Time to think big or admit we don't care...

   

We've all heard the names of potential coaches for Bill Battle and his selection committee to choose from. I have no idea who might be the last man standing. Tider Insider recently  gave us there list of names that had been heard. Except for Richard Pitino, who doens't have the experience, are all good candidates. I think there is a possibility that the person we choose might not even be listed at this point. I'd even take young Pitino if he could convince his father to be his assistant coach.

     This is a chance for Alabama to get it right, and make a commitment to get it let the nation know that we're serious. Or not. Now is the time for the University of Alabama to be something more than just a football factory. That is not a dig at the football team. We can have something similar in basketball if the administration let's it happen. It' going to take a coach, commitment, and courage to move Alabama into the national circles. We need to go big time or just admit we just don't care. We can hire a great coach, and that will repair part of the problem. It wouldn't be a real fix because that is just shot time fix to placate the fanbase. The commitment part involves a complete revolution of the program from a place to play and getting some seriously dedicated employees to sell Tide basketball. The courage you ask? That takes having to guts to spend the money to make it happen. It's all in sight. The Tide doesn't have to bankrupt the athletic department to do it.

     The facilities needed to pass everyone in the SEC won't take that much. The main reason for that observation is that most arenas in the SEC are pretty bad overall. Most knowledgeable basketball fans understand that true superstars notice such things. We have lost some recruits because playing in the world's largest Quonset huts just won't get the job done. A lot of our fans just don't believe that to be true. The first step to fixing a problem is admitting we have one. We don't have to build it today. We have to confirm to the public we are going to do so in the near future.

    We could have a facility that has a hotel, great locker rooms, multiple practice areas, and the best seating in college basketball. What I'm thinking about is the modern version of the Roman Coliseum. I'm serious in saying it needs to be the JerryWorld of basketball. Go big or go home.  Yes, it will take some money. We need to expand our recruiting base from the Deep South to the rest of the United States. We need to have access to Europe, Asia, and Aussieland. Those are the areas where basketball is exploding. The times have changed.

     Auburn hired Pearl and it is reported that Mississippi State has hired Howland. Is it just me or has the temperature gotten a lot warmer regarding hoops? I'm not even the least bit convinced that Gregg Marshall would leave Wichita State. He's about to get a big raise and he just knocked Kansas to number 2 in his State. Why would the man leave to come to a place where basketball is almost an afterthought?  Money might buy him, but I'm not sure. One of the candidates has strong ties to Alabama. He has had a good run at Murray State. He's not big time, and he's a risk, but he's one of our own. One of the reasons that some coaches might not want to coach at Bama is because of the football focus and Nick Saban. Coach, commitment, and courage to think big can change Alabama. If we aren't willing to do those things it won't matter in the long run. Larry Brown was hired by SMU and changed the Mustang program. We need to the same. If we choose to bury our head in the sand we'll just fall further behind in the end game.