As the Alabama Crimson Tide prepared for the Arkansas Razorbacks on Saturday afternoon in Tuscaloosa, the show’s decision to allow star freshman Brandon Miller to play was a major topic of debate.
On Wednesday, Miller was allowed to play South Carolina a day after police testimony linked him to the shooting death of Jamea Harris in January. Miller allegedly transported his former teammate Darius Miles’s Gun which police say was used in the murder.
Head coach Nate Oats gives coaching advice to Alabama Crimson Tide’s Brandon Miller (24) during a timeout against the LSU Tigers at Coleman Coliseum on January 14, 2023 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. (Brandon Sumrall/Getty Images)
Many observers have questioned whether Miller should be allowed to dress given those allegations.
ALABAMA’S NATE OATS DEFENDS PLAYING BRANDON MILLER IN THE MIDDLE OF A LINK TO A DEADLY SHOT: ‘WE DID THE RIGHT THING’
On Saturday morning during «College Gameday,» ESPN college basketball analyst Jay Bilas defended Alabama’s handling of the situation.
«Brandon Miller has rights and I think Alabama has a duty to protect those rights, or at least not compromise those rights,» Bilas said. “They know him better than we do. He has fully cooperated, according to his lawyer, with the authorities.
«And, to me, I think Alabama went through this process and handled it appropriately. Now, reasonable minds may differ with that. Maybe a school could handle this differently, but I don’t have a problem with how they that Alabama handled it.»
Jay Bilas of ESPN during a game between the North Carolina Tar Heels and the Michigan Wolverines at the Spectrum Center on December 21, 2022 in Charlotte, NC (Grant Halverson/Getty Images)
Miller has not been charged with any crime.
STEPHEN A. SMITH SAYS ALABAMA’S BRANDON MILLER SHOULD NOT HAVE PLAYED IN MIDDLE OF SHOOTING LINK, PRAISE PERFORMANCE
Miller’s attorney, Jim Standridge, issued a statement hours before the South Carolina complaint, clarifying that the prominent freshman «never saw the gun» belonging to Miles, who has since been charged with capital murder in he shooting death of harris near the university campus in January.
«On January 14th, Brandon played at a basketball game in the afternoon and later Darius Miles asked him to drive him to the Strip area to go to a nightclub,» the statement said, according to the Tuscaloosa Patch.
South Carolina Gamecocks’ Gregory Jackson II (23) defends Alabama Crimson Tide’s Brandon Miller (24) as he drives to the basket during a game on February 22, 2023 at Colonial Life Arena in Columbia, SC (David Jensen/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
«Mr. Miles brought his legal handgun and left it in the backseat of Brandon’s vehicle. Brandon never saw the gun or touched it. Also, we understand the gun was hidden under some clothing in the backseat of his car. «.
The statement added that instead of going to the nightclub, Miller went to get food. Later, Miles contacted him to pick him up and go to a different location. While he was already on his way, Miller received a text from Miles asking him «to bring him your firearm.»
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Miller’s attorney claimed that Miller never «interacted with anyone in Ms. Harris’s party» or with Michael Lynn Davis, who is also charged with capital murder. The attorney also disputed the claim that Miller’s vehicle blocked the path of the car in which Harris was a passenger at the time of the shooting.
Following Bilas’s comments on Saturday, OutKick’s Dan Dakich took to Twitter to disagree with the ESPN analyst.
On Friday, Alabama head coach Nate Oats He said he thinks the university has done the right thing by allowing Miller to play.
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Brandon Miller listens to Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Nate Oats during a timeout during a game against the South Carolina Gamecocks on February 22, 2023 at Colonial Life Arena in Columbia, SC (David Jensen/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
«We’ve been taking it very seriously since day one. The first minute I got the information, I called [athletic director] greg [Byrne]and we talked about that and its severity,» Oats said at a news conference. “Greg, I thought, did a great job addressing those comments on Wednesday, and I really don’t have much to add.
«We feel like we’ve done the right thing in this case. So I’ll leave it at that with Greg’s comments.»
Fox News’ Paulina Dedaj and Ryan Morik contributed to this report.