I think Avery Johnson is an interesting hire for Alabama. High recognition, but high risk as well. If the guy can't run a college program, if he's not a college coach (both of which are complete unknowns) he could set the program back a decade or more.
I'm sure he's energetic and outgoing, but he seems -- to me at least -- a little unhinged and out of control.
That's not what I'm reading in the hundreds of articles (five or six about playing pickup basketball games with Saban) on al.com. The prevailing theories there go something like this:
1) Alabama nearly hired Rodriguez, but got Saban instead. Since they whiffed on Gregg Marshall that automatically makes Johnson the equivalent of Saban.
2) Nick Saban failed as an NFL coach. John Calipari failed as an NBA coach. That automatically makes Johnson, who failed miserably at New Jersey, the equivalent of Saban or Calipari.
3) Johnson has a son who plays at Texas A&M, therefore he understands everything about recruiting and will be able to recruit like no other coach in the history of the game.
4) Johnson isn't scared of Nick Saban and he said turning Alabama into Duke was his goal. Therefore Final Fours are a given.
5) With this hire, Bill Battle has now become Mal Moore reincarnated. He's the most amazing athletic director on the planet.
I get that Johnson's an interesting hire, but I simply don't understand the hundreds of articles spooging on his back. I can't believe nobody's questioning the hire at all. About as far as they get with questioning it is "he's never coached at the collegiate level, but he was NBA coach of the year and has a NICKNAME! Little General is his nickname and because of that he's going to be able to recruit, dominate, ....."