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Steve Victory JOURNAL – Early Season 2020-21
You don’t need to buy a new program to know who’s playing for Alabama this season. All 13 players from last year’s squad that went 20-17 are back. They, of course, are in a different class this year. Two players, SF Gregg Barnes and PF John Capel, enjoyed a redshirt year and are still considered freshmen. PG Javon Forbes and C Sam Steele, who didn’t play much last year as freshmen but have decent potential, will redshirt this season. All part of Victory’s plan to better balance out the classes so that 7 or 8 don’t leave the program in one season again (and to placate Faithless Frank – picture a guy with bitter beer face – who is back to his badgering ways in Tuscaloosa…
Here’s the rest of the lineup:
Starters: PG Cliff Williams, SG Earl Dixon, SF Ely Wilson (ready for big senior year?), PF Lincoln Dearman and C Jabari Wolff (really a PF but Victory needs him on the floor as much as possible).
Bench: PG David Smith (may push Williams for starting job – both considered “elite” playmakers), C Leroy Harriman, PF Capel, PF Marcus Davey, SG Nate Nolan, SF Barnes.
A few more vitals:
Prestige: Climbs to 57 (goes up 1 point after NCT title but goes up 2 after ACT runner-up finish? Huh ?!?)
Freshman Talent: Awful (because there are no true freshmen)
Overall Talent: Solid
Game Challenge: Normal
Expectations: Wouldn’t you know it, the ‘Bama chieftains just want a .500 conference record
Alabama’s first game of the season is a loss. But at least the 79-69 defeat is to defending national champion Louisville, who looks primed for a repeat effort.
The Tide gets hot from this point, winning the next four games and 11 of the next 12! UMass is the only team to get the best of Victory’s boys during this stretch, and they barely slide by 75-72. PG Cliff Williams gets injured in this contest (lost for 1-2 months!!), and Alabama struggles without him the rest of the game. PG David Smith fills in nicely though in his stead over the next few weeks.
The early-season schedule is a mixed bag of crappy teams and good ones. Some of the “good” wins come over NC State 88-61 in Raleigh, at North Carolina 83-72, Temple 93-59, Rutgers (not so good in my world) 84-63 and Dartmouth (CRI 73) 81-57. Alabama gets ready for the grueling SEC slate carrying an 11-2 record and a #13 ranking nationally. Not a bad rebound after last year’s 3-8 start.
Ely Wilson, Lincoln Dearman and Earl Dixon are leading he way, each averaging 14-15 ppg… Victory can’t figure out a way to get Wolff to score more at center but he is averaging better than 10 rebounds per game thus far…
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