Heads are in the sand as the Tide rolls out

Saturday's senseless pantomime was another tone-deaf moment for the hoop program.

Brandon Miller

In the staff directory for Alabama’s intercollegiate athletic program, you will find head basketball coach Nate Oats and seven assistant coaches or support persons.

Athletic director Greg Byrne has three deputy assistants, an executive deputy, and three associate directors.

There are assorted trainers and members of the communications department and, for that matter, football coach Nick Saban and two-time PGA Championship winner Justin Thomas, who were sitting at courtside in Coleman Coliseum Saturday when the Crimson Tide played Arkansas.

Saban and Thomas are more conscious of runaway Internet photos, and their consequences, than the others involved. Had they known what would happen during pre-game introductions, they might have called an intervention.

Instead they watched, like everyone else, when Brandon Miller’s name was called, and, during the lights and smoke, he was patted down and frisked by a teammate.

We are told this is a staple of the Alabama ceremony, and that it happens in other sports. What Miller and Oats and the Tide should have been told is that it should never happen, particularly when Miller, who will likely be the first college player taken in the 2023 NBA draft, was on the scene during the murder of Jamea Jonae Harris, 23, in Tuscaloosa on Jan. 15.

It is hoped that Harris’ family did not have enough interest in the exploits of Alabama’s team, ranked No. 2 in the polls and probably headed for a top seed in the NCAA tournament, to actually watch the intros. The word is “optics,” and in this case they were undeniably bad, but it’s far more than that. This, along with omments by Oats for which he has since apologized, is another depressing indication that big-time college athletics live in a cloud-cuckoo-land. It is housed inside a bubble made of transparent steel. Outside, the realities of the world struggle to penetrate.

The mother of a 5-year-boy lost her life that night. Darius Miles, an Alabama player who was indisposed at the time, and Michael Lynn Davis, who is unaffiliated with the university, are in jail and facing charges of capital murder. Miles has been dismissed from school.

The pat-down should have been reconsidered long before this, considering what’s happened at Virginia and Michigan State recently. It triviailized Harris’ death, and and it wouldn’t have taken much awareness or common sense, much less courage, but someone to tell the players to knock it off. Yet such a thing did not occur to that masthead full of officials, all of whom represent a state university and are there, in large part, to serve the players.

Some have asked why Oats is continuing to play Miller and Jalen Bradley, another freshman who was also there that night, a short walk from Bryant-Denny Stadium. Those questions were prompted by the initial impression that Miller deliberately brought Miles’ gun to the scene, where Davis allegedly shot Harris. Jim Standridge, Miller’s lawyer, has disputed the spirit of that accusation, saying that Miller was on the way to pick up Miles when Miles texted him and asked him to bring his gun. Miller, who had driven Miles earlier that night, never touched the gun and, according to Standridge, never has fired one. The firearm was underneath clothes in the back seat, Standridge said.

Two of the 11 bullets fired at Harris, who was sitting in an adjoining vehicle, struck Miller’s windshield, at which point he drove it out of harm’s way. Standridge said Miller has answered all questions and presented the contents of his cellphone. Standridge also said that Miller’s car did not block the car Harris was in, contrary to original reports.

The district attorney in Tuscaloosa found no reason to charge Miller with anything, So there was just as little reason to sit Miller just to satisfy media prosecutors, unless something else is being submerged here.

You can say Miller ideally should have notified the police, but that assumes a trust level between young black men and local police departments that may not be as high as one would desire.

Oats then roiled the waters by blithely calling it a case of “wrong spot, wrong time” and saying he doesn’t have any idea what his players do when they’re not lifting, watching video, practicing, dealing with reporters or partaking in study halls. Oats also said he didn’t notice the pre-game patdown. He did try a more appropriate reaction after the wrong-place statement, and said Saturday that the routine will be discontinued immediately.

Oats, in need of expert advice, called up Hall of Fame linebacker Ray Lewis, presumably to gain tips on setting the edge against the cops. Lewis, you might recall, was charged with double murder after a Super Bowl but got it downgraded to obstruction of justice by justifying against two eventual defendants, who were acquitted. His advice, in this case, was prayer.

Miller then scored 41 in 43 minutes as Alabama won at South Carolina in overtime. He was serenaded by several “Lock him up” chants. Against the Razorbacks he scored 24 in a 3-point victory, and the Tide kept the Southeastern Conference lead.

Those around Miller say he’s intelligent and grounded, and his father played football at Alabama and presumably knows what’s at stake. The freshman has far too much to lose by getting involved in gunplay.

But the bottom line used to be at the top of the list of rules that former Texas and South Florida football coach Charlie Strong gave to his team. It was simply, “No guns.” It should be Commandment No. 1 today, even in a state like Alabama where one no longer needs a permit to carry a concealed weapon.

Darius Miles has been at Alabama since June of 2020 and apparently thought it was OK to be packing heat. “The heat is in the hat,” he told Davis when Miller’s car pulled up.

The heat will be on for a while, even on Miller, who at the moment is only classified as a cooperative witness. If you’re looking for people who need to explain themselves, look at everyone surrounding Alabama’s program. To varying degrees, all of them are accessories to humiliation.