From the Sideline — The Avery Johnson Era Begins

Winning a press conference won’t win you a single game.

Talking about going to the Final Four won’t get you there.

But if you are an Alabama Basketball fan, that doesn’t mean you can’t be excited about the first two hours of the Avery Johnson Era.

He said all the right things, and he said them the right way.

And then he sat down with a room full of print reporters and said more.

And then he walked over to Coleman Coliseum and talked one-on-one with about a dozen different TV stations that wanted five minutes with the new head coach of the Crimson Tide.

After that, Coach Johnson came over to where I was set up on press row and visited with me on my radio show.

It was our third conversation of the day. I had interviewed him early that morning for Tide TV. We also talked briefly before his formal introduction over in the Mal Moore Athletic Complex.

So my first question during the radio interview was pretty simple: “Are you sick of me yet?”.

His reply was just as simple: “No, Chris…You’re my man. I’m good.”

When we finished the interview, I made the statement on air that I’d known the man for all of four hours, but he made me feel like we’d been friends for 20 years. That ability is a gift – one that will serve him well on the recruiting trail.

Again, building a championship program requires more than charisma. It takes more than doing interviews, and having a fan base clamoring for more. The reality is, you have to sign great players, develop them, and win bunch of games before you can hang banners.

But you can’t do that in two hours – or two days.

So right now, if you’re an Alabama Fan, all you’ve got is less than 48 hours to judge Avery Johnson as the Tide’s head coach.

And what a 48 hours it has been.