Is tonight a road to redemption?



     Alabama travels to College Station, Texas to play the Aggies. Surprisingly, the money men in Vegas have made the Tide a 1-point favorite. Perhaps, they know something not apparent to the rest of us. Equally surprisingly, Joe Lunardi has Alabama a 12 seed in his latest bracketology reveal today.

     On the long and winding road, otherwise known as ‘will Alabama get a bid’, tonight is merely the next chapter. This is an annual ritual conducted by Tide fans. The ‘good’ Tide can beat almost anyone. The problem is that no one seems to know where that Tide basketball might be.  I have a lot of long term friends around the program. They have told me that the last couple of days have been pretty rugged on the Alabama players following Johnson’s statement that the entire program is under review, Tide fans are anxious to see what that really meant. Will Alabama have some new starters on the floor tonight? I'm not sure that really make any difference? Or, is the game going let us know if the players understand the message about what it means to wear the Crimson and White?  Will Alabama man up? The fans are restless, and this season needs to take a drastic change to the better to win their hearts and minds. I remember earlier this season my mild rebuke of Johnson's coaching was met with anger and scorn. The problems of the last two games were obvious in earlier games. It took a perfect storm against Florida to make every fan see that.  By that, I mean the Tide was horrible in every aspect of the game. Not only was the Tide the gang that couldn't shoot straight but they didn't seem to care. 

    More than anything that game seemed to convince a lot of people that Avery Johnson didn't know what to do, or he couldn't motivate his team to be ready to play. Neither is a good option to pick. There are four things a team must do to win. They need to shoot decently, make their free throws, take care of the ball, and win the war under the glass. The Tide did none of those things in their last home game. 

    Tonight gives the Tide a chance. Like Lazarus, they can arise again. The stage is set for Alabama to make a monumental comeback this season. The set that stage by embarrassing themselves. They can't get any worse. Let's keep our fingers crossed that Alabama can improve. Later today, I'll sure some thoughts about what the Tide can do to change the direction of their season.

"Effort is non-negotiable."  Duf