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NASHVILLE, Tenn.
All the cars in Tuscaloosa that are not tidy in a garage are covered with pollen.
Kentucky eliminated Alabama from the South East Conference tournament on Friday night.
These are the two undeniable signs of March. Both are boring, but accepted as unavoidable, familiar parts of the natural order of things, problems without any real solution except to wait for the season to change and / or as football arrives.
In itself, losing to Kentucky is not the problem – no one else has defeated the Wildcats in the last four SEC tournaments, and there are probably only two or three teams in the country, if is that they would be favored. United Kingdom to Nashville.
The tournament was not a disaster for Alabama. The return to Ole Miss was one of the best moments of the season. There were a lot of mistakes against Kentucky, but the energy level was acceptable, sometimes even too hectic. Alabama was not as good as Team # 4 in America. Nobody necessarily thinks that Alabama should be one of the top 4 teams, although it would be nice if such a thing seemed quite possible every decade or so.
The depressing part of the day had been earlier, listening to the results of the games around the nation, realizing that Alabama had again been reduced to fighting teams like Nebraska and Rhode Island and a dozen others that could prevent the final be stolen. Meanwhile, Miss Ole, for example, was at her home in Oxford, knowing that it was in the NCAA field and staring at her seed.
Alabama has been in this position once in the last 13 years. Consider: In 13 years, Alabama had a regular season as successful as Ole Miss – a team that seemed barely talented in its two defeats against Crimson Tide – this year. Not Kentucky, not Florida. Not once in 13 years, Alabama has been better than Ole Miss this year. Ole Miss. They will be a mid-level seed, an 8 or a 9, not because of their talent, but because of relatively consistent efforts, tenacity on their court and a great deal. competitive strategy. It's been 13 years since Alabama was better than that.
For a fan, it is little return for 13 years of interest and diligence. No one knows exactly what the NCAA Selection Committee will do this year, meeting a new set of criteria. No support expert thinks that Alabama will even make a first match. What will probably happen on Sunday is that Alabama gets an NIT offer (which will be accepted).
Greg Byrne, Alabama's sports director, said Friday night that he would wait until Sunday to see where Alabama would land, and then talk with head coach Avery Johnson of the future. .
Whatever the outcome of this conversation, Alabama fans deserve to know the plan. If Byrne wants an unconditional change, it takes a big redemption ($ 9 million today, minus $ 8 million in a few weeks, and it does not even start hiring someone else. .) -21 recording that would allow an easy decision. Johnson mentioned that Alabama has talented young players on the list, which is true, and a recruiting class that he likes.
But the question to be answered is why a senior, Donta Hall, sat on the post-game podium after defeat in Kentucky, said this about the 2019 problems:
"Our energy could be up and down," said Hall. "It was the attitude. Commitment. Things like that. "
Does Johnson want to tackle these problems, all the "stuff like that?", Can he? Does it have a strong plan, or a strong commitment to implement one?
It's not a problem of a year. It goes further than Johnson, further than Byrne. Alabama has been out of place for 13 years, with the exception of drummer Collin Sexton. Forget all the disappointment this year, or the frustration of seeing a season well prepared for a return to the NCAA idle on a silent Sunday selection show.
What matters is the future.
At the moment, some people still worry. But what if the same thing happens for a 14th year, then a 15th? It is already 13 years already more or less lost. What's preventing it from extending over 13 years?
Sooner or later, things must change. Alabama needs to step up its institutional efforts and say "enough, that's enough", make a change, and then spend at a level necessary to make a worthwhile change. Otherwise, tell everyone from the start that things will stay as they are so that everyone can find more productive activities to do at this time of year, such as washing cars.
Contact Cecil Hurt at [email protected] or 205-722-0225
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