Buckle up, he said.

Things were about to change, Avery Johnson promised after the private jet landed in Tuscaloosa that early-April 2015 evening. The few hundred cheering fans on the other side of barbed wire fence proved the rehab job had an enthusiastic start.

Nearly a year later, the first season proved worthy of Johnson's catch-phrase safety device -- lending a look at the future with reminders of the hurdles left from the past.

The final 18-15 record was one win short of the 19-15 mark from Anthony Grant's final stand. And the 8-10 conference mark was identical.

Similarities ended there.

Abruptly.

The path to those near-mirror image records -- the intangibles of a season showed the difference an energy boost can make. Johnson's first Alabama team arguably had less talent than the 2014-15 squad, yet it accomplished things that hadn't happened in years.

To be clear, it wasn't a perfect introduction. The 72-54 NIT loss at Creighton lacked the mid-February enthusiasm that wasn't again approached. Losing six of the final eight drained some of the juice from an unexpected five-game winning streak.

There were still a few statements made along the way.

-- The Nov. 27 win over Wichita State was the first Alabama victory in 21 games against ranked opponents. That losing streak covered more than three full seasons. Then, two days after beating Wichita State (and Bill Battle's first choice for the Tide basketball job, Gregg Marshall), Alabama did it again by taking out No. 17 Notre Dame, 74-73. By February, Alabama had four wins over ranked teams. That didn't include the program's first win at Florida in 21 years.

-- Johnson's team was 6-3 in games decided by five points or fewer. Last year, that record was 4-5 and 3-5 the season before that. So there was better late-game management this season.

-- And while slightly misleading because it counts tickets sold instead of bums in seats, Alabama crushed the home attendance record this season. An average of 13,110 tickets were sold for Coleman Coliseum this season. That bettered the previous mark of 12,484 in 2011-12 -- the last season Alabama made the NCAA tournament. Home crowds averaged 10,612 a year ago. So there was more enthusiasm.

Those were a few of the tangibles that improved in 2015-16. The things that can't be measured probably matter a little more.

Put simply, there was personality back in the Alabama basketball program. Johnson realized this sport doesn't sell itself in football country, so he spoke to any group who would listen. Audiences responded to the youthful enthusiasm and unrelenting smile.

Perhaps as a result, there was a different feel in Coleman Coliseum for games. A sense of inevitable demise hung in the cavernous building the previous winter. Few thought the program would continue on the same track. Even less hoped it would.

What could only be described as a "yeah, but ..." energy emerged this season. Johnson sold the fan base on the building-for-the-future goal of this season. The bar was lowered to that point the NCAA bubble talk briefly made Alabama a national headline.

Even when things went south, this team retained an overachiever label. The Tide was picked to finish 13th of 14 SEC teams in November. It then beat eventual-champion Texas A&M along the way to a 10th-place finish.

So, now that the rebuilding season is officially over, the future is in full view. Replacing All-SEC guard Retin Obasohan's 17.6-point average will be easier than filling the leadership void he leaves behind.

Everyone else but Arthur Edwards is scheduled for a return. That includes Dazon Ingram, the star freshman whose season ended prematurely with a broken foot in December. Also throw in Nick King, a Memphis transfer who drew top marks as a practice player sitting out in accordance with NCAA rules. Avery Johnson Jr., a personality as engaging as his father's, will also be eligible next year after transferring from Texas A&M.

And then there's the recruiting situation.

Back in August, momentum exploded with a commitment from five-star guard Terrance Ferguson of Dallas. Then a pledge from four-star forward Braxton Key in October and Alabama was climbing the rankings. The only issue is Key signed in the fall while Ferguson balked. His commitment to Alabama stuck until March 1 when he reopened the recruitment.

That leaves Key and Ar'Mond Davis, the top JUCO priority for Johnson's staff, as Alabama's two newcomers next season. After losing to Creighton, Johnson vowed the recruiting drive wasn't over for next season's team.

So, as the NCAA tournament kicks into gear Thursday, this seems like as good a time as any to assess the direction of Alabama's program. It's more than fair to say a bid feels more imminent this March than it did a year ago today. The 2015-16 season's disappointing left more optimism than the previous March 15, the day Grant was fired.

Johnson's hiring announced 23 days later set this whole thing in motion.

"Get ready," Johnson said after stepping off the jet in Tuscaloosa last April, about to coin the theme of the year to come. "Put your seatbelt on. Because what you're about to experience is something you haven't experienced before."