Alabama fans entered this week with hopes of a bright future.
After all, Avery Johnson’s squad was among the many teams around the country that felt as though an NCAA tournament appearance was still within reach.
Then the home loss to Georgia happened. Then the road loss at Texas A&M happened.
And just like that, the Crimson Tide now enter the last week of the regular season hoping to put itself in the NIT discussion when the SEC tournament wraps up in Nashville on March 12.
But before the disappointment of this past week starts clouding reality for Alabama faithful, it’s best to take a step back and ponder both the past and the future.
Last season, the Crimson Tide won 18 games. That included four wins against Top 25 opponents. Here were the team’s top four scorers:
- Retin Obasohan (17.6 PPG)
- Shannon Hale (10.8 PPG)
- Arthur Edwards (9.5 PPG)
- Justin Coleman (7.8 PPG)
Flash forward to this season. Only Hale remains on the roster, and he averaged 4.1 PPG (and only 11 minutes per game) in 21 games before being suspended indefinitely last week.
So, how has Johnson responded to losing his best player and a combined 38.6 points per game (which includes 3.7 PPG from Michael Kessens)?
By winning nine SEC games (one more than last season) and 16 games overall. And there are still two games left in the regular season, and potentially a few more left in postseason play.
That’s nothing to be upset about.
Building a program takes time, especially when you combine roster turnover with thrusting young players into key roles right away.
Just ask Ben Howland at Mississippi State. Just ask Bruce Pearl at Auburn. Just ask Rick Barnes at Tennessee.
Johnson had to do that this season. Alabama’s two leading scorers – freshmen Braxton Key and Dazon Ingram – have both been impressive in helping the Crimson Tide win games. But they’ve also had bumps in the road like all other freshmen around the country have had.
This was never meant to be “the year.” It was year two for a coach and a team that had to replace three of its top four scorers. Returning to the NIT seemed like the most likely scenario when the season started in November.
Yes, the Crimson Tide gave fans hope with a 9-5 start in league play and a tournament berth within reach.
But that hope hasn’t disappeared with an 0-2 week against teams that were picked in the top four in the SEC in the preseason (Texas A&M was picked third and Georgia was picked fourth).
Alabama is still a program on the rise, and Johnson still has a top five recruiting class heading into Tuscaloosa later this year.
Five-star guards Collin Sexton and John Petty will change the entire landscape on offense and help ease the scoring problems that the Crimson Tide have face. 6-foot-9 power forward Alex Reese will add another physical body in the paint.
Adding those outstanding players to a returning roster that will feature a lot of familiar faces should bring high expectations for the Crimson Tide next season. That’s when you can talk about it being “the year.”
Like all coaches that are new to a program, Johnson has seen his fair share of both the good and the bad. But soon enough, the good will far outweigh the bad.
Alabama is close to turning the corner. Really, really close.
And even if this team continues to struggle down the stretch, it doesn’t change the fact that Johnson is building a bright future for Alabama basketball.