Alabama basketball coach Anthony Grant will get his first crack at a team where he was once an assistant coach and ace recruiter. Grant was a Florida assistant under Billy Donovan from 1996-2006 after following Donovan to Gainesville from Marshall where he was brought in as an assistant in 1994. Grant left Florida following the first of their back to back National Championships to become
Anthony Grant will face Florida for the first time
the head coach of Virginia Commonwealth. He spent three years as the head coach of the Rams compiling a 76-25 record and leading them to two NCAA tournament bids in his three year run that included a win over Duke in the 2007 tournament.
After leading VCU back to the NCAA tournament last year, Grant left to come to Tuscaloosa to become the head coach of the Crimson Tide. So far in Grant’s first season the Tide are stuck in a rebuilding process and their NCAA tournament hopes are looking very dim following their one point loss in Auburn Saturday.
The Crimson Tide sit at 13-8 (3-4) on the season. They are about to embark on a deadly three game stretch that I said would decide the season, although now they are really going to need to win all three to keep their tournament hopes alive. The beginning of that three game stretch starts tonight in Tuscaloosa at 6:00 PM ET as the Tide will host the Gators in an SEC showdown.
Florida is coming in at 15-6 (4-3) and had their four game SEC win streak snapped on Sunday with their one point loss in Knoxville. Although, during that four game streak the Gators weren’t exactly playing the class of the conference. In their two previous SEC games they were beaten on the road against Vanderbilt and at home against Kentucky.
Alabama was riding a wave of momentum following back to back SEC wins over Mississippi State and LSU following a three game losing streak within the conference. But, all that ended when the Tide invaded Beard-Eaves and lost the heartbreaker at the hands of rival Auburn. Even on the road, that was an unacceptable loss for the Tide and a game that was a must before they started this big stretch of the season.
The biggest thing I’ve tried to preach to all of you this season is patience, because it’s going to take time for Anthony Grant to build a program. You need not look any further than the football team and Nick Saban’s first year in Tuscaloosa in 2007. The Tide finished just above .500 at 7-6, but in just three years Saban lifted the Tide back to prominence and the BCS National Championship back on January 7th.
I don’t think Anthony Grant will be able to have the same success as Nick Saban, but I think it’s just a matter of time when he gets his recruits in there that the Tide will become perennial contenders in the SEC.
As for tonight’s game, the Crimson Tide will be in for a fight against Anthony Grant’s former team and I expect it to be a really good game. I like Alabama’s chances at home if they take care of the basketball and force Florida into turnovers. I believe that the Tide will be pumped for this game and take this one at Coleman before they head to the road for games with Ole Miss and Kentucky.
Prediction: Alabama 70, Florida 66
