Sunday could be a very special day ...

     Sunday afternoon a little after 5:00 PM the Crimson Tide will learn if they have been deemed worthy enough to have earned an invitation to NCAA National Basketball Championship Tournament. If that seemed a little pompous I'm sorry. It has been six (6) seasons since Alabama got the call. For a program that at one time was of national prominence such an invitation is proof that an initial step has been taken to regaining its place in the world of college basketball.

This isn't one giant step. It may be more like a baby's first tentative step. The invitation may not result in a victory on the court. Receiving an opportunity is a monumental start for Anthony Grant. This team probably won't go to the Sweet Sixteen, the Elite Eight, or the Final Four. They be one and done for all me know. But being one who has a chance not to be done seemed unlikely just a month ago. On Valentine's Day Anthony Grant exercised his authority as judge and jury regarding JaMychal Green, Tony Mitchell, Anthony Steele, and Trevor Releford. Sentence was pronounced and for all the world it seemed that the basketball season was effectively over for the Crimson Tide. No team could lose its top two scorers and rebounders, its point guard, and # 6 man and expect to make the NCAA Tournament. A season that started with such hope and expectations was suddenly taken like trash to the curb. All that was left was for the Tide's opponents to come and take them away to the landfill game by tortuous game.

That didn't happen. Instead, Anthony Grant circled the wagons and called for his young team to do the impossible. He said he would play with who was left, and would expect no less from them than when the bench was full. Rodney Cooper scored 28 points in his first opportunity to prove his coach correct. Jacobs, Randolph, and Lacey all contributed. Carl Engstrom went from the end of the bench to significant numbers. Moussa Gueye, aching knee and rust showing, did his part. Andrew Steele and Trevor Releford came back from a one game purgatory, and together with the remaining players, began to write a very special chapter in the history of Alabama basketball. It may not be as memorable as the '76 team or 5 SEC Tournament Championships under a man named Sanderson. It isn't as special as six Sweet Sixteens or a trip to the Elite Eight. It may not be as talked about as the day we opened the news and saw that Alabama was ranked #1 in the nation in basketball, and not football. It may be none of those things but in the end it may be just as important. For those of us who love Alabama in a way that only watching over 1100 games can bring, it might even bring a tear or two.

We might one day recall, that tomorrow could be remembered as the day that Alabama climbed out of a dark hole and into the basketball light again. It should also be remembered as a day when Mal Moore's selection of Anthony Grant was proven correct, and that making native son Mark Gottfried leave, though painful, was necessary. Sunday could be very special for all of us who care about Alabama basketball.