This wasn’t the plan, but it could net the Crimson Tide hoops program a big name. I’m not sure how Avery Johnson would fair in the SEC, but reports say the former Nets head coach is finalizing a deal with Alabama.
A day after Alabama athletics director Bill Battle interviewed former NBA coach Avery Johnson, sources tell AL.com the talks are expected to progress Sunday.
The meeting in Dallas went well enough that a deal could be made as early as Sunday. Johnson is celebrating Easter at church with his family Sunday morning, AL.com learned, and hopes to have a resolution by late afternoon. The ex-NBA player is excited about the opportunity and challenge the Alabama job presents.
It’s been exactly three weeks since Anthony Grant was fired and four days since Wichita State’s Gregg Marshall turned down Alabama’s initial offer.
But the talks in Dallas appear to be headed toward a different outcome for the former NBA coach of the year.
A Western Conference title in 2006 earned Johnson the league’s coach of the year honor. Johnson took over as Mavericks head coach near the end of the 2004-05 season and won Coach of the Year the following year, taking Dallas to the Finals, where they lost to the Heat.
Update:
Avery Johnson has made a verbal agreement to coach at Alabama, sources told ESPN. Contract details being finalized.
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanESPN) April 5, 2015