Alabama is returning to the court Wednesday at South Carolina as the Crimson Tide look to improve to 14-1 in the SEC. Presumably, Brandon Miller will be in the starting lineup for the 28th consecutive game.
But should he be?
It's a reasonable question to ask after police testified on Tuesday that the Alabama star brought his former teammate, Darius Miles, a gun that was used just minutes later by a man named Michael Davis to shoot and kill Jamea Harris, a 23-year-old mother, hours after the Crimson Tide beat LSU last month.
Alabama coach Nate Oats on Tuesday described Miller as simply being in the "wrong spot at the wrong time." Hopefully, with the benefit of hindsight, Oats now realizes that's a wildly inaccurate way to describe Miller's alleged role in this senseless tragedy.
Wrong spot at the wrong time?
No.
If you're at a party, minding your own business and having a good time when somebody pulls a gun on the other side of the room and starts shooting, definitely, you're in the wrong spot at the wrong time -- but this was not that. Miller was not in the wrong spot at the wrong time as much as he was literally the person who helped create the wrong spot by bringing a gun to Miles per his request in an act that led to a shooting that left a 5-year-old little boy motherless.
I'll keep this simple: If you get a text from a friend involved in some sort of altercation after midnight who is requesting that you bring him a gun, it is foolish and reckless to take it to him, period, particularly if you happen to be a projected NBA Draft lottery pick worth millions of dollars. Frankly, I'm unqualified to say whether Miller is a good man who made a poor decision or a troubled man who is about that lifestyle because, well, I don't know him like that. So I'll let others make that call.
Either way, what I am comfortable saying is that what Miller did that night undeniably played a role in the subsequent incident that left a young mother dead. It's an act that will impact the way NBA franchises evaluate him in advance of the 2023 NBA Draft, and the fact that Alabama is comfortable playing him with no punishment to date is shameful, especially when you consider student-athletes are sometimes suspended for things as small as breaking curfew or smoking weed. Still, to date, there's been absolutely no punishment for Miller at Alabama. It's a privilege a lesser player wouldn't be afforded, I'm certain.
Top 25 And 1 rankings
Rk | Teams | Chg | Rcrd | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Marcus Sasser finished with 20 points and one assist in Sunday's 72-64 win over Memphis. The Cougars' next game is Wednesday against Tulane. | -- | 3-1 |
| 2 |  | Brandon Miller finished with 21 points and three rebounds in Saturday's 108-58 win over Georgia. The Crimson Tide's next game is Wednesday at South Carolina. | -- | 4-1 |
| 3 |  | Gradey Dick finished with 19 points and six rebounds in Monday's 63-58 win at TCU. The Jayhawks' next game is Saturday against West Virginia. | -- | 5-0 |
| 4 |  | Zach Edey finished with 26 points and 11 rebounds in Sunday's 82-55 win over Ohio State. The Boilermakers' next game is Saturday against Indiana. | -- | 5-1 |
| 5 |  | Jaime Jaquez Jr. finished with 20 points and eight rebounds in Saturday's 78-43 win over Cal. The Bruins' next game is Thursday at Utah. | -- | 5-1 |
| 6 |  | Tyrese Hunter finished with 15 points and three rebounds in Tuesday's 72-54 win over Iowa State. The Longhorns' next game is Saturday at Baylor. | -- | 5-1 |
| 7 |  | Kihei Clark finished with 15 points and four assists in Saturday's 57-55 win over Notre Dame. The Cavaliers' next game is Wednesday at Boston College. | 1 | 3-2 |
| 8 |  | Oumar Ballo finished with 18 points and 16 rebounds in Saturday's 78-68 win over Colorado. The Wildcats' next game is Saturday against Arizona State. | 1 | 2-2 |
| 9 |  | Kam Jones finished with 19 points and six rebounds in Tuesday's 73-71 win at Creighton. The Golden Eagles' next game is Saturday against DePaul. | 2 | 6-0 |
| 10 |  | Drew Timme finished with 34 points and seven rebounds in Saturday's 97-88 win at Pepperdine. The Zags' next game is Thursday against San Diego. | -- | 5-0 |
| 11 |  | Keyontae Johnson finished with 25 points and four assists in Tuesday's 75-65 win over Baylor. The Wildcats' next game is Saturday at Oklahoma State. | 3 | 4-1 |
| 12 |  | Adam Flagler was 1 of 13 from the field in Tuesday's 75-65 loss at Kansas State. The Bears' next game is Saturday against Texas. | 5 | 4-2 |
| 13 |  | Norchad Omier finished with 17 points and 14 rebounds in Tuesday's 76-70 win at Virginia Tech. The Hurricanes' next game is Saturday against Florida State. | -- | 3-3 |
| 14 |  | Jaedon LeDee finished with 14 points and six rebounds in Tuesday's 77-58 win over Colorado State. The Aztecs' next game is Saturday at New Mexico. | 5 | 2-1 |
| 15 |  | Logan Johnson finished with 27 points and seven rebounds in Saturday's 71-65 win over BYU. The Gaels' next game is Thursday against Pacific. | 2 | 6-0 |
| 16 |  | Boo Buie finished with 23 points and eight assists in Sunday's 80-60 win over Iowa. The Wildcats' next game is Thursday at Illinois. | 4 | 5-1 |
| 17 |  | Colby Jones missed eight of the 10 shots he attempted in Tuesday's 64-63 loss to Villanova. The Musketeers' next game is Friday at Seton Hall. | 5 | 5-0 |
| 18 |  | Wade Taylor finished with 25 points and four steals in Tuesday's 68-63 win over Tennessee. The Aggies' next game is Saturday at Mississippi State. | NR | 4-1 |
| 19 |  | Zakai Zeigler missed nine of the 11 3-pointers he attempted in Tuesday's 68-63 loss at Texas A&M. The Vols' next game is Saturday against South Carolina. | 3 | 6-0 |
| 20 |  | Iowa State shot just 21.1% from 3-point range in Tuesday's 72-54 loss at Texas. The Cyclones' next game is Saturday against Oklahoma. | 5 | 3-0 |
| 21 |  | Jordan Hawkins finished with 20 points and five rebounds in Saturday's 64-55 win over Seton Hall. The Huskies' next game is Wednesday against Providence. | -- | 4-0 |
| 22 |  | Indiana only got six points from its bench in Tuesday's 80-65 loss at Michigan State. The Hoosiers' next game is Saturday at Purdue. | 4 | 4-0 |
| 23 |  | Ed Croswell finished with 21 points and 10 rebounds in Saturday's 85-72 win over Villanova. The Friars' next game is Wednesday at UConn. | -- | 5-0 |
| 24 |  | Will Baker finished with 18 points and five rebounds in Tuesday's 66-51 win over San Jose State. The Wolf Pack's next game is Friday at Fresno State. | -- | 5-1 |
| 25 |  | Damian Baugh and Mike Miles Jr. combined to go 8 of 30 from the field in Monday's 63-58 loss to Kansas. The Horned Frogs' next game is Saturday at Texas Tech. | -- | 4-1 |
| 26 |  | Arthur Kaluma was limited to just two points in Tuesday's 73-71 loss to Marquette. The Bluejays' next game is Saturday at Villanova. | 4 | 4-1 |
