Frustrated Alabama Basketball Fans Eager to Finally See 2022-23 Team: All Things CW

The Crimson Tide will play before fans for the first time since last season's collapse, Brian Robinson Jr. got some closure this week, but David Robertson did not.

The All Things CW notes column by Christopher Walsh will appear in five parts this week, one each day as the Alabama Crimson Tide prepares to visit LSU.

This is ...

Take 5

The college basketball season is right around the corner and Alabama Crimson Tide fans can't help but be excited about the potential of this year's team.

However, they're also really frustrated.

As everyone waits for the return of guard Jahvon Quinerly from surgery, the list of players that the Crimson Tide faithful are familiar with are junior forward Darius Miles, sophomore center Charles Bediako, and fifth-year guard Noah Gurley.

That's about it. Alabama has eight new players on the 2022-23 roster, with four transfers and four freshmen who everyone's eager to see. The list begins with McDonald's All-Americans Brandon Miller, who with a good season has to be a candidate to be a one-and-done, and Jaden Bradley. 

But there's also Rylan Griffen, Noah Clowney and Nick Pringle. Mark Sears joined the Crimson Tide from Ohio, and Dom Welch arrived as a graduate-transfer from St. Bonaventure.

Don't forget sophomore guard Nimari Burnett, who will finally see playing time in crimson and white after missing his first season with a knee injury.

But hardly anyone has seen them play yet. 

Alabama went on a three-game summer tour in Europe, and there wasn't even a Facebook Live on someone's phone that the diehards could enjoy (unlike the last international trip to Canada prior to the start of the 2017-18 season).

There was the secret scrimmage against TCU on Oct. 16, but like the name implies it was closed, and then Alabama opted to face Southern Illinois in a charity game at Foster Auditorium last Saturday, and only allowed in students. 

We were big on the sentiment, but not the execution. Doing so on Halloween weekend, when the football team was on a bye, a lot of students already had plans or opted to do other things. Consequently, there were a lot of empty seats in the small venue.

This isn't to suggest that schools officials have been deliberately trying to hide the men's basketball team outside of SEC Media Days. But it certainly seems like a missed opportunity, especially considering the way last season ended on disappointing note without a single win in March. 

At least the waiting will end with a doubleheader on Monday, with the women's team facing Alabama A&M at 5 p.m., and the men taking on Longwood at 7:30 p.m. 

Robinson Gets Some Closure ...

An arrest was finally made in connection with the August shooting of former Alabama running back Brian Robinson Jr., who is already back playing with the Washington Commanders. 

“I wasn’t really thinking much about it,” Robinson said per Sam Fortier of The Washington Post.

“Just being in the locker room, just focusing on the season and stuff like that. So, I was happy to hear they found somebody. That was a relief."

Washington D.C. police arrested a 17-year-old juvenile earlier this week. 

“It’s definitely closure, only because the situation was so random. I had no idea who did it, it made me feel a lot better to know who did it.”

After missing four games due to being shot twice in the leg, Robinson has 54 carries for 175 yards and a touchdown this season. 

“I’m passionate for [football]," he said. "This is what kept me alive mentally through everything I went through. So it’s easy for me to focus on this and stay locked in on this because I’m very passionate about it.”

... But Robertson May Not 

Former Crimson Tide pitcher David Robertson is thrilled about being back in the World Series, but not the opponent. 

The  Phillies relief pitcher was also a member of the 2017 New York Yankees team which was eliminated in seven games by the Houston Astros in the American League Championship Series. When it came out that Houston had participated in an elaborate sign-stealing cheating scandal, Robertson called the Astros' behavior a "disgrace."  

He hasn't changed his mind. 

“I think that those people who were involved in that situation still, every day, at some point, have to realize what they did and live with the decisions they made,” Robertson told the L.A. Times. “I will never get 2017 back.”

Robertson made two appearances in the 2009 World Series, when the Yankees beat the Phillies in six games. He's pitched in three games in this series against the Astros, notching a save in Game 1. He has yet to give up a career World Series run. 

Tide-Bits 

• The best thing about the Thursday night game between the Eagles and the Texans was seeing former Alabama wide receivers DeVonta Smith and John Metchie III together again. It was reported on the broadcast that Metchie is halfway through his chemotherapy treatments after being diagnosed with a form of leukemia in July, 

• Per Pro Football Focus, Alabama's J.C. Latham has the lowest allowed pressure rate among tackles in college football this season at 0.7 percent, just ahead of Clemson's Jordan McFadden and North Carolina's Asim Richards.

• A big reason why Jaguars general manager Trent Baalke felt confident in pulling the trigger in the Calvin Ridley deal was that he spent roughly four months looking into the former Alabama wide receiver and interviewing people close to him. The discussions between Jaguars coach Doug Pederson and Baalke regarding the acquisition of Ridley began in March.

• Mel Kiper Jr. has a new Big Board for the 2022 NFL Draft, with Alabama linebacker Will Anderson Jr. first overall and quarterback Bryce Young fifth. The ESPN analyst wrote about Anderson's numbers being a little down: "I'm not concerned in the slightest. This is a dominant edge rusher who might have been the No. 1 overall pick last April if he had been eligible for the draft. He's that good."

• Alabama has hired Daniel Heck as the Associate Athletics Director for Strategic Marketing. He'd been the Assistant AD of Marketing at Auburn. 

• Going back to the Eagles' 29-17 victory, it was the first time Jalen Hurts got to play in his hometown Houston. After completing 21 of 27 passes for 243 yards and two touchdowns to help Philadelphia secure to its first 8–0 start in franchise history, he got some "M-V-P" chants at NRG Stadium. At the midway point of the NFL season, he has to be considered a strong contender. 

"TURN ME UP!!"

Eagles fans in Houston chant "M-V-P!" as Jalen Hurts exits the field 💚 #FlyEaglesFly

(🎥: @NFL x @JalenHurts)pic.twitter.com/c6AvK9Vd48

— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) November 4, 2022

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Christopher Walsh's notes column All Things CW regularly appears on BamaCentral. 

See Also: 

Take 1: Since 2007, Alabama vs. LSU Has Been College Football's Best Matchup

Take 2: Yet Another SEC Coach Came and Went During the Nick Saban Era

Take 3: Like Usual, Early CFP Playoff Rankings Talk Misses the Mark

Take 4: Don't Be Fooled by the Former Leprechaun in the Tiger Suit, it's Still LSU

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