Alabama basketball: Another year for the locusts

Steele ends Alabama career; Gottfried edges closer to end

I come not to praise Mark Gottfried, but to bury him—or at lest his career.

Really.

There isn’t anything we could praise him for anyway.

The longtime Alabama basketball coach has lost the best chance (only chance?) to save his job. Crimson Tide point guard Ronald Steele’s season is over at Alabama; Steele has battled plantar fasciitis this year—this foot condition means Steele’s career is over. Steele missed all of last season due to a knee injury. It has been a long and painful road for him.

Gottfried provided this statement: “This is a very difficult time for Ron as his injuries have been very unfortunate and difficult for him,” said Gottfried. “I’ll always be indebted to his contributions to our program and the University of Alabama and wish him the very best in his future endeavors.”

The best thing Steele has done for Gottfried is provide him with excuses. “Ron’s hurt!” “Our gun isn’t loaded!”

With every excuse, patience evaporated. With every excuse, another year was gone. Fans view the Gottfried years as wasted; years devoured by the locusts.

But what locusts devoured the Alabama basketball program? The same locusts that once feasted on the Alabama football program—indecision, incompetence and mismanagement.

We should all hope these locusts can be purged from Alabama’s athletic department before any more years or sports are ruined.

(Note: and yes, a famous politician once made a locusts speech. I couldn’t resist applying it here since so many years have been wasted that could have gone to more successful ventures.)