This is an opinion column.

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Nick Pringle flew commercial out to Spokane, Wash., for the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament.

The Alabama basketball team took a private charter, but the Crimson Tide’s 6-10 power forward apparently had to find it his own way to March Madness. He said he did it for personal reasons and because he needed to find the right “mindset.”

We all know what that means.

Sounds like Pringle was in trouble again with coach Nate Oats.

Pringle was suspended twice during the regular season. He’s one of the more physically gifted players to ever play basketball at Alabama, but also, at this point in his career, one of the most frustrating. Before the NCAA Tournament, Pringle’s lack of development as a college player was the biggest reason for Alabama’s struggles on the defensive side of the ball this season.

Now?

Everyone loves a good redemption arc.

Let’s just say that based on how Pringle played against Grand Canyon on Sunday night, maybe he should take the Greyhound bus out to Los Angeles for the Sweet 16. He’d probably get there in time for the second half against North Carolina. Against Grand Canyon, that’s when he finally decided to show up this season and play up to his remarkable potential.

It made all the difference for the Crimson Tide.

Alabama is in the Sweet 16 against North Carolina after a 72-61 victory against Grand Canyon in the Round of 32. It was a beautiful brawl. It was ugly as a work of art. It was the kind of basketball game Alabama needed to win if it’s going to finally break through into the Final Four. Famously, Alabama has never made it. After everything this team has gone through over the last two years, here’s hoping that battle against Grand Canyon finally unlocks the best of the Crimson Tide.

And that means Pringle.

Alabama takes on North Carolina on Thursday in the semifinals of the NCAA Tournament’s West Regional. This is the Tide’s third trip to the Sweet 16 in four years. Last March, Alabama was knocked out of the Sweet 16 by San Diego State. In the first half against Grand Canyon, I found myself saying, “Here we go again.”

Rough-and-rugged San Diego State touched up Alabama in 2023. The Crimson Tide had the best player in the tournament, but Brandon Miller went cold and Alabama went home. This season was all about life-after Brandon Miller and Oats proved yet again that he could put together an offensive juggernaut.

There was one problem, though. Alabama couldn’t defend anyone despite having a player in Pringle who should have been one of the best defenders in the country. The SEC tournament was embarrassing for Alabama, and Pringle found himself in the doghouse once again.

It’s no secret what was holding him back.

Pringle was allowing his emotions to get the best of him in games and in practice. The scouting report on Pringle is that he can’t play a physical game without coming unglued. When an opponent starts pushing back, Pringle doesn’t know how to handle it. Against Grand Canyon, his pattern of mental meltdowns appeared to be getting the best of him.

First there was a sneaky play by an opponent that set Pringle off. It was a hook under the basket. Pringle didn’t like it. After that, he received a technical foul for slamming a clipboard on the bench.

Here we go again, I thought. Same ol’ Alabama. Same ol’ Pringle.

Going into the second half against Grand Canyon, it felt like Pringle was either going to be the MVP of the game or get ejected in the first two minutes. Grand Canyon had the playbook on the Crimson Tide and was executing it to perfection. That’s when Alabama finally proved to itself that it can play ugly and still win. That’s when Pringle decided it was time for him to send all those Grand Canyon students back home in tears.

Never heard of Grand Canyon University? You’re not alone. I had to look it up before the game. The campus for Grand Canyon University is actually pretty far away from the actual Grand Canyon. The Grand Canyon is located in northern Arizona. Grand Canyon University is three and half hours away in Phoenix.

Grand Canyon University is an Internet-age phenomenon of higher education in the United States. It’s a for-profit university that makes most of its money handing out online degrees. It began investing enormous amounts of cash in a campus over the last 15 years and the enrollment has skyrocketed. In 2009, GCU’s website said it had fewer than 1,000 students on its physical campus. Going into this school year, GCU had over 25,000 students on campus and another 92,000 students enrolled in online classes.

After playing the best half of basketball in his career, Pringle dunked on them all in the closing seconds of an all-time classic of an NCAA Tournament game for bone-crunching toughness and hard fouls. Alabama had 20 offensive rebounds and GCU had 15. The game featured 20 steals, 17 blocks and 47 fouls.

It was backyard, bare-knuckle boxing on a basketball court.

Pringle set a screen on a GCU player to begin the second half that had me worried. Not for Pringle, but for the other guy. Would he get up after collapsing to the ground? Pringle finished the pick-and-roll with a thunderous dunk. He never let up after that and his focus never waivered. It was a re-introduction of a player who found his own way to the NCAA Tournament, but could perhaps leave the Big Dance with a ticket to the NBA.

“I thought Nick Pringle’s play was as good as he’s been all year,” Oats said after the game.

No other game comes close.

Pringle is the reason why Alabama is still dancing in this NCAA Tournament, and Pringle is the reason why Alabama struggled to find any consistency on the defensive end during the regular season. Is this the year Alabama makes the Final Four? I hope so, but it’s on Pringle to get Alabama to the promised land.

Where is the Four Four this season? It’s in Phoenix.

If Alabama makes it, all those Grand Canyon students can greet Pringle at baggage claim.

SOUND OFF

Got a question about the changing landscape of college football, spring practice or March Madness? Want to get something off your chest? Send Joe a question about what’s on your mind for the weekly mailbag. Let your voice be heard. Ask him anything.

Joseph Goodman is the lead sports columnist for the Alabama Media Group, and author of the most controversial sports book ever written, “We Want Bama”.