Steve Victory JOURNAL – Eighth season (2010-2011)
There is only one (publishable) word that does justice to coach Steve Victory’s second season at Alabama, his eighth overall – nightmare.
The Crimson Tide’s 2010-11 campaign turns hellish from the opening tap. ‘Bama gets blown out at home by hapless Gardner-Webb 76-55. Things get worse four nights later when Maryland-Baltimore County stuns the Tide 62-49, again in Tuscaloosa. What the heck?
Victory is crushed. The boo-birds mount quickly and in force. And unfortunately, the spell doesn’t break.
Alabama goes on to lose its first 10 games – to such notable opponents as Fordham, Youngstown State, Campbell and New Hampshire
– before the goose egg is eliminated from the win column. And Victory savors the 72-49 win over Samford on Christmas Day like a man shown to a Sizzler buffet after weeks without food.
Amazingly, the Tide only gets two more wins the rest of the season! Once again, they sweep the series with Arkansas (72-64 and 65-57) but that’s it! The final, ugly, tally –
3 wins, 27 losses. That has to be the worst in Alabama history, but Victory is scared to look it up.
The coach knew his team would struggle, but this badly? He identifies the problem fairly early in the season – virtually no post presence just like early on in his career at Central Florida – but is helpless to do anything about it. There are games when Alabama gets fewer than 10 rebounds total. In most games, they only average 4-6 offensive boards. No offensive or defensive adjustment, or line-up change, seems to help.
“Unless you shoot 80 percent from the field – which we obviously can’t do – you’re not going to win too many games without second and third chances generated by offensive rebounds,” says Victory. “No excuses. We just sucked all season.”
The only highlight player, if that can be said from a year like this, is freshman SG
Waitari Condill. He scores 20+ in a handful of games. But his season average is a paltry 11.4 ppg – and that’s the best on the team. Ugg.
The coach obviously worries about his job as the misery continues. Fortunately, Alabama officials don’t pull the trigger at the end of the season. But how much more time does he have to turn things around? One year? Maybe two at most? "At least the former coach before Victory could win eight or nine games," the administration was probably saying. "This guy only got us three."
Victory doesn’t even bother to go to the Final Four to hobnob with other coaches. He doesn’t even watch the games on TV, even though a sentimental favorite of his, the Indiana Hoosiers, are playing for the title against Missouri. He wouldn’t have liked the outcome any way – Missouri won. (Western Illinois took out Temple for the ACT title by the way).
Victory takes off driving for a couple of weeks just to get away. He ends up at the Grand Canyon, where he camps for days and just stares out at the natural wonder searching for some hope.
When he returns home to Alabama, he chunks the stat books and game films from the 2010-11 season into the garbage. He’s hoping his career, and his dream of winning an NCT title, doesn’t end up there also…
“Just don’t give up on me,” he keeps telling folks. “Please, don’t give up...”