Avery Johnson, Jr. Official Now
Photo Credit: RollTide.com
It is now "official-official."
Former Texas A&M point guard Avery Johnson, Jr. will officially join the Alabama Crimson Tide basketball program according to an announcement yesterday afternoon by Alabama men's head basketball coach, and father of the transferee, Avery Johnson.
While having three years of eligibility remaining, NCAA transfer rules dictate that Johnson Jr. sit out the upcoming 2015-16 season. He will be able to practice with the team, however.
Coach Johnson said, "I am thrilled as both a coach and a father for Avery Jr. to join our basketball program at the University of Alabama. As a father, to have the opportunity to coach your son is something I am really looking forward to. As a coach, I am excited to have someone of Avery’s skill set and character on our team. I expect Avery to be a great representative of our program in three major phases: athletically, academically and as someone who will help sell my vision for this program.”
Johnson Jr. played in 13 games while a freshman at Texas A&M, averaging 1.4 points and 4.3 minutes per game.
247Sports rated him as a three-star prospect in the class of 2014 out of high school. He started for three years at John Cooper School (The Woodlands, Texas), then started as a senior at Plano High School where he graduated in 2014.
Incidentally, Johnson Jr. played AAU ball with the Texas Titans under former head coach and current Alabama basketball assistant coach Scott Pospichal.
Welcome aboard, Avery Jr. Glad to have you at UA!
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Avery Johnson Gets His Wing Player
Photo Credit: Reuters
6' 6" guard/wing man Arthur Edwards will be transferring to UA. Edwards is a New Mexico graduate transfer. The Maryland native spent one year at Northwest Florida State College before transferring to New Mexico to play two years.
Last season Edwards averaged 12 minutes of playing time per game, and averaged 3.9 points and two rebounds.
Johnson had said just in the past couple of weeks that he wanted to add a wing player with experience.
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Haylie McCleney & Jaclyn Traina Help Team USA Win
Photo Credit: RollTide.com
With the help of two Bama gals, Team USA softball defeated Japan 6-1 on Sunday night in Irvine, California to with its eighth World Cup. Current Alabama outfielder Haylie McCleney and former pitcher Jaclyn Traina did the Crimson Tide proud as members of the national team. This marked Traina's third year with Team USA and McCleney's second.
Eight of the 18 players on the Team USA roster are from the SEC, ranking first in the number of members on the team. The Pac 12 was next with six players. Alabama is one of five schools with multiple current or former players on this season's squad.
Traina appeared in three of the seven games, and allowed just one earned run over just nine innings pitched, ten strikeouts, and five hits allowed. From 2011 through 2014 she was a four time All-American at UA. She was instrumental in the Tide's first national title in 2012, pitching every inning at the Women's College World Series that particular season.
McCleney participated in all seven games. She batted .375 with five runs scored. She is a three-time All-American at UA, and is the current batting average leader at .449, as well as the best on-base percentage at .561. She was named Academic All-American of the Year and SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year this past season.
This past Sunday's championship game was the seventh meeting between Team USA and Japan. The win gave Bama the edge at 5-2. They finished the weekend with a 7-1 slate, losing only to Canada.
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Old Sayings & Their Origins
Let's have a little fun and take a look at a few of the "old sayings" you hear from time-to-time in everyday conversation.
Baker's Dozen
The actual meaning is that a baker's dozen is 13 instead of 12. Why? This comes from back in the day when bakers were severely punished for baking underweight loaves. There were those who would add an extra loaf to a batch of a dozen just to remain above suspension.
Bee Line
In the past people believed that bees flew in a straight line to their hive. So if a person made a bee line for something that meant they went straight for it.
Big Wig
Back in the 18th century when many men wore wigs, the most important men wore the biggest wigs. So today important people are referred to as a big wig.
