Gary Cosby-USA Today Sports
5 on 5: Things That Turned Our Head About Alabama Athletics This Week
If you've seen 5 on 5 before, you know how it works. This is where you'll find items that we're hearing and tidbits that we feel that our readers would like to know.
However, everything listed is considered TIFWIW (take it for what it's worth):
1) The latest NCAA Tournament projections by D1Baseball had Alabama as a No. 2 seed, with the Crimson Tide heading out west to play in the Stanford Regional. The other teams in the group were UC Santana Barbara and San Diego State.
At 33-16 (11-13 SEC), Alabama's RPI is No. 14, which is up three spots from a few days ago. Coming off the series win at then No. 5-Vanderbilt, the Crimson Tide is 6-10 against top 25 RPI teams, but 7-1 against the next 25 (26-50).
Director of Athletics Greg Byrne told reporters at the Regions Pro-Am on Wednesday that he doesn’t anticipate anything that would keep the team from playing in the postseason following the betting scandal that cost head coach Brad Bohannon his job. But the fact that Alabama's tournament stock is on the rise is both impressive and remarkable.
With two weekends to go in the regular season (at Texas A&M and vs. Ole Miss), Alabama's on the doorstep of clinching a spot in the SEC Tournament, and has a decent chance to finish above .500 in league play. The Crimson Tide is on target to be the No. 8 seed in the 12-team field playing in Hoover at the end of the month.
2) This is one of those take-it-for-what-it's-worth items, but someone in the know described the dugout and locker room feeling after the baseball coaching change was made as "relieved" and "breath of fresh air." If so, it helps explain he team's strong play since then (3-1).
Also, Nick Saban was directly involved with some of the internal damage control. That doesn't sound like someone who's thinking of retiring soon, does it?
3) With the initial odds and projected wins released for the upcoming college football season one can't help but notice that Alabama is facing four of the top 15 national title contenders listed by SI Sportsbook. Georgia will play just one, Tennessee. The Bulldogs' only other opponent projected to finish with more than seven wins is Ole Miss (7.5), and the Rebels are obviously on the Crimson Tide's schedule as well. The inequity is one of the reasons why the SEC will likely do away with divisions after Oklahoma and Texas join next year.
4) Social media went crazy over speculation that Missouri standout Kobe Brown could enter the transfer portal if he decides to withdraw his name from the 2023 NBA Draft, with Kentucky, Alabama, Arkansas and Memphis listed as possible destinations.
This falls into the "we'll believe it when we see it" category. First off, the Huntsville product has been invited to the NBA combine and he has a legitimate shot of being drafted. Matt Babcock of NBA Draft Digest Pro has Brown listed as his No. 49 prospect after he averaged 15.8 points, 6.8 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game last season.
Second, Brown is already 23 years old and already one of the oldest prospects in the draft. NBA teams are selecting younger, not older, and his stock isn't likely to rise any more even with another season of college basketball.
5) The Lott Impact Trophy announced its initial watch list for the 2023 season, which featured 42 players including Alabama defensive backs Kool-Aid McKinstry and Malachi Moore.
It begs the question, why is any award doing a watch list in May, especially when teams are still adding transfers? We're not a fan of watch lists anyway, but the rest of them don't come out until at least July when media days are being held.
See Also: The 10 Best NFL Games for Alabama Fans During 2023 Season
