Avery Johnson Tightens the Belt as December Arrives

Avery Johnson and Alabama Basketball are off to a promising start this year.

Thanksgiving break, a much needed time for students to go home and relax until those daunting final exams appear in a couple of weeks. For me, I was ready for the honey baked ham and my special made baked beans to ease the stress of life away for a while, or I thought. Entering Thanksgiving day, Alabama was 2-1 with a couple wins over small schools and a big loss (both in the box score and rankings wise) at Dayton.

Despite having no expectations for the Tide’s matchup against Xavier, the experience was still mentally exhausting. The last two games I’ve watched from Alabama were blowouts by halftime. What was supposed to be a fun dinner conversation discussing the Iron Bowl during the passing of Hawaiian rolls, turned into questions about Avery Johnson and just how long we were supposed to stay ‘buckled up’.

How I wish Thanksgiving was today because the Tide totally turned their fortune and potentially season around after last weekend. The sweetest victory of them all came against Wichita State on Friday, yes, the same school Head Coach Gregg Marshall coaches. After turning down a contract worth up to 4 million dollars per year and dragging Alabama through a mess of a situation just for a pay raise to stay in Kansas, Alabama decided to show him what he passed on. Shannon Hale, the junior small forward, dropped 20 points and came in clutch towards the end to help Alabama shock the Shockers.

If that victory and the Iron Bowl wasn’t enough for fans, the Sunday night cap featured the coming out party for senior transfer Arthur Edwards, hitting 6 out of 7 shots, and a game winning drive by the other senior, Retin Obasohan.

What’s next for Alabama and their newly energized fan base? Exactly what’s in the title. Alabama is still a very young team, learning a new system and led by someone in their first year of college coaching. It’s going to be a bumpy ride this season filled with highs and lows, which we’ve already had a taste of just six games into the season.

Despite the small sample size, observers can already see growth in the players’ development and a different attitude compared to last season. The bench is energized after every made shot, the flow of the game has picked up due to Alabama’s up-tempo offense and late game situations have brought more confidence instead of fear among both players and fans. Avery Johnson’s game planning and strategy late in the 2nd half the last two games was slicker than Auburn’s football field on Saturday.

Next: Alabama Fans Are Upset That Scott Cochran Might Be Leaving

This isn’t a reason or the season to crown Alabama as NCAA tournament guarantees or call the team a bust for not reaching a pipe dream at the moment. This season is all about buying the ticket and taking the ride. Take the good with the bad and watch this team grow and shape the program like none of us have seen in a while. After plenty of stagnant years in the Anthony Grant era, taking a flyer on this season and hoping for the best doesn’t seem so bad. It’s actually pretty refreshing. Especially if more games like last weekend bring more excitement and hopefully more wins.

Optimism this season, regardless of how hard you don’t want to give up your hopes, will be high regardless. After the most impressive weekend in recent memory, this season becomes more and more about low-risk and high reward. Expectations this season are low, as long as Avery Johnson can show he can win games against quality opponents (oh that’s done) and develops his players (we’re seeing it), then the main objectives for this season will be completed. Anything else, such as a 20-win season or even post-season play, would just be icing on the cake for the 2015-2016 campaign. If last weekend is any sign of things to come for the program, then we should all be smiling during this ride we call Alabama hoops.