Erik Evans

1 week ago | rollbamaroll.com | Erik Evans

Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images I know we were somewhat optimistic last season when the Tide’s SEC Basketball schedule was released. It looked daunting, but no one anticipated it to be quite as difficult as it would prove to be. This year’s conference schedule was released today, and this time, I promise, there are some bright spots to be had in the nation’s most demanding conference.

1 week ago | rollbamaroll.com | Erik Evans

Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images Happy Gump Day everyone. We’ll try to keep this upbeat (though we do have to mock the NCAA in a bit). First up, 247 is starting their in-depth recap / position preview this week. And today’s menu features the “bandit” and “wolf” positions. No, I don’t know what those mean, and I don’t care that I don’t know either: Mike, Will, SDE, Nose etc were good enough for Coach Saban, Pawwwwwl. (And yes I’m ignoring his “star” and “money” labels too.

1 week ago | rollbamaroll.com | Erik Evans

Photo by Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images Despite being the Texas 3A PoTY, Keitenn Bristow was a lightly-recruited three-star power forward out of the small town of Holliday. With its proximity to Lubbock, North Texas, and the DFW metroplex, you’d think someone would have offered a player with 2100 points and 500 career rebounds. That was not the case, though. Not even UTSA, SFA, Sam Houston or North Texas offered him — much less the major D1 players in the state.

1 week ago | rollbamaroll.com | Erik Evans

Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images If Aiden Sherrell is the high energy offensive weapon waiting to come into his own, and Noah Williamson is the swing forward that brings you a bit of everything, then Taylor Bol Bowen rounds out the trio of ‘Bama bigs, being defined by a quality the Tide has consistently lacked in the post: He’s a defensive terror. That’s not all he is, of course. And, it’s not even what jumps out the most about his game.

2 weeks ago | rollbamaroll.com | Erik Evans

Photo by Harry How/Getty Images It is no secret that last year SEC basketball enjoyed to best single season by any conference in the history of the sport. The SEC went 185-23 against the rest of the nation. It finished with a 37-18 record against the non-SEC Top 25. It set a record with 14 teams in the NCAA tournament: Half of the Sweet 16 came from the South.