ESPN analyst Kara Lawson has enjoyed lots of success throughout her career. She won a gold medal, a WNBA championship and became the first female analyst to call a nationally televised NBA game in 2007. Her knowledge of the game is undeniable, and during our talk, she told me how much she respects Alabama coach Anthony Grant and what Alabama has to do to make the NCAA tournament.
The Crimson White: What have you seen from this Alabama team, and do you think they can make the tournament?
Kara Lawson: I think they are like a bunch of teams that are in the middle of the pack of their conference. They are trying to better their resume, and they still have work to do. They still have a couple wins to get. They only have two wins against the RPI Top 50 [teams].
CW: When you watch this team, what do you think their biggest weakness is – is it their outside shooting or their level of play? What do you see?
KL: Obviously, they struggle to score, but it’s a part of their identity. They’re going to play really hard on defense and make it tough for their opponents to score. But they’ve done that all year. Even when they were losing, they still defended very well. For them, it’s just finding consistency from guys offensively. They have guys who have the tools to score – it’s just a matter of getting out there and doing it in the game.
CW: Do you see any ‘sure-fire’ NBA guys on this team?
KL: It’s hard to say, because you don’t know a guy’s drive. The two guys that stand out as far as having the NBA athleticism would be [JaMychal] Green and [Tony] Mitchell. But right now, I think they are inconsistent in terms of their production. Maybe they’ll get a chance, but they’ll have to work really hard to make a roster. It’s about how you fit with a team and just busting your butt competing and working to get there.
CW: People have a lot of respect for Coach Grant. You saw what he did at VCU, and he’s rebuilding this Alabama team. How do you see him as a coach?
KL: I think Anthony has done a really good job of getting his teams to buy in and play hard. You know what you’re going to get from him and he gets the best out of his players. I respect the fact that he remains true to what he believes, and he knows what it takes to win games. One of the hardest things to do is to get your players to play hard on the defensive end every possession, and he does that.
CW: Kentucky is the class of the SEC, and you also have Florida and Vanderbilt right up there. What does Alabama have to do as a program to break into that upper echelon of the SEC and also compete on the national level?
KL: It comes down to players. Kentucky recruits top-flight talent. So does Florida. If you look at Vanderbilt, they don’t have a ton of recruits, but all of their guys are juniors and seniors. It’s about getting good players and having them buy into your system. Think back five or six years ago, we’re not talking about Vanderbilt as a top team. Any institution can raise their profile if they get continuity and consistency from the top.
CW: Gut feeling – does Alabama make the NCAA tournament this year?
KL: I think they will. But they still have to get a few more good wins. As you know, it’s all about how you finish, and there is still a lot of work to do for them. I wouldn’t say they are in right now, but I think ultimately they will be. I think they’ll get enough good wins.
