Alabama Crowd Erupts When Brandon Miller Is Announced Ahead Of Arkansas Matchup
It's clear the Alabama Crimson Tide faithful are standing behind Brandon Miller after a tumultuous week for the hoops star.
When Miller's name was announced ahead of Saturday's matchup vs. Arkansas at Coleman Coliseum, the crowd absolutely erupted.
While the Crimson Tide fans were pumped for Miller, a few went out of the way to bash OutKick's Clay Travis, who has called for harsher punishments for the Alabama starter.
As Mike Rodak reported, Miller's teammate gave him a "pat down" as a part of his introduction routine which is obviously distasteful to say the least.
Miller, the Alabama forward and likely NBA lottery pick, drove the vehicle carrying the gun allegedly used by former teammate Darius Miles and Michael Lynn Davis to murder single mother Jamea Jonae Harris back in January.
Davis and Miles currently face capital murder charges.
Miller, who police have not charged with anything, has continued to play, and the decision from the athletic program has brought intense scrutiny. Head coach Nate Oats, in particular, has faced bitter backlash from certain corners.
Oats has been outspoken in his defense of playing Miller.
“We’ve been taking it very seriously from Day 1. The first minute that I got the information, I called Greg [Byrne] and we talked about it and the severity of it,” he said in a Friday presser, according to ESPN.
“Greg, I thought, did a great job addressing those comments on Wednesday, and I really don’t have much to add to it. We feel like we’ve done the right thing in this case. So I’m going to leave it at that with Greg’s comments.”
While those comments came Friday, Oats made headlines earlier in the week he said Miller was simply in the wrong spot at the wrong time.
“We knew about that. Can’t control everything everybody does outside of practice. Nobody knew that was going to happen,” Oats said. “College kids are out. Brandon hasn’t been in any type of trouble, nor is he in any type of trouble in this case. Just in the wrong spot at the wrong time.”
Miller scored 41 points in Alabama’s last game on Wednesday – a 78-76 win over South Carolina.