Gone are the days of head Mark Gottfried and his high post UCLA offense or at least his plays. Last week Gottfried resigned as the head coach of the Alabama basketball team. Some fans are happy while most fans are sad to see him go. His players are remorseful, but know he is okay, because he met with the team after his meeting with Mal Moore. He let them know that he was proud of their hard work and dedication to the program and that he would miss them all. Gottfried and Moore agreed that he should resign based on a multitude of factors that have been building over the last three years. No NCAA bids, 14 consecutive SEC road losses, loss of Ronald Steele and numerous concerns about his play calling, defense and line-ups. Most will say that he has lost the motivation that is needed to compete in the SEC. I have to admit that I have become skeptical about the Tide’s play most recently and was wondering how long Gottfried would actually last. Rest assured that Moore will find a top replacement and he will bring great things to the University of Alabama. In the mean time Philip Pearson will be Alabama’s interim head coach. Here are the names that are in the mix for the Tide head basketball coach position:

• Anthony Grant- Head coach at Virginia Commonwealth University and former Florida associate head coach.
• Tubby Smith- Head coach at Minnesota and former SEC head coach at Georgia and Kentucky, with one National Title.
• Mike Anderson- Head coach at Missouri and former UAB head coach.
• Mike Davis- Head coach at UAB, former Indiana head coach and Alabama assistant. He was a Tide player from 1979 to 1982.
• John Calipari- Head coach at Memphis and spent time in the NBA as head coach of the New Jersey Nets and assistant with the Philadelphia 76ers.
• Scott Drew- Head coach at Baylor and son of legendary Valparaiso head coach Homer Drew.
• Sean Miller- Head coach at Xavier with assistant stints at Wisconsin, Miami (OH), Pittsburgh, N.C. State and Xavier.

Anthony Grant is the front runner, but look for Mike Davis to make a push for the position. As a former Tide player it would be great to see him in Crimson, again. All of these coaches make for an interesting choice, but Moore will choose the one that will bring an immediate impact for the Tide, make them an SEC dominate force and put them in the NCAA tourney.
On last Thursday night, Alabama (12-8, 2-4) faced off against Arkansas (13-5, 1-4) at Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville, AR. Alabama held an 11-8 lead in the opening minutes, but fell 80-89 as Arkansas hit 9 for 21 in three point shooting. The Razorbacks dominated the Tide by creating fouls and hitting 28 for 35 from the free throw. Both teams were virtually even on rebounding and turnovers, but the three point and free throw shooting gave the Tide its 15th consecutive SEC road loss.

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The game was fun to watch, but heart retching for Tide fans as Arkansas hit trey after trey. Every time the Tide would get close, the Razorbacks would open the lead back up by 10 and not allow the Tide to come back. Coach Pearson used the ole standby UCLA high post offense, unfortunately for Alabama it did not work against Arkansas. Arkansas was too fast off the break and forced Alabama to get out of position on defense. Offensively, Alabama scored 80 points, but did not utilize the potential of all their players. Freshman JaMychal Green put up 24 points and senior Alonzo Gee finished with 18 points for the Tide. On the other side, freshman Rotnei Clarke put up 26 points, hitting 6 treys and junior Michael Washington had 17 points for the Razorbacks. Another bright spot for Arkansas was freshman Jason Henry. Henry closed out with 7 points and led the Razorbacks with 8 rebounds. Alabama’s Mikhail Torrance hit only 2 three pointers and score 11 points as the point guard. Torrance’s move to the point, since the loss of Ronald Steele, has lead to two straight losses for the Tide and given opponents opportunities to take advantage. One obvious downfall for the Tide is that they are not creating opportunities for Senario Hillman. Hillman finished with 4 points and was 0 for 2 from the three point line. The Tide has to create openings for Torrance and Hillman to get the three going. They also must open-up the offense to allow Green and Gee to hit the mid-range jumpers and inside shots to be successful.

The Razorbacks are an underrated team full of youthful talent that needs to be more invariable in their play to be more successful. Arkansas has won enough non-conference games to be competitive in the NCAA tourney, but Alabama needs to win out and make it to the SEC final to make a NCAA bid. Alabama looks to improve offensively and defensively as they head home to play Georgia in the first home game since the resignation of Mark Gottfried. The Tide should win at home as both teams try to rebound from coach and game losses. Players to look at in this next game are Georgia’s Howard Tompkins and Alabama’s JaMychal Green. These two face off as freshman forwards and should create an interesting matchup. They will both fight for the boards and try to open up their team’s offensive plays. As the Bulldogs search for their first SEC conference win, the Tide looks to improve to 3-4 in SEC conference play.

Matt Compton
DFN Sports Alabama Correspondent