NCDS: John Brannen, Asst. Coach - Alabama

By: John Brannen, Asst. Coach - Alabama

We are in the stretch run of SEC play right now.  With five games to go, the mental state of your team is probably the most important aspect  this time of year...By now you have played pretty much everyone in the league and roles have been strictly defined...Players are often times looking forward to conference tournaments and postseasons.  March Madness is on everyone's mind and according to the media teams are playing themselves in and out of tournaments every night.  Where is your team's mental state?? That is a question our staff asks every day. 

We have played in a lot of close games this year and have not finished games off like we would have liked.  In fact, we've had three final possession losses in SEC play to this point.  However our guys have done a very good job of focusing in to each game plan and putting themselves in position to win every game.  That has really been the fun part about coaching this particular team.  In our last game versus Arkansas, we were able to make the plays down the stretch to insure a victory, hopefully that will carry over to some very difficult tests coming up. 

Our 1^st team here at Alabama has really been defined by our defensive consistency.  Throughout the season we have been at the top of the SEC in most defensive statistical categories.  Like the old motto goes,  "Defense wins games, offense decides by how much".   Our defensive success can be attributed to locking into scouting reports and game plans, our players are beginning to realize the importance of preparing for each game because each game has its own identity. 

Best of luck to all the teams out there during these final few weeks of conference play.

Roll Tide!!!