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Steve Victory JOURNAL – Non-conference 2018-19
It takes Alabama about a half to find its groove in the season opener against Miami. After falling behind 43-30, the Tide storms back to win it 76-66. Travis McQuay ignites the rally with 24 points, 16 rebounds and four blocks. Nice!
McQuay looks like an All-American again the next night as Alabama dismantles Texas A&M in the Preseason ACT semifinals 94-60. McQ scores 22, yanks down 11 boards, even swipes three steals. This could be a great year!
But, as folks who have followed ‘Bama the past decade know, the Crimson Tide can’t seem to sustain their runs for very long. Manhattan trips Victory’s bunch 65-63 in the title game. Once again, Coach V gets second place in the ACT – a recurring theme in this dynasty…
The rest of the non-conference slate goes in similar fashion. There’s another big win over Texas A&M (they were already on the schedule before the ACT). Then there’s a 69-64 loss to #8 Maryland. Alabama dismantles four foes in a row – Maryland-Baltimore County (92-44), Stetson (95-66), Pittsburgh (96-63) and Samford (85-58). Then they lose two straight to SMU and South Florida (who actually aren’t that bad this season – both have CRIs in the 50-60 range).
When the non-conference slate ends, Alabama is holding a 12-4 overall record. At least the Tide finished its pre-SEC slate with a bang – getting wins over Montana, Virginia Tech, Washington and Radford. And at this point Maryland and Manhattan are still ranked pretty highly, so those losses don’t seem as bad. It’s just Victory believes his team is capable of being so much better. McQuay has quieted some as teams are figuring him out. Others have had good nights but no one has yet cemented himself as the go-to guy. One problem Victory needs to figure out – how to keep his guys out of foul trouble, especially the post players.
“Men, we’re going to have to reach another level if we’re to defend our SEC championship this year – and fare well in the NCT,” Victory says at practice before the conference opener against Ole Miss.
As expected, a few games before SEC play starts, junior centers Darrell Wynn and Loren Tracy both heed the call of NBA dollars and declare themselves eligible for next year’s draft. That means Victory has eight spots to fill. Pretty much a whole new team will play in Tuscaloosa next winter. That makes this year all the more important if Victory wants to reach some of his NCT goals…
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