Written by Ell
| 20 July 2008
According to the folks at the
Birmingham News,
Mark Gottfried has hired
Antoine Pettway to be a part of his coaching staff.
Pettway was known for both his leadership and his effort on the defensive end. Those are two things that have been sorely missing from Bama basketball during the last 2 disappointing seasons. Antoine being able to do it and being able to coach it are two different things, so this isn't necessarily a slam dunk.
Having said that, Antoine has been coaching since his final season at Alabama, so this hire doesn't come completely out of left field.
While it would have been nice to see a more experienced, proven guy take this spot, this is the #3 assistant coach position. Experienced and proven guys tend to want more money than what you are able to give for the "last assistant on the bench."
My guess is that Antoine will likely be a very good basketball coach given time. Learning on the job at a place like Alabama is tough, but given the work ethic he showed as a player, it would be difficult to doubt that he'll be able to do it.
