-season that the goal is to score 100 every time out. Right now that is not feasible, and the sooner the Crimson Tide figures this out, the better off they will be sooner.
3. JaMychal Green needs to show up in the first half. I have said numerous times in the pre-season that in order for Alabama to sniff any post season tournament, JaMychal Green must play at an All-SEC level this season. The second half of games, Green can be considered All-American at this point, but he doesn't show up on the stat sheet until the second frame of twenty. Green scored 30 points between the two exhibition games and 28 of those points came in the second half. He only missed one free throw in the exhibition games, going 10-11 from the charity stripe. Producing in the first half will be huge for Green and the Tide, but he must stay on the floor and out of foul trouble. Green sat early against Augusta State because of fouls, and he knows to do his best to avoid foul trouble since the Tide is not deep in the post this year.
4. Cornell is not your basic lower tier school. Many schools want to believe they are beginning the year off with an easy win, just something to set a foundation. The truth is, not every team can play Alcorn State to begin the year. There are going to be those teams, like Rider and Niagra, who will give you a run for your money. Cornell is beyond those squads. The Big Red are the two-time defending Ivy League champions. They are the first school other than Penn or Princeton to ever win back-to-back league titles. When breaking down their team, the question arises of where to start. You can start at senior guard Louis Dale, who has been the Ivy League Player of the Year for two years now. Or maybe last season's Rookie of the Year in Chris Wroblewski. How bout Cornell's most prolific three point shooter in school history Ryan Wittman. The list goes on and on for a team who returns eight of their top nine scorers from a year ago.
5. Don't be shocked by a Big Red victory. With everything that was mentioned about the Tide's woes and the Big Red's strengths, do not be surprised if the Crimson Tide drop their season opener for the second straight year. Cornell is going with a smaller lineup to try and combat the Crimson Tide's fast paced offense, but Alabama still plays a good half-court set when they choose to pass the ball inside. The Crimson Tide will not only force turnovers, but will give the ball away themselves. This game will come down to who can shoot the ball the best, and Cornell seems to be that team. It also doesn't hurt that the Big Red have a lineup laden with seniors who are full of experience in their current system.