This is an opinion column.

Hello, North Carolina.

Greetings, Indiana.

And hi there to my home state of Kentucky.

It was nice of you supposed hoops hotbeds to join the NCAA basketball delegation from the supposed football state of Alabama. It’s crazy because none of those cradles of hardwood heroes sent as many teams to the big dance as these three.

In fact, the Birmingham metro had more (two) than the Hoosier state (one).

Only Texas had more than Alabama as it accounted for six teams in the event that hits full stride Thursday.

Not bad for a state known more for owning the autumn instead of the gym.

This is a group that includes Auburn and Alabama — both No. 4 seeds — along with UAB and Samford.

Each has dynamic head coaches who took over programs in varying states of malaise and apathy before stamping their brand and rebuilding.

Go back a few years and this online space would be occupied by just another spring football story.

Back in 2016, there wasn’t a single team from the Yellowhammer state in the tournament. A year later, Troy was the only representative. Then in 2018, Auburn made its first tournament in 15 years in the same season Alabama ended a six-year absence.

Now, it’s only a matter of seeding for the two SEC schools. Alabama and Auburn have combined to win four of the last five SEC tournaments as the late March bubble watch ended a few years ago.

Imagine Auburn having a legitimate complaint about a No. 4 seed a decade ago. Or Alabama fans fighting online about the trajectory of a program that also has a No. 4 seed. It’s a long way from losing to Norfolk State in the NIT first round.

Instead, Alabama’s playing in its fourth straight NCAA tournament while Auburn’s made five of the last six.

It’s not just about the big kids on the block.

Samford, making only its third tournament and first since 2000, is in a prime position for a Disney movie script. It faces a Kansas team two years removed from a national title but riddled with injuries in a Thursday nightcap. The Bulldogs are the only 13-seed that’s less than a double-digit underdog against a Jayhawk team that’s lost four of its last five.

Mix a wounded blue blood with the chaos of Bucky Ball and the 8:55 p.m. CT Thursday tipoff in Salt Lake City becomes a great reason to blow off an early bedtime.

UAB played bid thief when upsetting AAC regular season champ South Florida in the conference semifinal. It’s the second tournament trip in three years for Andy Kennedy’s program that was the NIT runner up a year ago. It’s been nearly a decade since the Blazers pulled the upset of No. 3 seeded Iowa State and 20 years since stunning No. 1 seeded Kentucky in the 2004 dance.

Let’s not act like UAB’s never been there before. Gene Bartow led the program to the Sweet 16 in only its second season of existence and the Elite Eight a year later in 1982.

That second weekend, however, has been quite the hurdle for in-state teams.

And that’s the next real barrier to bust from novelty to normalcy.

This state has still sent just one team to a Final Four as the madness became all too real most years. Auburn broke through in 2019 when taking down Kansas, North Carolina and Kentucky to plow new snow for the state.

Before that, the Tigers had been to four Sweet 16s and the 1986 Elite Eight.

Alabama has nine trips to the Round of 16 and the 2004 Elite Eight to its name.

A year ago, the Crimson Tide converted the No. 1 overall seed into only a Sweet 16 loss to a San Diego State team that upset its way to the national title game. Two years before that, a No. 2 seeding ended in the same round. That time, UCLA won the overtime game over the Tide after needing a play-in round win to make the field of 64.

It’s only a matter of time before that Final Four counter ticks up.

Still a long way to equal the 43 tallied by North Carolina schools or the 28 from Kentucky.

But the foundation is in place and the culture growing to where the state of Alabama will be more than a football state moving forward.

Michael Casagrande is a reporter for the Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @ByCasagrande or on Facebook.