JOHNSON ROLLS OUT ALABAMA BASKETALLL

TIDE BASKETBALL IS HERE...

   

        Alabama just had their version of midnight madness. It was remarkable. It was just what Tide fans needed. Look, I just picked the Tide to finish 10th in the SEC. I’m not getting my head caught up in the hoopla except to say it was just what the doctor ordered for Bama. It also shows the pent up desire that Tide fans have to see their basketball program to return to relevancy.  If this is the vision that Avery Johnson has for Tide basketball we should all feel a little better. That’s not to say the blast off phase of his coaching won’t have some pratfalls. The Tide has some decent players, but no first round draft picks are lurking in the rafters of Coleman Coliseum.  It’s going to take a couple of those type players to elevate the program back to days of Wimp Sanderson. It is going to take a very special coach to do that. I think that Alabama may have found that person in Avery Johnson.

        The coach has already set the stage in recruiting by getting a couple of four stars and a five-star player to commit to ‘Bama. Not all of them can play this season, but they’ll be in Tuscaloosa one day. Give this man three good years of recruiting and the Tide will be making some national noise in the world of hoops.  And dare I say, another big name will soon be on campus?

       I really believe that. Johnson has a clear vision of how he can use the brand of Alabama football to help make the basketball team better. He isn't running from football, he has embraced the sport. He has also cannily started to raise his own persona as the man who stands with Nick Saban. Smart move on his part. Smart move by Saban to help him do so. I think that finally everyone sees that football and basketball can be compatible and  each can help the other. 

          I've been watching Tide basketball for a long time. Honestly, my belief that Alabama could reach the upper echelons of NCAA hoops had faded. Will Alabama ever be a Duke or UCLA in hoops? I doubt it, but it would be unfair to discount it entirely. I'll say this - give us a couple of years and we'll be really good. We'll be so good that teams will not take the Tide lightly. That's a good first step.