Greg Byrne had his Mike Shula moment and passed it when he fired Avery Johnson.  We should give him credit for that. My thought is the loss to Norfolk State was the final blow. We will never know if Alabama had a nice run in the NIT might have saved his job. I was afraid that a couple of good wins might have given him a stay of execution. Anyone who knows anything about basketball could see that the problems the Tide had were more than just lack of good coaching.  The team had lost confidence in themselves. They had also lost confidence in their coach.  I don’t think Johnson was a horrible coach. He just wasn’t as good as most coaches he faced. We should also acknowledge his effort and love for Alabama. But Byrne fired Johnson for the good of the program. I acknowledge and think him for that, and we should all remember that in my opinion.\

     So now he has to find a basketball coach. That is an easy thing to do. The hard part is finding the right man. I believe that Thad Matta is that man. My second choice would be Greg in the “we got stood up at the Marshall. Hem alter” comments. Business is business. I even saw where one of our posters called his wife an alcoholic. Why would anyone do that? I have no way to know if that is true.  His children were young. Marshall. Perhaps he thought that his children and wife were more important. He is a great coach at University that loves basketball.  He would be a great coach at the University of Alabama. He would fit in with the ‘Bama Nation because he needs to. That is pretty much how I’d feel about all of the top candidates. Some of the other candidates might be great coaches. We need someone with a proven record. Wimp Sanderson knows great. He can tell Byrne what he thinks and he will.

      I have a good feeling about finding the right coach. Let’s give the AD the time and space needed. No harm in expressing who you want. I love Alabama basketball. It is a blessing and a curse at the same time. I have broken bread with our coaches and players. I have all over the world to watch them play. Some I’ve coached some in the Summer leagues. Yeah, gave a few free legal advice. I’ve driven them to schools in the middle of nowhere when they agreed to help reading and school programs. Each minute has been a joy. I still have college coaches call me to help a player here and there with free throw shooting. If it’s about hoops I’m in. If it is about Alabama hoops I’m all in all the time. 

     By the way, my third choice coaches at Nevada and he’s a good one.  His philosophy on life is an inspiration to everyone. If you have stumbled and fallen you’ll like this man.

MATTA ON CAMPUS IS A RUMOR IMO. MORE LATER.