TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — The University of Alabama basketball program is on the other side of a high fence from the Alabama football program.
There are many reasons for this, of course, but one statistic plainly shows how much separates the university’s flagship programs: Since 2008, Alabama’s football team has had 24 first- or second-round picks. In that same period, the Alabama basketball team has had none.
“That’s something we had really struggled with over the last several years,” said Bill Battle, Alabama’s athletic director, when discussing what has held back Crimson Tide basketball.
But thanks to a coaching change and a multimillion-dollar investment, basketball season in Tuscaloosa is suddenly something more than those few months between fall and spring football.