This wasn’t the column I was supposed to write.

Walking back from class yesterday afternoon, my iPod blasting, I was mentally formulating a potential lead for the column I was to write last night.

‘Don’t give up on Al Walker yet,’ I dreamed.

Or perhaps, ‘Al Walker deserves one more chance.’

Throughout this season, which was admittedly difficult for many of us to watch, I have been somewhat cynical (okay, very cynical) about our team’s abilities. In a three-part series a few weeks ago, I chronicled the seven-year tenure of our embattled head coach, trying the best I could to give you, the fans, the whole story.

Yesterday afternoon, having watched the entire conference tournament live this weekend in Boston, I decided that, in my opinion, it was not the time for our coach to pay the price.

So when I ran into Mark Macyk, Pipe Dream’s Sports Editor, as I prepared to write my season-ending column, I gave a cheery hello. He gave a somber response.

‘You should probably come with us,’ he said, walking up the New University Union stairs toward the Events Center. ‘It’s important.’

As I made my way down with fellow beat writer Ben Masur and PD staffer Chris Hamm, we all pretty much knew what was going on. Sixth place was not good enough.

But for once, I disagreed. For once, I was the optimistic one.

I attended yesterday’s press conference, sitting in the front row, not four feet from Al, wearing my BU Zoo T-shirt. Unprofessional? Probably. Ironic? Definitely.

That’s because when I woke up yesterday morning, all I could think about was basketball. All I could think about was the conference tournament I’d just seen.

Despite what readers might think, I didn’t, and don’t, hate Al Walker. I didn’t, and don’t, hate the Bearcats.

Just like the BU Zoo and just like Al Walker, I have always wanted what’s best for Binghamton basketball. Personally, it’s been an absolute pleasure getting to know Al Walker since I started covering the team in 2004, through the hard times and the good.

The back of my BU Zoo T-shirt reads ‘Sixth Man Club’ ‘ a reference to the BU Zoo, which has migrated from the West Gym to the $33.1 million Events Center under Walker’s direction. But in many ways, Walker has been that sixth man that the community and the school have come to embrace.

That’s why it’s so hard for me to comprehend this decision. I know it was probably the time, with Walker entering a lame-duck year after a significant step back in the America East. Finding a new, fresh face will be a positive in the long run.

But in seven years here, Walker has become just as much a part of Binghamton basketball, in my eyes, as the players themselves. Early in the season, the Zoo created cardboard cut-outs of Walker’s head with which to cheer. The guy quickly developed a cult following of which I, as a reporter, was a clandestine member.

Walker and I may have disagreed philosophically a bit this year, but there was one thing yesterday that we could all agree on: we both want what’s best for Binghamton basketball.

In my eyes, I ‘ honestly ‘ would’ve liked to have seen Walker get one last shot to bring home a title. While Walker seemed cool, calm and collected (as usual) in his farewell yesterday, I surprisingly found myself holding back the tears. I genuinely liked the guy, and if you’ve never had the chance to meet him, I’d recommend it.

If you get nothing else from this column, just understand this: It wasn’t the man we disliked this season ‘ it was the results.

With the location of the 2008 America East tournament up in the air and with memories of tournaments past still fresh in my mind, I still can picture coach Walker climbing a ladder in the Events Center, scissors in hand and tears in his eyes, as the Pep Band blasted ‘The Horse’ and ‘You Can Call Me Al,’ as throngs of inebriated students danced in the streets.

While that dream simply did not come to fruition, the future of BU basketball is only as bright as the mind of the coach that Dr. Joel Thirer can find us.

And that future is now. Let the search begin.

In next week’s Pipe Dream, we’ll take a more comprehensive look at the seven-year tenure of Al Walker, how finding a new coach will impact the current Bearcats and what effect a new coach will have on the community’s favorite BU team.