Alabama Basketball: Avery Johnson’s firing is right move for Crimson Tide program

After four years of college coaching, Avery Johnson has been fired from the University of Alabama Basketball program. Will the Tide regret this?

The rumors have been swirling the past months about how long Avery Johnson’s tenure would last. With a few bad losses on his record this season, missing the NCAA Tournament did very little to help his cause. Alabama Basketball’s first-round loss in the NIT to Norfolk State was the nail in the coffin.

Earlier this week, Alabama and Johnson officially reached a buyout. The announcement was not a surprise to those watching the situation. It was only a matter of time, and it’s better to start the coaching search sooner rather than later. Alabama is still in contention for Trendon Watford to commit, and it will be up to the new coach to reel him in.

Before we get to the decision, I want to say that Avery Johnson truly is a great person and has been great for Alabama basketball. When he joined, the Tide never had any hopes of making the NCAA Tournament. After making it in his third year, it is now the expectation that they will every season. He recruited studs like Collin Sexton, John Petty, and Kira Lewis to join the team. He was also active in the community, the student section, and the fan base in general.

All of this being said, it was simply time for the two parties to part ways. Some forget that Alabama was a buzzer beater away from missing the Tournament last year. In that year, they lost a few late games that they shouldn’t have, but most people forgave those issues thanks to the fact that the Tide made the Round of 32.

This year, those malfeasants were even more abundant. The Crimson Tide had no business losing to Georgia State or Texas A&M at home on buzzer beaters. They also had no business blowing as many second-half leads as they did. If you close out games against LSU or Auburn late in the year, you might be dancing right now.

The NIT loss just proved that Coach Johnson lost this team. When a team doesn’t give effort on a regular basis, the coach will be blamed. There were too many times that this team just didn’t look as if the game mattered.

Also, the team couldn’t hit free throws to save their lives, the offense was often stagnant at important times in the games, and the inbounds plays never worked. Coach Johnson is a great man and recruiter, but he just lacked the ability to develop the talent on his roster.

Johnson is definitely good enough to get another job if he wants it. He might also consider returning to the booth to cover NBA basketball. He has many options in front of him, but not of them reside in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.