Almost every college in the country is gearing up for the upcoming NCAA March Madness action. However, one particular university is still neck-deep in controversy due to a gruesome incident that took place almost two months ago. Former Phoenix Suns superstar Charles Barkley recently reflected on the implications of the gruesome incident on the national scene before the premier college basketball action begins this month. In fact, the Hall of Famer invited an NCAA insider to have an extensive chat about the upcoming March madness action amid the Alabama University controversy.

On January 15, Alabama Crimson Tide player Darius Miles and Michael “Buzz” Davis were involved in the fatal shooting of Jamae Jonae Harris. The 23-year-old mother was shot on a strip in Tuscaloosa and succumbed to her injury. As a result, Miles and Buzz were arrested by law enforcement officials for their alleged involvement in Harris’ death. Shortly afterwards, the university released a statement revealing that Miles has been ‘removed from campus’.

Charles Barkley talks about how the Alabama incident will impact March Madness

In the latest episode of The Steam Room, co-hosts Charles Barkley and Ernie Johnson invited NCAA Insider Andy Katz to talk about March Madness. As the discussion ensued, Barkley asked Katz who he thought was the best college basketball player in the country at the moment. Before Katz could answer, Chuck asked him to mention someone other than the 2023 top NBA prospect Victor Wembanyama.

Katz then replied that he believed Alabama Crimson Tide forward Brandon Miller was one of the best players in the country in his estimation. However, Barkley went one step ahead and stated that Miller was in fact the best player in the nation. Following that, the ‘Round Mound of Rebound’ brought up the weeks-old incident that involved Miller and Darius Miles. Reflecting on the University’s reaction to the shooting, Chuck asked for Katz’s opinion on the way Alabama handled the entire situation.

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In response, Katz said, “—I don’t think they’ve handled it well. You know…Nate Oats for example and it amazes me. And this happens all the time in sports where coaches were not prepped before they go to a news conference.”

“And it’s such an easy out. All you got to say is you know ‘The discipline is handled by the student council, the President, law enforcement’, and that’s your out,” added the NCAA insider.

Furthermore, he added, “And yet, he didn’t say that and he also, you know, the wrong place, wrong time which he then amended later. Horrible comment. You know, obviously, a woman’s life was lost…a young mother and so right off the bat back in January, I think they could have handled this much better.”

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Nate Oats’ controversial statement

Weeks after Miles and Davis were charged with killing Harris, new reports revealed Miller’s possible connection to the unfortunate incident. Apparently, Miller was the one who delivered the gun to Miles and Davis that was ultimately used to kill Harris. As per reports, Alabama basketball head coach Nate Oats and the authorities were aware of Miller’s involvement but chose to not take action against him. Furthermore, Oats found himself under scrutiny for a particular comment on the matter.

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He said, “We knew about that. Can’t control everything everybody does outside of practice. Nobody knew that was going to happen. College kids are out. Brandon hasn’t been in any type of trouble, nor is he in any type of trouble in this case. Just in the wrong spot at the wrong time.”

After receiving a significant amount of backlash, Oats retracted his statement and apologized for his poor choice of words.