Apparently Avery Johnson can recruit.
The new Alabama men’s basketball coach has landed his first recruit, and it’s Alabama’s Mr. Basketball Dazon Ingram.
The 6-foot-5 guard from Theodore, Ala. donned an Alabama hat as he picked the Crimson Tide over Kentucky on Friday. He averaged 20 points and 11 rebounds this season for Theodore, and was the first player Johnson visited when he was hired at Alabama.
Ingram had decommitted from Alabama when former head coach Anthony Grant was fired, but he decided to stay in Alabama with Johnson instead of playing for John Calipari and Kentucky.
“I really didn’t think I would go back [to Alabama after Grant’s firing], but I have been talking to Coach Johnson and building a relationship with him,” Ingram told AL.com.
Johnson’s Alabama team has already lost a few players with the departures of Ricky Tarrant and Devin Mitchell, but that should be the end of the transfers.
Johnson’s son plays at Texas A&M, and has not hinted at transferring to Alabama. But he tweeted his congratulations about Ingram on Friday, taking a jab at those who thought his father’s lack of college experience would hurt him in recruiting.
Alabama basketball continues its turnaround under Johnson, and the new coach only had two words to say in celebration.