Alabama Basketball Fan Who Bought Billboards Says Goal is To Be Encouraging Not Disparaging

The new billboard along University Boulevard in Tuscaloosa that reads "Protect the Paint," "Rebound!" and "Rebounding = Final Four" will be changing very soon and quite often, actually.

Michael Wendel, 60, who purchased the billboards following the University of Alabama's men's basketball team's first Southeastern Conference loss of the season on Saturday against then-ranked No. 18 Missouri, told BamaCentral that a new message will be up, as early as Thursday morning.

It will congratulate the Crimson Tide on its 81-78 win over South Carolina on Tuesday night with senior guard John Petty Jr.'s name on there because he was the leading scorer and rebounder with 20 and eight, respectively.

"We are huge Bama fans," Wendel said. "We are gotten a little more attention than I thought. Our comments are not trying to be disparaging. We do not want to be derogatory to the team at all. We want it to be encouragement.

"All we are trying to be is over-exuberant in rooting for the Tide.”

Following the victory over the Gamecocks, Alabama coach Nate Oats shared his thoughts on the signs, which he seemed to appreciate very much.

"I love it," Oats said. "Shoot, they are obviously into basketball if someone is paying to put billboards up telling us to rebound. They are on the same page as the coaching staff. I love that the fans in Tuscaloosa care that much.

"We got some basketball fans and I love it."

Wendel is a basketball fan, a die-hard one to be exact.

“Rebounding = Final Four” billboard in Tuscaloosa. pic.twitter.com/IiF50WPZrW
— AJ Spurr (@SpurrFM) February 9, 2021

He is a Villanova alumnus and has seen his Wildcats win the 1985, 2016 and 2018 national championships. However, his ties to the Capstone are through his daughter, who is a senior now at Alabama.

Wendel is just flat-out amazed how the Crimson Tide can be so dominant in football, winning the 2020 College Football Playoff National Championship and going undefeated at 13-0, while having a hoops team that is currently ranked 11th in the nation and first place in the SEC.

"How cool would it be if one university won the national championship in football and men's basketball in the same freaking year," Wendel said. "How could you not be having fun if you are living in Tuscaloosa right now? This is a time that these kids should be living the dream."

The idea for the billboards came to his mind in just under an hour after the loss to the Tigers. He says it cost him $2,500 to have the sign for a total of 45 days.

"I believe that Coach Oats has a wonderful offensive strategy," Wendel said. "He has an NBA-style offense but if you happen to go 1-for-30, you better be in the paint ready to rebound so you get the extra points underneath the basket when you do go 1-for-30. So I just decided to make a call to the ad company and threw it up there."

He added: “I'm just happy that Coach Oats loves the sign."

Wendel says that the messages will change every three days or so because of the digital nature of the sign. He re-iterates that he isn't in the business of discouraging student-athletes but rather wants it to serve as motivation.

"I don't want to do anything negative," Wendel added. "Maybe we can even be inspirational with it. These fellas have the opportunity to go to the Final Four. I really believe that. I believe it because if they get into the paint and they fight in the paint — if they don't, a team like Baylor or Villanova will kick their ass — and they attack the offensive glass, they could make a deep run."

Currently, the Crimson Tide ranks 15th in the nation in rebounds per game at 40.6. In terms of total rebounds, Alabama has the most in country at 853.

If Oats' squad continues at that rate, then according to Wendel, a national title banner could be hanging in Coleman Coliseum real soon.

"I think they can win it all," Wendel noted. "As long as they rebound and own the paint."