We did not make the trip to Baton Rouge for this one, but the events of Saturday afternoon warranted using more than just the Associated Press story. So we punched it up and wrote a localized version of the story from LSU. Here you go …
With an NCAA tournament bid anything but assured, Alabama basketball coach Anthony Grant made the difficult call.
In suspending three more starters on top of the already benched Tony Mitchell, Grant sent eight players to the floor Saturday night at LSU.
And the stars were missed. A scrappy second-half comeback fell short for the Crimson Tide as LSU ended its three-game winning streak 67-58.
Without Andrew Steele, JaMychal Green, and Trevor Releford, Alabama leaned on its highly decorated freshman class. Rodney Cooper’s 28 points was the most scored by any Tide player this season, while fellow newcomer Nick Jacobs added 14.
Using its full-court pressure in spite of the short bench, Alabama (16-8, 5-5 SEC) made a game of it. The Tide came within 42-39 with 11:25 left after trailing by as many as 16 late in the first half.
The real news came three hours before tipoff.
Alabama released a brief statement regarding the latest suspensions resulting from “rules violations.” Just as the punishment for Mitchell, who missed his second straight game, no timetable was given.
“Talent is a gift, but character is a choice. The consequences of their choices have negatively impacted them as individuals and the people that love and support them,” Grant said in the statement. “Our hope is that they will be mature enough to accept responsibility for their actions and place a higher value on their character.”
The three were driven back to Tuscaloosa by a graduate assistant coach as their young teammates prepared for a monumental task.
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I didnt hear a good reason why these were suspended? FIRE COACH GRANT,HES DESTROYING THE SEASON!
i totally disagree!!! first of all, it’s not grant’s responsibility to tell the masses what his players did to deserve punishment – that’s showing some measure of respect to his players by not broadcasting their misdeeds and further embarrassing them and their families. by suspending these players for violation of team rules, he’s sending a message that even the best players have to follow the rules. that is a major life lesson that these young men must learn. third, the season may be destroyed, but HE’S not the one responsible; rather, the players who have chosen to break the rules (and i feel sure the rules are not a secret) are destroying the season. i give coach grant tons of credit for making the tough decision to risk losing a basketball season rather than risk these 4 young men thinking that their talent is more important than them making good decisions, not just for the team, but for their lives!
the problem here is jamychal green.
first off i’ll say it’s incredibly short-sighted to even think of firing Anthony Grant. stupid thought set aside.
by the same token the argument can be made that this is a situation of Coach Grant’s making.
Coach Grant has cultivated a tough guy personna in his tenure at the Capstone but with how he’s allowed jamychal green to skate in the past, actions don’t meet image.
the fact is this is green’s THIRD suspension. he should have been sent packing last year. green has never lived up to his billing when he was recruited and has made one boneheaded decision after the other on the court and off.
i’ve been a fan of alabama basketball since the days of C. M. Newton. i’ve followed this team as far as madison, wisconsin. i’ve seen situations and coaches come and go.
at this point i could care less about the NCAA tournament.
there are bigger things at stake for the program right now and they depend on decisions made by our coach.
the first one to be made:
send jamychal green packing.
It doesnt matter what it is they done, We deserve the right to know why? We buy the tickets and keep the school afloat! If he gives me a good reason thats legit then ok everythings cool but if he wants to take his anger out on the team for a little nit pickey reason I say FIRE GRANT! This is the 3rd year for him and we are loaded with talent,time to start playing for the NCAA Title!
well matt, whether or not you think it’s your “right” to know, you won’t know until the time the players decide to release that information.
read carefully here: there are privacy laws that prohibit the athletic dept. from releasing the details of these suspensions without the permission of the players involved.
now often details are leaked by a third party and that may well happen in this case at some point. but to expect someone, whether it be a spokesperson or a coach, with the university to release this info without the players consent to satisfy your “right” to know is frankly just unrealistic and it just ain’t gonna happen.
my suggestion to you:
get over it.