April 9, 2009

Alabama introduces men’s hoops coach

New Alabama men's basketball Coach Anthony Grant was introduced Thursday at a packed on-campus news conference in Tuscaloosa, Ala.

Grant, 42, left Virginia Commonwealth last month and succeeds Mark Gottfried, who resigned in January.

He led the VCU Rams to a 24-10 record, a CAA title and a first-round defeat to UCLA at the 2009 NCAA Tournament. His overall record at VCU was 76-25, with a 45-9 conference mark.

In recruiting, we have some needs that we need to meet as a team right now, Grant said. We need to add another point guard, that's a priority. After that, we are going to try and improve this team (and) if we can sign a player who can come in a make a difference, we will.

The Tuscaloosa News reported that prized recruit Eric Bledsoe (Birmingham Parker High School) has Alabama high on his list.

He inherits a Crimson Tide team that went 18-14 (7-9 SEC West) this past season.