The Tide are so deep at forward that there will be some hurt feelings somewhere especially when you consider his incoming freshman class of recruits.  Sanderson has done what are you supposed to do in locking down the home state especially the Birmingham area which is a burgeoning hot spot of basketball talent.  There might not be enough basketballs for all of these players but somebody has to get them the ball and none of these kids are exactly ballhandlers.  They are athletic and long leapers.  But let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves as Sanderson has some real studs coming back, a few of them he did not even recruit as even before he became head coach the plaid wearing coach was the recruiting guru for Newton.  The Tide will be anchored by juniors Reggie King and Leon Douglas and team captain senior Jerry Harper.  Harper has had a great career for Bama and showed that he belonged with the big boys of the SEC even though he comes from all places Louisville.  He is probably the best rebounder ever in this conference and was the epitome of the hard-working glass man.  He missed some games last year but this 6’8 215 pounder will be back manning the post again at full speed.  Unless, of course one of these kids beats him out which would probably cause a riot in Tuscaloosa.  The battle for minutes after he went down last year was like an open door for a group of supremely talented players to step forward and be noticed.  And they did.

King and Douglas are the leaders of the Bama squad once Harper went down and look to be again.  Physical players who work hard and did not back down from anyone are the perfect models for the incoming group of studs Sanderson had recruited.  Douglas handled most of the center matchups for the Tide and in a conference that features the likes of Alex Groza and Neal Walk, these are not easy chores.  Still, Douglas held his own and his ability to eat up space down below and guard big men in the post are necessary for the athletes of this team to thrive.  At 6’10 230 Douglas is the biggest and thickest of all the bigs who rotate in for the Tide but he is the most important.  You cannot win in big time college basketball if you do not have big men who can play low post defense.  Douglas is a solid offensive player as well with a good low post game.  King is also a physical player who started at small forward for the Tide and will again.  King is a leader and though he increasingly lost minutes to some of the younger and more athletic recruits, King’s ability to handle less playing time for the good of the team and still be a vocal force in the locker room cannot be underappreciated.   The Mule never did lose his starting job and he still contributed some clutch moments near the end and will remain a huge part of this team this year as he and Douglas have no plans of leaving early.  Some of their underclassmen friends might not feel the same. 

Another Junior, Wendell Hudson started the season in the rotation up front but was too small for the grind in the paint of the SEC.  He has been a huge part of the team’s development as he was the first black player on the team and is a great leader.  His recruitment opened up the flood gates for this program and he is held in high regard.  Still, at 6’6 185 playing the four is no easy task no matter how tough you are.  Hudson is an inside player who can jump and is tough as nails.  His game is not conducive to the small forward so he is kind of out of options.  No way Sanderson, who was a huge part of bringing him to Tuscaloosa, lets him go out to pasture even with all of the studs coming to town.  His presence is too important.  But how much he plays is in question.  Senior Bob ‘TI’ Andrews is even further down the totem pole then Hudson is.  Andrews, who got the nickname the Librarian for his ability to maneuver amongst the shelves or the big men of the SEC, was once a starter here.  Andrews is only 6’5 and will not play much this year with the kids coming in unless there are some major injuries or busts. 

Speaking of being able to slide down to the three, Sophomore Derrick McKey may have been the most unheralded player on this talented squad but his ability to play both ends of the court may be as important the success of the Tide as anyone’s.  McKey has a smooth game that shows his skills in handling and shooting the ball.  McKey also can score from anywhere and is as an unselfish passer.  The part of the game that sets McKey apart from others though is his ability to guard people.  Blessed with an incredible reach due to overlong arms, the 6’9 McKey is the man called upon to shut down the other teams main weapon whether he be a low post scorer or a wing man.  McKey can handle the challenge as he did when he contained superstar Bernard King in a huge tourney game. Not the flashiest Bama player but possibly the most diverse, The Tide could have never achieved the surprising success they had without Derrick McKey.  Fellow Sophomores Buck Johnson and David Benoit are solid role players who did not get much time but when they did they performed well.  Benoit is more of a defensive specialist who can block a shot and Johnson is all offense so they complimented each other well on a fine JV squad.  Another sophomore, the much heralded Bobby Lee Hurt, will battle Douglas for minutes.  Hurt goes 6’10 240 and can hang in the paint with anyone.  This Huntsville kid was highly recruited and played well behind Douglas when he got the chance.  Sanderson wanted some seasoning and kept him on the JV most of last year and this kid is chomping at the bit to show he can play with the big boys. 

Now for the back court which is nowhere near as loaded as that front line.  The starting two guard should be junior Charles Cleveland once again.  This 6’5 stud from tiny Brent Alabama uses his 6’6 size to his advantage.  He loves to get inside and do his thing.  He can score and is a good board but is not much of a long-range guy.  Sanderson loves this kid but he knows he is more of a three than a two and he is full at the three.  A trio of seniors will vie for minutes but none of them are exactly Pistol Pete.  Jack Kubiszyn, George Linn and Mike Nordholz all can score some but none bring much to the defensive end of the court.  No worries, Junior T.R. Dunn is as good of a defensive specialist as there is in the country.  Dunn’s ability to guard anybody on the perimeter is legendary.  Big, strong and quick, Dunn loves the opportunity to match up with the finest guards in the country and shut them down.  Not much offensively.  Dunn’s attempt at becoming a point guard early on may not have been successful but Coach Sanderson knew he had an ace in the hole with this guy coming off the bench to lock down whoever needed to be stopped.  He is not a starter, for now, and Sanderson would like to be able to find someone else as athletic as some of the forwards coming into town.  Heck, McKey got some minutes there but as good as he is defensively, he is not a two guard. 

Point guard was a position the Tide was worried about going into the season and in the early going Coach Sanderson tried many different players trying to find a general.  Sophomore Ennis Whatley solidified the one questionable area of the Tide attack.  Whatley was the perfect complement to the terrific athletes that Sanderson has recruited.  Whatley loves to distribute the ball and is adept at running an offense.  He can run the fastbreak or distribute the ball to the big boys in the post equally.  He is not a gunner but does not need to be on a team filled with scorers.   Kubiszyn goes 5’11 and has tried the point to stay on the court but he is a scorer and not a distributor.  Junior Anthony Murray is inconsistent but has his moments and will be the backup for now.  Fellow sophomore Terry Coner was good on the JV and could challenge to back up and has a nice three point touch.  Junior Ray Odums, might not be coming back after he was replaced by Whitley.   Odums moonlights as a cornerback for Bryant and missed a bunch of games early on opening the door for Whitley to take over.  In the olden days players could swing between sports primarily because the basketball team was not getting enough talent and the Bear allowed his players to jump over to help his buddy Newton build his program.  Those days are over now as Sanderson and his assistants and everyone else in Tuscaloosa build this program to elite status. 

The Alabama Crimson Tide went into last season with many question marks for new Coach Wimp Sanderson.  A great start had the fans turning their heads ever so slightly from the gridiron towards the basketball court as Sanderson’s boys looked to shake up the SEC.  At one point the Tide were 12 and 6 and looked like shoeins to the Big Dance.  A team full of talent had way too many injuries and problems led to a seesaw of a final month that left the Tide on the proverbial bubble going into the SEC tourney as the 4 seed.  A heartbreaking loss to the Tigers of LSU in the second round knocked the team into the NIT and left the fans of Tuscaloosa looking forward to spring drills once again.  Sanderson has put together as much overall talent as you can have in a program that is not named North Carolina or Kentucky.  Their starting five might not be LSU’s but their depth is second to only the Wildcats in the SEC.  Now the man who is not dead who wears plaid just has to be able to push the right buttons to get this team over the hump to the promised land. All of the key players from this squad are returning and hopes are high that the Tide can keep it’s roll going through the entire season next year.  And maybe this year they won’t be the girl sitting in the corner while all of her uglier friends get asked to dance because the boys are afraid of the hot girl turning them down.