Grant Talks Hoops Expectations to the Media

By tempadmin

If you see Alabama basketball coach Anthony Grant walking around with a HUGE smile on his face, he has reason to. Grant finally has a team that not only can be competitive in the SEC, but can win the SEC as well.

Coach Grant talked about his team recently in a press conference that was held earlier this week. Grant sees great potential in his newcomers as well as his returning players.

“I've been impressed by all of our new guys,” Grant said Wednesday to the press. “This is a group that has a chance and really will need to impact our team.”

Although Grant is excited about this team, he realizes that they are very young and might have to grow up quickly if they want to have a chance to do some damage this year.

“That's a young team,” said Grant. “All of those guys will have opportunities. I've been impressed with the way they come, every day, in terms of their work ethic, the way they go about the business off the court, in the classroom, being on time for things, those kinds of things that are the beginning.”

Grant said right now, coaches are limited to working just a few hours a week with each player with the max they can work with is four.

There is some bad news though for the Tide, one of the players they planned to depend on this year 7-foot junior college transfer Mousa Gueye, may miss a few games to begin the season. Gueye had surgery a few weeks ago to repair a torn knee ligament.

Grant still hopes that Gueye will be back soon.

“It's just a matter of how his body responds,” Grant said. “Obviously we're hopeful that he can return.”

Gueye’s injury has not stopped the buzz surrounding the basketball team and newcomer’s freshman guards Trevor Lacey and Rodney Cooper who Grant thinks will contribute this season, but he realizes with the buzz come expectations, expectations that Grant’s team is expected to meet in his third year.

“It's great that there's a lot of positive conversation in terms of looking forward to the season and the potential our team has,” Grant said. “Those expectations are healthy, but we've got to set our own expectations in terms of who we are and the identity that this team is going to adapt and who we are going to become. Last year has no impact on this year's team.”