The Alabama men’s basketball team is in the home stretch of a historic 2022-23 season. The Crimson Tide is the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament. It has the talent and depth to match any other team in the country. Yet, following its Southeastern Conference tournament win and continuing through the first day of March Madness in Birmingham, the mood in the Tide’s press availability turned dour at times.

For the last eight weeks, the specter of Jan. 15 has hung over the program. Former player Darius Miles was one of three Tide players at the scene of a fatal shooting, along with freshmen Brandon Miller and Jaden Bradley. The saga has permeated the national news cycle and it came to a head in Nashville when all players were permitted to speak to the media for the first time this season.

Miller — the focus of much of the scrutiny in the court of public opinion for bringing the gun at Miles’ request while Miller was on his way to pick him up — refrained from going in-depth on how he handled the attention and aftermath.

“Sorry,” Miller said, “but I don’t feel comfortable saying anything on that.

“I’m really just leaning on my teammates in this locker room. I feel like they’re the best guys in the world to me. Another family away from home.”

Most of the players and head coach Nate Oats declined to answer many questions regarding the incident, citing “private matters.” During Alabama’s rout of Mississippi State, it was reported Miles and Michael “Buzz” Davis, the alleged gunman, were indicted by a grand jury.

Miles was dismissed from the team shortly after his arrest, while Miller has been deemed cooperative and cleared of wrongdoing per Tuscaloosa police. In an ESPN report published hours before the Tide started its postseason run, it was reported that Davis fired the bullets that pierced the windshield of Miller’s car, missing Miller and an unnamed passenger.

Miller said it was “kind of important” for the first game following the shooting to be at Vanderbilt, which like Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena, is close to Antioch, Tenn., where Miller grew up. In Birmingham’s Legacy Arena, though, Oats confirmed that an armed security guard is accompanying Miller.

“If you guys saw some of what I’ve seen sent his way, I think you would understand why that’s the case,” Oats said. “And I don’t want to get into all that. The entire situation, as you know, is just a heart-breaking situation on all accounts. But some of the messages from people that can sit behind fake email addresses, but who knows whether they are real or not, that I’ve seen, something that nobody would ever want their son — I treat my players like my own sons — I don’t have a son, I have three daughters. But I put myself in his parent’s shoes and our administration has seen the stuff that I’ve seen, and it’s appropriate. It’s nothing that a college kid should have to go through. If you were able to see what I’ve seen then you would understand why that’s going on right now.”

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Tide players and Oats, along with other SEC coaches, were asked about their team’s respective gun policies and if anyone on their team owned a firearm. Oats and Jahvon Quinerly answered that currently, no players own one on the Tide.

Bradley, who was outside the Twelve25 bar that morning, called it a “traumatic” experience but wouldn’t go any further. Senior Charles Bediako acknowledged a question about the shooting but apologized and said “it’s tough to talk about right now.” Then, as is the new normal for Tide basketball this spring, reporters asked follow-ups about blocks and 3-point percentage.

“We were always a close team,” Quinerly said. “The situation definitely made us a closer-knit group though.”

Nick Alvarez is a reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @nick_a_alvarez or email him at [email protected].