This is an opinion column.
_____________________
This history was for Wendell Hudson.
This ride to the Final Four was for the Rocket 8s.
This dream was for Cecil Hurt, and this journey was for C.M. Newton.
The fight of the Alabama men’s basketball team? Well, we all know that was for Wimp Sanderson.
The unexpected joy was for the fans who waited so long, and the inspiration created by this group of Alabama Incredibles was for the young hoopers back home who got next.
They talk a lot about legends in Tuscaloosa. This Alabama men’s basketball team made them all proud. With the school’s first run to the Final Four, the 2024 Alabama basketball Crimson Tide takes its place among the gilded greats, and, more importantly, matches rival Auburn for shared bragging rights for finally making it to the national semifinals of the NCAA Tournament.
It was top-seeded UConn in the end on Saturday night here in the desert, but the 86-72 loss by Alabama also felt like a showcase for what’s to come from the Crimson Tide.
Alabama’s run to the Final Four, while unlikely, was no fluke, and this team isn’t going away. Time to build that new arena and enjoy the show.
“We had an unbelievable run,” Alabama coach Nate Oats said. “It’s unfortunate that ended tonight but UConn is arguably the best team in the country.”
See more Final Four coverage from AL.com
- Casagrande: Alabama basketball made it Final Four history. What’s next?
- Casagrande: Alabama never got punked by UConn, but felt gap between good and great
- Everything Nate Oats said after Alabama loss to UConn in Final Four
- Everything Dan Hurley said after UConn beat Alabama in the Final Four
- 3 takeaways from Alabama basketball’s Final Four loss to UConn
The big takeaway from Alabama’s magical March was that Oats has the formula, resources and talent for repeatable success on college basketball’s biggest stages. While this was Alabama’s first trip to the Final Four, the team has made the Sweet 16 in three of the past four seasons.
Can Alabama basketball be the SEC’s new Kentucky? Maybe that’s the wrong question. Oats is proving to be a master of college basketball’s new age, and the mountaintop in the SEC feels open for the taking going into the offseason. Alabama will be back, but so will Auburn. Factor in UAB and Samford’s conference championships and college basketball has never been better in the state of Alabama than it was this season.
These are fun times, and it feels like they’re just beginning.
If we learned anything about this March, it’s that team culture this time of year maybe matters a little more than draft projections. If we learned anything from the Final Four, it’s that maybe Alabama’s coach should find a 7-2 center in the transfer portal.
UConn’s Donovan Clingan gave the Huskies an advantage in the second half that almost made this one feel inevitable by the end. The defending national champion, UConn is back in the national championship game because of Cingan’s imposing presence on every possession. Alabama simply had no answer.
“They’re close to being bulletproof,” Oats said.
Clingan finished with 18 points and his matchup with Purdue 7-4 center Zach Edey in the national championship game on Monday will be like a throwback to basketball of a different era. When Clingan decided to return to UConn for his sophomore season, it gave the Huskies a clear path back to the Final Four.
Alabama needed to be perfect, and the Tide nearly was in the first half, but even then — after Alabama made 8 of 11 from 3-point range — UConn still led by four.
Alabama shot 47.8 percent from 3-point range for the game, making 11 of 23 3-points, but couldn’t get the stops it needed. UConn only had four turnovers for the entire game and shot 50 percent from the field. Bottom line: Alabama lost to an all-time team.
“Eventually there will be a breaking point opportunity, especially in this tournament,” UConn coach Dan Hurley said. “We have played so well.”
The 2007 Florida Gators are the best college basketball team since the turn of the century, but these UConn Huskies are close. A team that tries to create chaos and score points in transition, Alabama didn’t record a single point off fast breaks against UConn.
“That’s the first time that’s happened to us,” Oats said.
Stories by Joseph Goodman
- Goodman: It’s time for Major League Baseball to help right a wrong
- Life’s a Process: Nick Saban finds frisky business at the airport
- Goodman: What does Nick Saban really think about Alabama?
- Goodman: Inside the ‘insane’ offers for high-value transfers
- Life’s a Process: Nick Saban gets visit from neighborhood bandit
Alabama tied it at 56-all with 12:31 left, but UConn then snapped off an 8-0 run. That was the game. The Huskies seemed unbeatable in that moment, blocking Alabama’s Mo Dioubate at the rim and then fighting inside moments later for a key offensive rebound by Alex Karaban.
The ride is over, but this Alabama team will be remembered for so many special memories in March: guard Mark Sears and his tremendous leadership, Diobate’s offensive rebound against Grand Canyon, Grant Nelson’s unstoppable mustache against North Carolina and freshman Jarin Stevenson’s heroic effort against Clemson.
“We’d like to get back here and win this whole thing and that’s what our goal will be,” Oats said. “We’ll keep knocking at the door.”
This one was for Leon Douglas and Charles Cleveland and “Boonie” Russell and T.R. Dunn and Ray Odums and all the other greats who were always knocking and pounding and pushing and striving. The next one will be for everything else and more.
SOUND OFF
Joe enjoys feedback from readers. Send him your thoughts or questions on March Madness, spring football or anything in between. Want to get something off your chest? Let your voice be heard. Ask him anything.
Joseph Goodman is the lead sports columnist for the Alabama Media Group, and author of the most controversial sports book ever written, “We Want Bama”.