Alabama Crimson Tide Dec 10, 2022; Houston, Texas, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide players react during the final seconds of the game against the Houston Cougars at Fertitta Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
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Since Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Nate Oats’ arrival in Tuscaloosa, the program has had a resurgence. They’ve won two SEC regular season titles, two tournament titles, posted the best record in school history and they just came off the team’s first Final Four appearance.

Many say this run wouldn’t have happened if it wasn’t for Collin Sexton, and he agrees. Sexton was a major get at the time for former Tide head coach Avery Johnson.

He played only one season in Alabama, 2017-18, and although the Tide made it to only one NCAA Tournament while he was there, many see that period as the catalyst for where the program is today.

“I’m excited. I’m excited to see how far we’ve come from the simple fact that all it took was for me to get there and get the ball rolling,” Sexton told AL.com. “At the end of the day, sometimes somebody has to be the starter of it.”

And Sexton continued taking credit for the Tide’s success.

“I’m taking all the credit,” he said. “I feel like I was the first top-five, top-10 player to go to Alabama in a long time. A lot of the guys who are in the top five or top 10 would go to the blue bloods or some of the higher-named schools and I just wanted to change it up and I wanted to be different. I wanted to go to a school that was going to allow me to be me and Avery Johnson, he’s an amazing coach.”

If you honestly think about it, you can’t argue with Sexton’s logic. At the time of his arrival, Alabama had just fired Anthony Grant and had seen very little success in recent years, aside from an Elite 8 run under then-head coach Mark Gottfried in 2004.

Sexton went on to be a first-round draft pick of the Cleveland Cavaliers and opened the door for players like Herb Jones, who won SEC Player of the Year when Oats led the Tide to their first SEC regular season title in decades. He was later picked by the New Orleans Pelicans. Brandon Miller, who like Sexton only stayed for a year, ended up as the No. 2 overall draft pick of the Charlotte Hornets and made the NBA All-Rookie team.

Now, many say the Tide may be on the verge of winning their first national championship. Oats may have the best team in the country coming back. Just like Sexton kicked off the potential Alabama basketball dynasty, the Alabama football dynasty under Nick Saban began with Julio Jones.

Jones, who was the No. 1 prep player in Alabama at the time, made a choice that changed his life and the trajectory of Saban and the football team. Once Jones decided to attend school there, other five-star players did, too. Soon, the national championships followed, and many Alabama players have gone on to star in the NFL.

The same may be happening to Alabama basketball as well. At least Sexton thinks so.

{AL.com}

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About Stacey Mickles

Stacey is a 1995 graduate of the University of Alabama who has previously worked for other publications such as Sportskeeda and Saturday Down South.