Alabama Baseball G56 vs Vanderbilt
Avery Johnson tips his cap to the crowd after he threw out the first pitch at the regular season's final game at Alabama's SEC baseball game vs. No. 7 Vanderbilt, Saturday, May 16, 2015, at the Hoover Met.
(Vasha Hunt/vhunt@al.com)
More than two months after being hired as Alabama's new basketball coach, the transition continues for Avery Johnson.
On Monday, that meant leading a few hundred kids at the annual summer camp on the floor of Coleman Coliseum. A number of former players helped out, but Johnson has his eye on the future of his first college basketball team.
He's still tempering expectations for Year 1 while looking to add to the program.
"We're still not done with our roster," he said Monday. "We still have to add one or two more players and once we add those guys, hopefully for the second session of summer school, we'll be able to take our whole program to the next level because our numbers are a little bit down right now, especially with a couple guys injured."
One of those players is his son, Avery Johnson Jr. The transfer from Texas A&M will enroll in the second summer school session beginning July 1.
The injuries, left over from last year, have limited the Tide to nine players in off-season workouts. That makes five-on-five action a challenge.
Johnson said Shannon Hale is still limited after off-season surgery to correct a broken foot.
"I've been taking it really slow with him," Johnson said.
Michael Kessons has also been limited along with Riley Norris, who injured his wrist late last season.
So with one man short of 5-on-5, and a former NBA champion coaching, any chance Johnson steps in the action?
"I don't know if he's ready for that yet," said smiling senior point guard Retin Obasohan. "I know he played in the NBA and all, but we like to keep it among the players. I'm actually looking forward to it if he wants to step out onto the court. I'd probably pick him up full-court if that happens."
But there's serious work to do in restoring the success that had lagged in recent years.
"We have a long ways to go," Johnson said. "We have a lot of bad habits to break. There's a certain way that I want to play offense and defense and you have to basically retrain a lot of these guys on how they should play the game. Whether it's footwork, spacing, knowing how to close out on defense, the proper way to box out. There are just certain ways we like to play the game, but we have a lot of work to do. The guys have been very engaged and enthusiastic in our work."