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Men's & Women's Basketball
Tide Tipoff Was Noisy And Fun
Photo Credit: RollTide.com
Photo Credit: RollTide.com
Nearly 7,500 fans packed Coleman Coliseum last night for the Tide Tipoff hosted by the Alabama men's and women's basketball teams. Men's head basketball coach Avery Johnson and women's basketball coach Kristy Curry spoke to the crowd, welcomed the fans and officially welcomed in the 2015-16 Alabama Basketball season.
It was a night of fun, games, excitement and a concert. The event featured a three-point contest, a slam dunk competition and a performance by hip hop artist Rae Sremmurd.
Coach Johnson said, "Tonight
was a celebration of our men's and women's basketball teams, our
students, administration, season ticket holders and folks who work here
in Coleman Coliseum that get the courts ready and chairs down. We had Coach (Nick) Saban coming on the video. You saw all of us
pulling in the same direction, as we are all about Roll Tide. We want
to see both the men's and women's basketball teams get to the elite
level. So, if this is a snapshot of what we are going to see during the
season, we are asking all of our fans to show up. Show up for our
doubleheader on November 13, where hopefully you will see both of our
teams put on a great show. We need the community's help, and we need
your support."
Coach Curry commented, "First of all, just thank you to every person that was in the building
tonight and for the incredible amount of support from the staff that
played a huge part in making this happen and all their energy and
effort; from the event staff, to promotions and marketing, to our staff,
our director of operations Colton (Houston) and Grant (Fausset) were
phenomenal. Just for Coach Avery and his staff for embracing us and giving
us an opportunity to make sure that we can put both of our programs on a
platform to be successful. It means so much from the bottom of my
heart. I am so fired up, eager and excited about the future of both
programs. Thank you to everyone for being here tonight, our team
thoroughly enjoyed it, and we are all excited about both seasons ahead."
The excitement was evident from the very beginning, from the fans to the players and right on up to the coaches. The noise level inside Coleman Coliseum was just what they were hoping for: loud throughout the event. The evening began with introductions, then head football coach Nick Saban had prepared a special video message which was played to the crowd. A light scrimmage by both teams was held following team introductions. After that a three-point competition was held.
A dunk competition closed out the evenings on-court activities, which included celebrity judges such as heavyweight boxing champion and Tuscaloosa native Deontay Wilder, weatherman James Spann from ABC 33/40, Alabama linebacker Reggie Ragland, NCAA Golf champion Emma Talley, Crimson Chaos President James Brewer and Alabama mascot Big Al.
Finally the fun-filled night came to a close with a 30-minute performance by hip hop artist Rae Sremmurd.
Photo Credit: RollTide.com
Photo Credit: RollTide.com
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Saban Press Conference
Photo Credit: RollTide.com
Alabama head football coach Nick Saban met with the press on Tuesday rather than his usual Monday due to the Crimson Tide's bye week. He spoke about the Tennessee game, injuries and the upcoming clash with the LSU Tigers a week from this Saturday.
Saban kicked things off speaking of the Tennessee game from this past Saturday, which the Tide won 19-14. He said the game was "a little bit of a survival game." He had mentioned it after the game on Saturday night, but again mentioned that Bama was mentally and physically tired.
The coach pointed out that there were more missed tackles and a few missed turnover opportunities than normal. This would reflect some of that mental and physical tiredness of which he spoke. Saban did say, however, if the team didn't have "the juice" in the game, then it was his fault.
Saban mentioned Eddie Jackson is practicing some though injured in last Saturday's game. Ronnie Harrison would be in a boot for a few days but should be okay. It's not clear whether Dominick Jackson will be able to play in the contest with LSU due to a sprained ankle. (See accompanying story.)
Third down has been an issue with the football team this year. Numerous times in past games the passes have been too short, or the receivers didn't run routes past the the first down marker meaning that they had to punt the ball away. Saban said that the third down situation was better for them against Tennessee.
The focus this week is to get more players to play at their best. Inconsistency has sometimes been a problem, and comes when you're not playing at a high level all the time. The effort and level of play can help that problem.
The coach said that the effort put forth in yesterday's practice was strong.
Third down has been an issue with the football team this year. Numerous times in past games the passes have been too short, or the receivers didn't run routes past the the first down marker meaning that they had to punt the ball away. Saban said that the third down situation was better for them against Tennessee.
The focus this week is to get more players to play at their best. Inconsistency has sometimes been a problem, and comes when you're not playing at a high level all the time. The effort and level of play can help that problem.
The coach said that the effort put forth in yesterday's practice was strong.
Saban said the coaching staff does quality control assessments during the bye week. He said that everything is examined.
Bye week practices are handled a little differently now than they were in past years. Saban said there used to be more practices in bye weeks, but now they feel that rest is more important. There was no practice on Monday, and the players will get Friday, Saturday, and Sunday off this week.
Addressing the numerous tackles for loss, especially in last week's contest with Tennessee, Saban said that those tackles for loss are the result of mental errors, communication and missed assignments.
Some of the Alabama assistant coaches have been mentioned for some of the head coaching vacancies that have come up recently. Saban said there hasn't been any issues with coaches being distracted by other opportunities.
Alabama will face LSU a week from this Saturday. The game is a night game, with a scheduled game time of 7 p.m. CT.
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Injury Update
Alabama football saw three players go down with injuries in the past Saturday's victory over Tennessee. During his press conference, Alabama head coach Nick Saban gave a progress report concerning the health of right tackle Dominick Jackson, safety Eddie Jackson and safety/dime back Ronnie Harrison.
Harrison is currently in a walking boot, according to Saban, with a sprained ankle. Coach did say, however, that Harrision should be fine and back at it by the end of this week.
Eddie Jackson suffered a sprained knee during the contest with Tennessee but was later able to return to the game. He was on the practice field yesterday and did practice some. Saban said, "We think he'll get better every day and probably be back in a day or two."
The situation with Dominick Jackson could be a bit more problematic, according to Saban. At this point he appears to be uncertain as to whether he'll be able to play in next week's contest with LSU. According to Saban, D Jackson has suffered a high ankle sprain.
Saban commented, "I don't know if Dominick will be able to play or not. That's going to be day-by-day, probably after about a week's rest, to see how he responds."
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Good Time To Say Bye
It's a great time for a bye week.
The University of Alabama football team found a way to Saturday, beating the rival Tennessee Volunteers 19-14 this past Saturday despite their fatigue. Oh, Tennessee is a better football team than many gave credit. Perhaps there was even a little "playing above their heads" going on, but they have a good team none-the-less, despite their wins and losses.
Once again some of the Twitter "experts" were calling plays and/or sending "messages to Kiffin" signed by the Alabama fans, and sometimes Saban. Takes a lot not to respond the way I'd like to when those are tweeted. A few, in particular, were screaming in the first half for offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin to run the ball, quit passing, stop the play-action, etc. They just wanted the ball up the middle since we have two capable backs.
Of course, many of the same ones tweeting NOT to pass in the first half were then screaming FOR the pass the second half. Ironic that the first half passes were needed to help open some running lanes, as well have the quarterback and receivers loosened up and ready for that very thing in the second half. Oh well, just glad that we have some that can step in when a new OC is needed when Kiffin moves on.
The Alabama offense is showing improvement. As I mentioned before, as has Coach Saban, we need a little better pass protection to keep Coker off his butt quite so much. But overall, the young men on offense are taking steps to improvement.
Of course next week will indeed be a test. The Tide and the Bengal Tigers face off in what is usually a fairly close game. But our offense has had its moments some over the years with LSU.
One thing I know. Our coaches and players want to win these football games more than the fans want them won. Seriously. We're fans. They are all fans AND participants. No one enjoys walking off that field having lost, and especially, giving away the game. Remember that in all your criticism.
The game film, practice sessions, injuries, the mood for the week...we aren't privy to all that. Not nearly all of it. So I'm just going to keep counting on and trusting the coaches and players to come up with the best way to defeat that particular week's opponent. And the next one is LSU. I'm sure the coaching staff didn't take much more than last Saturday night off after with win over Tennessee.
Thanks again, coaches and players. Roll Tide!
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Missouri Volleyball Hosts Crimson Tide Tonight
Photo Credit: RollTide.com
The Alabama Crimson Tide volleyball team (10-12; 4-4 SEC) meets the Missouri Tigers (18-3; 6-2) tonight at the Hearnes Center in Columbia, Missouri.
The Lady Tide fell in three last weekend to the Kentucky Wildcats, but came back to defeat Georgia on Sunday in a sweep.
Tonight's contest will air on the SEC Network beginning at 7 p.m. CT. Tiffany Greene and Maria Taylor will be making the call.
