Coach Johnson nails it...
Tide fans in heaven right now
    

The great Adolph was once asked if his Kentucky Wildcats had played a perfect game. They had just ground some poor SEC team between the cracks in the hardwood.  Rupp, who was not known for his bubbly personality, said absolutely not. When asked what would be a perfect game, he replied that it would be a game where his team all of their shots, got all the rebounds the other team missed. He said the other team couldn’t score. His team couldn’t have a turnover.

I don’t know exactly how you rate a press conference.  I’d say that Avery Johnson came as close behind the microphone at his press conference as Rupp described earlier. It was that good. If any Alabama fan had a single misgiving about Johnson you should now lay them to rest. What more could want to hear from you new coach? I think he made all his points, thanked everyone involved that had anything to do with his success, got choked up talking about his college coach, and touched the hearts of anyone who loves the Tide. I know that my goose bumps had goose bumps. Next season cannot start soon enough for my liking.

Johnson made it clear who was going to dominate in state recruiting. Don’t bet against him on that one. Avery talked about make young men better people. He talked about the ethics of hard work. He then laid out the standard of what he wanted ‘Bama to be. He said that Duke was the team that he would measure his performance against. He thanked AD Battle for his six year contract, but added he didn’t that much time to be successful. He acknowledged the contributions of C.M. Newton and the legendary Wimp Sanderson. He told us that we are part of the plan for Bama basketball to succeed. He put the same type responsibility on the fans as he did for himself.

     I’m happy. At age 67 and more than 1200 games under my belt, I was beginning to wonder if I would ever see more glory from the Crimson Tide. I’m most happiest for our fans between the ages of 18 and around 30 years old. You guys haven’t seen the things some of us have been lucky enough to experience. You don’t know what’s it’s  like to sit on an airplane and talk to another basketball fan knowing that you can talk about hoops as well as football.  I’m sorry you guys missed my old buddies Tom and Jerry, who dressed in red overalls and had those Tide soap boxes and toilet paper on a stick. It is unfortunate that you weren’t around to see such players as T.R. Dunn, Charles Cleveland, or Derrick McKey. I can’t name them all. To have watched Wimp Sanderson dance in the corner of the coaches’ box was amazing. He was like a dancer with a scowl.  My heritage is Scottish. Those were not plaid jackets. They were tartan, and yes, he had one from Clan McGregor. Some of you may have seen a few good days under Mark, David, and Anthony. Those years were not devoid of success or excitement. But they were far short of what had happened before.

I’ve seen Glen Garrett make a basket that started the definition of Tide post season play. I saw George Linn loft a shot that disappeared in the rafters of old Foster, only to see it reappear for a perfect landing. Wow. I saw the great Jerry Harper play, who might just be the best player ever to play for Alabama. I saw the Rocket Eight play when I was so young that my father had to explain special to me. I’ve seen all that and more. I’ve been blessed to go on trips with our team. I love Alabama basketball. I’ve seen a lot of things to love. I hope all of you younger fans can experience the same things under Coach Johnson as some of us have already seen. I’m betting you will. And I’m betting it starts sooner as opposed to later.