FanHouse Alabama Basketball

For some godforesaken reason, some Alabama fans and media think they have a shot at landing Michigan State's Tom Izzo as the replacement for Mark Gottfried. Apparently, just because their football coach, Nick Saban, is a former Michigan State coach, he can just extend a phone call and land Izzo at the drop of a hat.

There are two problems here. First of all, Izzo has already built a situation superior to one he could build at Alabama. He's worshipped on campus, and his family is settled in the area. You aren't going to uproot your entire life unless bowled over by money. How much more money does Alabama have to spend on a basketball coach than Michigan State? Not near enough, if any at all.

Alabama junior Anthony Brock's turn from the grief of attending the funeral of his grandmother Saturday to hitting the game winning shot Sunday is the stuff of poorly written TV scripts. That's part of what makes sports so fantastic. These things really happen.

On Sunday, the Vols got knocked off by Alabama on a desperation shot from mid-court with time expiring.

Anthony Brock was the hero who took the shot, throwing Alabama into hysteria. Yet a day earlier Brock was gripped with sadness, as he was mourning the loss of his grandmother at her funeral. It wasn't until late in the night that he re-joined the team. With little sleep for an early afternoon game and a heavy heart, Brock scored 11 points and shot 3-of-3 from behind the arc, including the game-winner.

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Apparently, Tubby Smith's departure from Minnesota can't come soon enough in the eyes of the media. When Lute Olson retired at Arizona, Tubby was tied to the job through pure conjecture, and now it's happening again. Earlier this week, Mark Gottfried "resigned" from his post at the University of Alabama. Today, everyone's favorite talking heads -- Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon -- got the ball rolling.

I guess the fact that Tubby Smith's two previous head coaching jobs came in the same conference as Alabama make it a quasi-logical destination. Other than that, though, there is little substance here.

Is this some cultural thing in Alabama of which I'm unaware? Rather than admit that they are canning their coaches, Alabama programs are releasing awkward press releases claiming the coach has resigned. Completely voluntary, and out of the blue. Nothing else to see here, honestly.

The problem with the scenario is that the coach is getting the full buyout as if he was fired without cause. No program will just toss extra money to a former coach when it does not have to.

Mark Gottfried resigned as head coach of the Alabama Crimson Tide basketball team today, a move that will certainly draw plenty of discussion as to whether he resigned or "resigned."

Under Gottfried, the Tide made the NCAA Tournament for five consecutive years but have struggled recently. Word on the street is that Phillip Pearson will take over the squad as the university conducts a full search for a coach.

Update: Harris is "alert" but Gillispie isn't talking much about his condition.

Ramon Harris didn't play during the second half of Kentucky's 61-51 win over Alabama today. That's because he was en route to the hospital after collapsing outside the locker room right before halftime.

During his post-game radio show, Coach Gillispie said that Harris is resting at the local hospital. "They said everything looks good. They're concerned, obviously. He's alert. After he threw up he felt better," said Gillispie.

Well, I guess all the college basketball honks get what they wanted: Luke Harangody's Notre Dame Fighting Irish facing off against Tyler Hansbrough and the North Carolina Tar Heels for the Maui Invitational championship.

Notre Dame 81, Texas 80: Harangody poured in 29 points and grabbed 11 boards in the win for the Irish. Notre Dame had to watch an A.J. Abrams half-court heave hit the front of the rim before celebrating their hard-fought win. The Irish made this game closer than it should have been as they missed 11 of their 21 free throw attempts. This is the only one of the eight games played in the Maui Invitational to have a margin of victory under 18 points.

North Carolina 98, Oregon 69: The Heels jumped all over Oregon early with aggressive defense and an offense that, when ran the way Roy Williams wants, looks unstoppable. Danny Green led the way again with 21 points.

The Maui Classic has always been one of the must-see events of the early part of the college basketball season. You get to see coaches in Hawaiian shirts (picture Phil Martelli), beautiful bump shots of the beaches and some good hoops action.

This year's Invitational is no different. The No. 1 ranked North Carolina Tar Heels headline the event which begins today. But they aren't the only story to watch as six of the eight teams in Maui were in the NCAA Tournament last year:

North Carolina: The top ranked team is the favorite to win this thing but the Heels are coming in on shaky ground. Marcus Ginyard is still out as is Tyler Zeller who is done for the year with a broken wrist. The story will be Tyler Hansbrough's shin. He played Friday against UCSB but will see his minutes carefully monitored this week. If he does well, so will the Heels.

Notre Dame: Doesn't everyone want to see a matchup of Hansbrough and Luke Harangody? It could happen if the Irish get by the Texas Longhorns. The key to winning the Maui will be Mike Brey's coaching against some of the biggest names in the nation.