Avery Johnson officially out at Alabama after four seasons
Alabama has officially parted ways with men’s head basketball coach Avery Johnson, announcing the news in a Sunday morning release. Alabama athletics director Greg Byrne indicated that the school and Johnson “made the decision to mutually part ways.”
Under Johnson, the Tide went 75-62 and reached postseason tournaments each of his four years. That record included an at-large berth in the NCAA tournament in 2018.
Alabama had won a No. 1 seed in the NIT, but exited in the first round after an 80-79 loss to Norfolk State. That spurred talk of a buyout late last week. Johnson’s contract ran to 2023, and a buyout reportedly would cost the school $8 million, or $6 million if Alabama had waited until April 15. Johnson was the 19th-highest paid coach in the country, according to a USA Today database, and earned $3.062 million last season.
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Johnson is a longtime NBA vet, playing from 1988 to 2004 and coaching Dallas (2004-2008) and the Nets (2010-2013). His departure leaves the SEC with three hoops openings at Alabama, Vanderbilt and Texas A&M.
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Jay Busbee is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Contact him at jay.busbee@yahoo.com or find him on Twitter or on Facebook.
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