Alabama Basketball May Play Like a No. 1 Team, But Must Learn How to Act Like One: All Things CW

The Crimson Tide needs to realize that the spotlight is fixated on it for both its status in the polls and off-court issues, and nothing it does will go unnoticed.

The All Things CW notes column by Christopher Walsh appears in five parts each week, with the latest on the Alabama Crimson Tide. This is ...

Take 1 

Let's call it what it was under the circumstances: A boneheaded gesture. 

In case you missed it, prior to the start of Saturday's Alabama basketball game at Coleman Coliseum, probably the second-to-last of his career, freshman forward Brandon Miller did what he's always done during pregame introductions, and went through a quick pat down from a teammate before taking the court. 

When the idea was dreamed up, almost certainly to either imply that Miller himself was a weapon in his sport, or mimic the pre-fight MMA routine before going into the Octagon, no one could have imagined the outcry it would someday cause. But then no one could have imagined what happened on Jan. 15, either, when a woman was killed just off campus, with former basketball player Darius Miles and another man subsequently charged with capital murder. 

They're still being held without bond. It was during last week's hearing to determine that status when Miller's name came up, followed by Nate Oats' poor comments in a press conference without realizing what had been disclosed. It led to some extreme public backlash, especially from those who were quick to react and criticize Miller's status roughly five weeks after the shooting.

It's also been compounded by some bad reporting, inaccurate headlines and a blatant disregard for finding out the details and truth of what happened involving the tragic death of 23-year-old Jamea Jonae Harris.    

Even now we still don't know everything. 

But for Miller, who apparently had the murder weapon in the back seat of his car and says he didn't know it, the district attorney's office is on the record as declaring there's nothing to charge him with. The police say he's not a suspect, and has cooperated. 

When issuing a release to tell his client's side of things, attorney Jim Standridge of Crownover & Standridge, LLC, said all of the events were on video and backed up Miller's claims that he didn't get out of the car (which subsequently had two bullets strike the windshield), didn't touch the gun, and "never knew that illegal activity involving the gun would occur." 

Standridge has a strong reputation in the local legal community. If anyone's disputed any part of his statement, we're not aware of it. 

The timely release did it's purpose, and started to deflect the outcry and massive amount of mudslinging being leveled from coast to coast.  

As the realization started to sink in that the university may have handled Miller's situation as well as possible by following the facts as it knew them, a second incident that brought to mind a lot more than a  Homer Simpson-like "D'oh!" had the masses shaking their heads again in disbelief for being, at minimum, insensitive. 

The pat down. 

He had been doing it all along and no one said anything? 

As  for the Oats press conference. I was at it. My thinking at the time was that I felt like I knew what he was trying to say with "wrong spot at the wrong time," only it didn't come out right. It was like watching someone at The Masters see his putt keep rolling until it went off the green.  

Do I think Oats would have said what he did knowing what had happened at the bond hearing? No. He had been at practice.  

Still, both things happened, reflecting a lack of needed maturity and necessary foresight.

If this team is somehow able to keep its focus on basketball and the upcoming postseason one of the many lessons it has to quickly learn (and nowhere near the top of the list) is that while it's one thing to play like a top team in the nation the Crimson Tide has yet to learn how to act like one. 

Granted, this would be a lot for any team to handle. Miller is 20 years old and one of four scholarship freshmen on the roster.

When you're considered the team to beat, everything draws attention. Everything gets noticed. Everything is scrutinized. 

But now no team is being watched by everyone like this one. 

See Also:

Nate Oats Says Brandon Miller's Patdown Pregame Intro Won't Happen Again

Full-Court Press: Takeaways from Alabama Basketball vs Arkansas

No. 2 Alabama Doesn’t Always Need the 3-Point Shot to Succeed