http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/sports/9192042.htm?1c
Gottfried brushes off sky-high expectations
*JOHN ZENOR*
*Associated Press*
*TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - *Mark Gottfried is doing his best to puncture the blown-up expectations from Alabama's deepest NCAA tournament run.
Sure, the Crimson Tide has four returning starters, including its top three scorers. But Gottfried quickly points out that there's barely any experience beyond that and forward Kennedy Winston is still recuperating from knee surgery in June.
"I ain't buying all this high expectation stuff - yet," Gottfried said Monday during a gathering with reporters. "I think we have a chance, but we just have a lot of questions that we have to get answered."
The two biggest questions are how will Winston's knee hold up and who will replace point guards Antoine Pettway and Demetrius Smith.
Winston had surgery on his left knee last September and had scar tissue removed last month. Gottfried said he's expecting the Tide's leading scorer to be cleared to resume running in a few weeks. In the meantime, he's only been able to work out his upper body in the weight room and has packed on about 18 pounds to his playing weight of 220 pounds.
"They're just being real cautious with him," Gottfried said. "He's not been allowed to lift or run or do any lower-body work. He hasn't played in a pickup game in probably close to two months."
Gottfried is expecting freshmen Glenn Miles and Ronald Steele - a two-time Alabama Mr. Basketball - to compete for the point guard job. He also welcomes two more signees, junior college transfer Jean Felix and shooting guard Albert Weber, and redshirted four newcomers last season, including big men Shawn Taylor (6-foot-11) and Akini Adkins (6-9).
The only other key departure was Emmett Thomas, a backup forward who averaged 8.7 points per game for a team that upset top-seeded Stanford to advance to the NCAA tournament's round of eight. Alabama, which had never advanced beyond the round of 16, was knocked out by eventual champion Connecticut.
"All the expectations people are talking about, I've not bought into it yet," Gottfried said. "We've got a lot to prove to be a bonafide Top 25 team right now."
The players have apparently responded to the challenge. Gottfried said nine stayed on campus and attended classes during the first summer session, taking a total of 60 hours with the lowest grades being two C's.
Guard Earnest Shelton said the postseason run has motivated the Tide players during the offseason.
"We're going to have a target on us," Shelton said. "It's going to be a lot harder this year. We're going to have to come out this year and be ready to take every team's best shot.
"We got a taste of the tournament last year and saw what it's like. We've got a lot of guys who are hungry, and we just want to get back."
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