Just my take on how these should have been handled in terms of messaging both publicly and internally.
On the Garland injury:
"Yes, it is extremely unfortunate. We are extremely disappointed, certainly, and Darius and his family are as well. That said, we have to move forward. We can't dwell on it. The reality is that we have a lot of really talented and passionate kids in that locker room, and this team was and never will be about one player. It's about those guys in that locker room and they and we have to look at this as an opportunity to step up and be successful, and they are committed to doing that. Dare I say, they are excited to do it. The reality is that life seldom goes the way you expect it to go. You're going to have setbacks. You are going to have adversity. And you're measured by how you respond to those situations. This is one of those times. I know Darius is going to respond to it well, and I'm confident that our team is going to respond really well, and we as coaches are going to do everything in our power to help them succeed"
And then when the question is asked for 5 or 6 more times after, the response is the same. "Yes, it's unfortunate, but we can't do anything to change it and we have to move forward and make the most of it, and that's what we're doing." If you get the question again, the answer morphs to "We're not going to talk about it. That's in the past. We're focused on the now"
On how the South Carolina game ended: Not "we deserved to win that game, it's really unfortunate." it's:
"It is inexcusable to get a technical in that situation. Sure, Saban is young. But he started almost every game as a freshman. He knows better. And he knows that. He's devastated, and I can guarantee you it will not happen again. And the reality is that we still had opportunities to win that game, and we didn't. We have to get maniacally focused on the details of execution at maintaining our composure in tough times and then making winning plays - whether that be getting a stop and a rebound or making a shot or valuing the ball better on a critical possession. We're simply not going to win consistently until we can do that, and that's what my staff and I are committed to doing."
On the refs in the Tennessee game:
"Okay. Let me address the elephant in the room right away. That call was inexcusable. It made a significant and material impact on the outcome of the game. On top of that, it was simply the wrong call according to how the rule was written. I know I will get a call from the league office after saying this, but I don't care. Actually, they're not going to have to call me, because I'm calling them as soon as I get out of this press conference. Okay. We got that? NOW. The call was unfortunate, and it was completely out of our control, BUT we still got the ball back up 2 points with a minute 30 to play. We still had a lead in the overtime. We still had free throws that we could make and plays to make to win the game. We had our chances, and we didn't execute. As a team, we HAVE to get better at taking advantage of our opportunities and making winning plays. It's as simple as that. We know that, and we're going to keep working at that."
On youth:
"I'll give you the youth argument at the beginning of the season, and sure, if you look at the 'NCAA rankings on youth' - by the way isn't amazing the things that people keep stats on these days - if you look at those rankings, we're one of the youngest teams in the nation. But we just can't accept that as an excuse. Joe Toye is a senior. Saban Lee is a sophmore, but he started almost every game last year, I think it's hard to call him young. Matt Ryan and Moyer have 2 years of college experience. Clevon's in his third year of playing. And yeah, the freshmen are freshmen, but at some point, they need to grow up. We're halfway through the year. Will they get better with more experience? Sure, and I'm looking forward to it, but I'm just not going to use youth as an excuse. Being young shouldn't affect your free throw shooting. Being young shouldn't affect your effort level"
On the Kentucky game:
"Simply inexcusable. Inexcusable effort. Inexcusable attitude. Inexcusable execution. Inexcusable by the players. Inexcusable by me and my staff. Sure, Kentucky played well. Sure we only lost the second half by 5 points, but how hard is Kentucky playing against you when they're up 30 on you? It was inexcusable, and it's on me to fix it, and that's what I'm going to do"
By the way, I'm a huge Bryce Drew fan. I'm hopeful for the future of our program under his leadership. I think his approach of positivity and family is the RIGHT way to build a program and to lead young men. BUT, I do think he can improve on some things. It is becoming more apparent to me that he needs to do something to instill some rigor and focus in the team.
On the Garland injury:
"Yes, it is extremely unfortunate. We are extremely disappointed, certainly, and Darius and his family are as well. That said, we have to move forward. We can't dwell on it. The reality is that we have a lot of really talented and passionate kids in that locker room, and this team was and never will be about one player. It's about those guys in that locker room and they and we have to look at this as an opportunity to step up and be successful, and they are committed to doing that. Dare I say, they are excited to do it. The reality is that life seldom goes the way you expect it to go. You're going to have setbacks. You are going to have adversity. And you're measured by how you respond to those situations. This is one of those times. I know Darius is going to respond to it well, and I'm confident that our team is going to respond really well, and we as coaches are going to do everything in our power to help them succeed"
And then when the question is asked for 5 or 6 more times after, the response is the same. "Yes, it's unfortunate, but we can't do anything to change it and we have to move forward and make the most of it, and that's what we're doing." If you get the question again, the answer morphs to "We're not going to talk about it. That's in the past. We're focused on the now"
On how the South Carolina game ended: Not "we deserved to win that game, it's really unfortunate." it's:
"It is inexcusable to get a technical in that situation. Sure, Saban is young. But he started almost every game as a freshman. He knows better. And he knows that. He's devastated, and I can guarantee you it will not happen again. And the reality is that we still had opportunities to win that game, and we didn't. We have to get maniacally focused on the details of execution at maintaining our composure in tough times and then making winning plays - whether that be getting a stop and a rebound or making a shot or valuing the ball better on a critical possession. We're simply not going to win consistently until we can do that, and that's what my staff and I are committed to doing."
On the refs in the Tennessee game:
"Okay. Let me address the elephant in the room right away. That call was inexcusable. It made a significant and material impact on the outcome of the game. On top of that, it was simply the wrong call according to how the rule was written. I know I will get a call from the league office after saying this, but I don't care. Actually, they're not going to have to call me, because I'm calling them as soon as I get out of this press conference. Okay. We got that? NOW. The call was unfortunate, and it was completely out of our control, BUT we still got the ball back up 2 points with a minute 30 to play. We still had a lead in the overtime. We still had free throws that we could make and plays to make to win the game. We had our chances, and we didn't execute. As a team, we HAVE to get better at taking advantage of our opportunities and making winning plays. It's as simple as that. We know that, and we're going to keep working at that."
On youth:
"I'll give you the youth argument at the beginning of the season, and sure, if you look at the 'NCAA rankings on youth' - by the way isn't amazing the things that people keep stats on these days - if you look at those rankings, we're one of the youngest teams in the nation. But we just can't accept that as an excuse. Joe Toye is a senior. Saban Lee is a sophmore, but he started almost every game last year, I think it's hard to call him young. Matt Ryan and Moyer have 2 years of college experience. Clevon's in his third year of playing. And yeah, the freshmen are freshmen, but at some point, they need to grow up. We're halfway through the year. Will they get better with more experience? Sure, and I'm looking forward to it, but I'm just not going to use youth as an excuse. Being young shouldn't affect your free throw shooting. Being young shouldn't affect your effort level"
On the Kentucky game:
"Simply inexcusable. Inexcusable effort. Inexcusable attitude. Inexcusable execution. Inexcusable by the players. Inexcusable by me and my staff. Sure, Kentucky played well. Sure we only lost the second half by 5 points, but how hard is Kentucky playing against you when they're up 30 on you? It was inexcusable, and it's on me to fix it, and that's what I'm going to do"
By the way, I'm a huge Bryce Drew fan. I'm hopeful for the future of our program under his leadership. I think his approach of positivity and family is the RIGHT way to build a program and to lead young men. BUT, I do think he can improve on some things. It is becoming more apparent to me that he needs to do something to instill some rigor and focus in the team.
