Alabama Basketball: Let’s talk Crimson Tide Hoops ‘Good News’

Alabama basketball fans, let’s talk some good news. My suggestion is Crimson Tide fans should refuse to allow the success of this season to be highjacked by those attacking Brandon Miller, Nate Oats, the Alabama Basketball program, and the University of Alabama.

If most of the college basketball world and many across the nation want to force this Crimson Tide program into a ‘us vs. them’ mentality, then I say bring it on.

It is not as though Alabama Crimson Tide coaches, players and fans are unfamiliar with being hated. Until now, most of this century’s hate has been aimed at Nick Saban and the Alabama Football program. It has recently spread to basketball. Hostility against the Crimson Tide is not a surprise, and as is often the case, media mouths like Clay Travis never miss an opportunity to profit from it. It is easy to ignore a Clay Travis (and others), but the current hate, evident in social media, from people who will not profit from it – is confounding.

Part one of my suggestion is to ignore the garbage, and part two is let’s enjoy the good news. There is no shortage of good news about Alabama Basketball.

Alabama Basketball Good News

• Without any more regular season wins, Alabama is an SEC Regular Season Champion. It is possible after two more games it will be a Co-Championship. But the Tide’s magic number is one Alabama win, or one Texas A&M loss and Alabama wins the regular season outright. Alabama has only been the sole SEC Champion seven times, going back to 1933; and only twice in this century. Making those counts eight and three this season would be a big deal.
• Alabama has won more than 25 games in a season only five times. At 25 wins now, Alabama seems to have a great chance to break its single-season win record of 28.
• The system Nate Oats has built and recruited to in Tuscaloosa is remarkable. As evident in the Arkansas games, the Crimson Tide has so many ways to win, even shooting 3-for-23 from three, against a good team did not cause a loss.
• Having followed Alabama Basketball since the C.M. Newton era, I cannot think of any other Alabama roster filled with such a depth of talent. Based on recent games, some of that talent is blooming at exactly the right time. Three examples are Charles Bediako, Nick Pringle and Jahvon Quinerly.
• The Crimson Tide just completed a regular season sweep of Arkansas and another sweep can be achieved on Wednesday when a limping Auburn program comes to T-Town.
• Plus, there is Brandon Miller, who is one of the most talented players I have ever seen from inside an arena. And I have had the good fortune to see many in person.

Make no mistake. What happened in the early morning hours of Jan. 15 was a senseless tragedy. The impact can never be erased. I hope justice will be administered to the individuals the criminal justice system finds at fault. I am opposed to a madding crowd setting itself up as judge and jury.