6 Alabama

POS.	PLAYER	HT.	CLASS	KEY STATS
SF	Alonzo GEE	6'6"	Soph.	8.6 ppg	48.4 FG%
PF	Richard HENDRIX [RETURNING STARTER]	6'8"	Soph.	9.4 ppg	8.0 rpg
	Jermareo DAVIDSON [RETURNING STARTER]	6'10"	Sr.	14.3 ppg	8.9 rpg
SG	Brandon HOLLINGER [RETURNING STARTER]	5'11"	Soph.	2.3 ppg	1.2 apg
PG	Ronald STEELE [RETURNING STARTER]	6'3"	Jr.	14.3 ppg	41.2 3FG%
-- KEY RESERVE--
	Mykal RILEY*	6'6"	Jr.	18.4 ppg	4.4 spg

To promote junior point guard Ronald Steele, Alabama's marketing and sports information offices are planning to send backpacks emblazoned with his number 22 to members of the national media. The free pack is a fitting reminder that the Crimson Tide will go only as far as Steele can carry it.

In fact, given that Alabama has only one other returning player with more than a year of college experience (senior forward-center Jermareo Davidson), the 6'3" Steele will be shouldering an even heavier load than he did a year ago, when he led the team in total points (444), assists (132), steals (45), free throw percentage (an SEC-best 89.2) and minutes played (a staggering 38.4 per game, including 40.3 in conference games). Asked what would happen if Steele were to get injured, coach Mark Gottfried mutters, "Whoo, I don't want to think about that. That's like taking Dwyane Wade off the Heat."

The analogy is not far off: When the Crimson Tide lost star forward Chuck Davis last January to a torn ACL, its record stood at a bubblicious 7--6. Over the next 14 games, Steele played all but five minutes while leading the suddenly rolling Tide to 10 wins. Included in that stretch were overtime victories against Arkansas and Vanderbilt and upsets of LSU, Tennessee and future NCAA champ Florida (the Gators' final loss of the season). Despite not having scored more than 18 points in a game before Davis went down, Steele topped that number nine times the rest of the way. (He scored 23 and 21 points in the Tide's two NCAA tournament games.)

One thing Gottfried and his coaches must figure out is how to rest Steele. "At times I had to pace myself and conserve my energy," says Steele, whose assist-to-turnover ratio dropped from 2.46 to 1 as a freshman to 1.59 to 1 last year. "If I ever gave [Coach] a signal [about coming out], he'd look at me like, You can't be tired. This year I can focus on just playing hard."

Or at least he will if 6'4" freshman Mikhail Torrance, who's being converted from shooting guard to point guard, proves to be a solid backup. Steele will also be supported by one of the best frontcourts in the country, anchored by the athletic Davidson and rugged sophomore Richard Hendrix.

Each Alabama practice ends with the chant "A-T-L!," a reference to Atlanta, the site of this year's Final Four. Alabama has never advanced beyond the Elite Eight, but if the Tide makes it to Atlanta, everyone will know on whose back it arrived.

STARTING LINEUP
[This article contains a table. Please see hardcopy of magazine or PDF.]

RETURNING STARTER *JUNIOR COLLEGE STATS

BIG QUESTIONS
Despite four returning starters, does the Tide have enough depth?... After an easy schedule for the first two months, will it be prepared for the tough stretch that begins in January?... Will a lack of long-range shooters sweep the Tide out to sea?

SCHEDULE

Nov. 10 Jackson St.