ESPN’s Jeff Goodman Surveys the College Basketball Scene [Audio]

As fans in Tuscaloosa celebrated another stellar day in recruiting for Alabama football, the Alabama men’s basketball team capped off the first half of their conference schedule with an 87-68 loss at Arkansas Wednesday night.

To help survey the college basketball scene including the future of Alabama basketball, ESPN basketball writer Jeff Goodman discussed a variety of issues relating to college basketball on Tuesday’s edition of Inside the Locker Room.

While it’s a long shot for Alabama to make the NCAA Tournament this season, conventional wisdom suggests that the future is bright thanks to an outstanding recruiting class set to play in 2017-2018.

Coach Avery Johnson signed five players in the November signing period including five-star point guard Collin Sexton and four-star shooting guard John Petty.

To begin his look at the future of Alabama basketball, Goodman summarized the profiles of Sexton and Petty beginning with John Petty.

“He’s just got kind of a pro game to me. He’s got great size for a wing. He can make shots. He’s big. He’s strong. He’s athletic.” Goodman said.

ESPN’s college basketball writer also took a look at Collin Sexton’s play as a point guard.

“Sexton’s just a guy who can get buckets. Kind of the new-age point guard. Not a true point (guard), not in terms of what we think of a point.” Goodman stated.

Goodman then offered his forecast concerning the impact that both players can make next season for Alabama.

“Both of these guys are exciting. They’re athletic. They’re strong. They’re tough, so I think they can come in as freshman and make an impact right away, and they’re going to need to.” Goodman said.

With slightly more than a month remaining until the SEC Tournament, eight of the 14 teams in the SEC have records below .500 in conference play. In addition to the overall weakness of the conference, Goodman highlighted another characteristic for SEC teams like Alabama that are looking to build a resume for the NCAA Tournament.

“You’ve got to do well as a league in November or December to have those resume wins when conference play starts, and they’re just aren’t enough out there right now.” Goodman said.

Goodman later elaborated on other issues affecting college basketball including style of play and inconsistent officiating.

Catch Inside the Locker Room every weekday from 7-9 AM on Tide 102.9/100.9 and the radioPup app.