Alabama’s exhibition nightmare is in the past, and all focus is now trained on Friday’s season opener.
The Crimson Tide men’s basketball team will begin the 2013-14 season on the road against the Oklahoma Sooners in Dallas, Texas. Alabama and Oklahoma will face off in the first game of the Buckets and Boots Showcase in the American Airlines Center – home to the Dallas Mavericks – at 4 p.m.
“Obviously, the start of college basketball season, everybody’s excited,” coach Anthony Grant said in a Wednesday teleconference. “I know our guys are eager to get started, and we’re looking forward to the opportunity to come and compete.”
And so are the Sooners.
Oklahoma reached the NCAA Tournament with an at-large bid and fell to San Diego State in the second round, but the Sooners are hungry to play again in March in coach Lon Kruger’s third season.
Kruger praised Grant and Alabama for the way the Crimson Tide has competed in recent seasons.
“They’re a club that’s always well-coached, well-prepared and play extremely hard,” Kruger said. “[They’re] returning some really good players from last year’s squad, as well as some top-flight newcomers.”
In Monday’s exhibition game against West Georgia, Grant started Trevor Releford, Retin Obasohan, Rodney Cooper, Nick Jacobs and Carl Engstrom. But the Alabama coach said several players did not play to their full potential Monday night and hinted that the starting lineup could be moved around before the season opener.
The team is still without junior guard Levi Randolph.
“For me, it’s just a matter of trying to get a feel for our team this early in the year,” Grant said. “Obviously every opponent’s different. [But] right off the bat playing an opponent the caliber of Oklahoma, we’ve got to be prepared to try to put a team out there that does the best job to give us a chance to win against their talent.”
The Crimson Tide barely escaped its lone exhibition game with a 65-64 overtime win, and Grant and the players were not pleased with their performance.
Senior guard Trevor Releford said the team must address several issues, including rebounding, before it takes on the Sooners.
“I think it was just execution and missing shots,” Releford said. “We can’t control that. … It’s just stuff we’ve got to work on in practice and just get better at.”
Alabama and Oklahoma will play in the first game of the triple header, followed by SMU and TCU at 6:30 p.m. and Baylor and Colorado at 9 p.m.
“It will be a great challenge for our team to open the season up with such a quality opponent,” Grant said. “We’re excited about the game, and it will be a great day for college basketball.”
