We all know how great a coach Gregg Marshall is, and if he takes the Alabama job, he obviously wouldn't be the first great coach in Alabama basketball history.

It's hard to compare a contemporary coach to a legend like former Tide coach Wimp Sanderson, but should Marshall take the head coaching position in Tuscaloosa, we may be seeing shades of Wimp back at The Capstone.

Now before you go get too upset about me putting Marshall and Sanderson in the same conversation, take a look at their awards and accomplishments, also the manner in which they built a top tier program in the collegiate basketball world.

After Newton could only muster two NIT appearances from 1978-80, the Crimson Tide decided to part ways with him and promote one of his assistant coaches in Wimp Sanderson.

Sanderson was able to turn around the program within two years, as he took the Tide to the Sweet 16 in his second season, and thus began a dominant run of Alabama basketball throughout the 80s. Beginning that season, Sanderson was able to make the NCAA Tournament nine more times during the next ten seasons, the only such time in Alabama basketball history.

During his tenure, Sanderson was able to be awarded with many honors and accomplishments. He was named three-time SEC Coach of the Year during the 80s, and also named National Coach of the Year in 1987. Had the alleged incident of sexual harassment which forced Alabama's hand to terminate his contract not happened, it's completely reasonable to think that Sanderson could have continued his success all the way through the 90s.

Gregg Marshall was a lowly assistant at his alma mater from 1985-1987, Randolph-Macon College in Ashland, Virginia, when he became assistant at Belmont Abbey College for the 1987-1988 season. After his stint there, he moved on to become an assistant at the College of Charleston and Marshall University from 1988-1998.

Being an assistant for 13 seasons could be demoralizing for a coach, as it seems like one would never get a head coaching gig. However, Marshall accepted the job of head coach at Winthrop in 1998, only to turn that struggling program around and get the Eagles to seven NCAA Tournament appearances in nine seasons.

After eight seasons at Winthrop, Marshall was going to take the same job at the College of Charleston, but had a change of heart at his introductory press conference and came back to Winthrop for one more season.

He coached the 2006-2007 season for the Winthrop Eagles, then moved on to Wichita State. Since 2007, he has led the Shockers to an NIT championship and is on a streak of four straight NCAA Tournament appearances, with a Final Four appearance two years ago.

With the history lesson out of the way, now we'll take a look at Marshall's accomplishments and awards. His most successful head coaching tenure is obviously at Wichita State, where he has won the Missouri Valley Conference Coach of the Year award three times, while winning the AP, Naismith, NABC, and Henry Iba National Coach of the Year awards last season.

Both Sanderson and Marshall, while at their "premier" jobs during their respective careers, won the National Coach of the Year award once and also conference Coach of the Year three times in their respective conferences (although Marshall did win the Big South Coach of the Year four times at Winthrop). Both coaches have a career win percentage above 66%, and both have a knack at winning 24+ games in a season, as both have done so six times.

The main difference between the two is that Marshall took over a struggling program in a basketball state and turned it into a powerhouse. Sanderson took the reigns from Newton, but the Alabama program wasn't "terrible" by any means when the Tide parted ways with him.

As much as some fans complain about the past six years of Bama hoops, the program isn't "terrible." If you say it's "mediocre," then that's fair, but it isn't anywhere near the same level as Wichita State was before Gregg Marshall took over the show. Should Marshall take the job in Tuscaloosa, it isn't out of the realm of possibility to see him do what Sanderson was able to do during the 80s.

Oh, and Marshall's fashion sense isn't anywhere near what Sanderson's was on the court (although the glasses are a nice touch). If he were to break out the plaid suits, then we'd have a conversation.

May need to make a note to tell the Athletic Department at Alabama to supply all the suits for Marshall in the potential contract.

That's a great sales pitch in my humble opinion.

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