Luke Ratliff, Charlie Wilson would have enjoyed Alabama basketball beating Auburn to win SEC
Charles Wilson received texts from a variety of people Wednesday, and most had a similar message.
Each one noted how fitting it was that Alabama basketball would be playing in-state rival Auburn that night at Coleman Coliseum with a chance to win the SEC regular-season championship outright on the 21st birthday of his son, Charlie Pierce Wilson.
“He would be head-over-heels,” Charles Wilson said an hour before tipoff. “It would be hard to keep him calm. It would be hard to keep him humble, because he would be eating up this thing about it being against Auburn.”
His son wasn't able to be there in person as Alabama found a way to come back after trailing by 17 in the second half to force overtime and eventually beat Auburn in overtime, 90-85. Wilson, a former Alabama student manager, died at age 20 after a fall during a seizure in 2022.
Wilson had a presence at the game, though. His favorite hat was placed by the Alabama equipment staff behind the team bench. Nearby, his family sat in Section F, Row 1, right behind the bench. His dad, Charles Wilson, attended alongside his mom Jill Wilson and sister Allie Wilson.
Pam Ratliff was sitting right next to them. Or more accurately, standing and cheering throughout the game next to the Wilson family.
From her seat, she had a perfect view of the Crimson Chaos student cheer section across the court. That’s where her son, Luke Ratliff, would have been. The man famously known as "Fluff" and "Fluffopotomus," who was president of Crimson Chaos, died of complications from COVID-19 in April 2021, but he forever has a seat at Coleman. Seat 7 in the front row of the student section has a plaque honoring his legacy.
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His mom didn’t have to think hard to know how her son would have felt about Wednesday.
“He would have been over the moon,” Pam Ratliff said. “He would have been absolutely over the moon. You couldn’t wash the grin off his face.”
Alabama (26-4, 16-1 SEC) didn't provide much reason to grin early, though. The Crimson Tide often struggled to make shots consistently early, and its usually stifling defense kept allowing Auburn (19-11, 9-8) to score bucket after bucket.
That led to a seven-point halftime deficit. Alabama tied the game at 42 early in the second half, but then Auburn eventually took a 66-49 lead with about 10 minutes left in the game.
Then point guard Jahvon Quinerly went to work.
He scored 15 of his 24 points after halftime. Quinerly also had two second-half steals. In total, he finished with 24 points, six assists and three steals to go with zero turnovers.
“I can’t be more proud of JQ,” Alabama coach Nate Oats said. “I told him, I told the team, we’re getting the March version of JQ. He was definitely the X-factor.”
It couldn’t be more fitting that Quinerly was the best player for Alabama, considering both Ratliff and Wilson saw him play.
That’s not the case for most other players on a roster that looks vastly different than a season ago, and almost completely different from two seasons ago. Charles Bediako and Noah Gurley are the only two returners other than Quinerly who played last season.
Thanks to Quinerly leading the efforts to force overtime, the Crimson Tide was able to win in the extra period and secure the SEC championship.
As Alabama players put on white SEC championship T-shirts −holding signs that read "We are champions" − an “SEC, SEC, SEC” chant broke out in the student section.
It was easy to hear, considering the student section was filled to the brim.
Students started lining up between noon and 1 p.m. to get seats for the game that didn’t start until 6. Pam Ratliff walked the line earlier in the day, thanking the fans for being there, as it stretched around the building and around the nearby track.
She cried when she saw it, because it’s what her son always wanted.
“It just warmed my heart,” Pam Ratliff said. “He wanted to see this place full and have the support. He wanted those kids to be packing it out, being loud.”
Wilson would have been loud, too, just from a different spot. He would have been behind the bench.
“He would have been close to getting his own technical,” Allie Wilson said.
“They would have to tell him to calm down,” Charles Wilson added. “Energy was his middle name.”
His family knows he would have brought that same energy as the players, assistant coaches and finally Oats cut down the net after the game. His dad said his son would have delighted in taking part in the celebration.
“As much as we would love for him to be here,” Charles Wilson said, “he’s having a great birthday where he is.”
This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Alabama basketball: Luke Ratliff, Charlie Wilson would have loved win
