LOUISVILLE, Ky.—Alabama ran into the wrong team at the wrong time.
The team is San Diego State. The time is the NCAA tournament Sweet 16. The context was the stunning ending to the No. 1 overall seed’s quest to win a national championship that would have left much of the nation holding its nose or averting its gaze.
So, yeah. Wrong team at the wrong time. Those words will be familiar to Alabama coach Nate Oats, whose “wrong spot at the wrong time” summation of star player Brandon Miller’s involvement in a fatal shootout has lived in infamy. Oats apologized when the world recoiled at how callous it sounded. One of his players, Darius Miles, had been charged with capital murder in connection with the shooting death of Jamea Jonae Harris on Jan. 15. According to law enforcement officers, Miller had transported the alleged murder weapon to the scene, and Oats treated Miller as if he’d had a curfew violation.
