Jonathan Allen Is 2016 Lombardi Award Recipient
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| Jonathan Allen wins Lombardi Award Photo Credit: UA Athletics |
The Lombardi Award is Allen's fourth national award of his senior season. The young man also captured the Bronko Nagurski Trophy and Chuck Bednarik Award, which honor the national defensive player of the year, as well as the Ted Hendricks Award, which goes to the top defensive end in college football. The native of Leesburg, Virginia native was also a unanimous All-American selection and was chosen as the Southeastern Conference Defensive Player of the Year by both the Associated Press and the conference coaches.
Allen, completed his Crimson Tide career ranked second in Alabama annals for sacks with 28.5 (-205 yards), much in part to his outstanding senior season when he led Bama with 10.5 (-82 yards). He finished the 2016 season with 69 total tackles to rank third on the team, including 16 for loss (-94 yards) that tied him for second. Allen was also responsible for a team-high 15 quarterback hurries as well as picking up three fumble recoveries for 115 yards, two of which went for touchdowns of 75 and 30 yards, in his final season with the Tide.
The Rotary Lombardi Award is presented annually to the college football player who best demonstrates outstanding performance and skill in their position and best exemplifies the discipline, virtue and wisdom that defined Vincent Lombardi's exceptional brand of leadership.
The only other recipient of this coveted award hailing from the University of Alabama was Cornelius Bennett in 1986.
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Kentucky Claws Out Win Over Bama Men's Basketball
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| Photo Credit: UA Athletics/Kent Gidley |
Alabama men's basketball head coach Avery Johnson said, "I thought this was going to be a very winnable game, but unfortunately, we didn't have a great first half. We dug ourselves a hole, didn't have great body language and played on our heels. We were a little fearful for some reason in the first half. Hopefully, we will continue to mature. As a coaching staff we will continue to try to coach them up better, but we were on our heels in the first half for some reason. We acted like we didn't know where to go or what to do with the basketball. Give [Kentucky] credit; coach (John) Calpari does a terrific job with all of these kids.
"We didn't capitalize, we came back there a little bit in the second half, we have a two possession game and we turned the ball over. Then, we get (Isaiah) Briscoe in a tough spot, he takes us to the basket and nobody comes over to help. Once we made a little bit of a run there, we became undisciplined again. We have to do a better job on coaching them up, and we've got to do a better job at playing confident with competitive spirit. I've seen signs of it during the course of the season but not consistently."
Kentucky Wildcats head coach John Calipari said, "We were worried about just playing hard, showing energy, having the world look at us and say, 'These guys care. These guys can be good defensively.' But they've got to be engaged in it. It's got to be about defense first, and it was.
"And we stunk offensively."
Crimson Tide freshman Braxton Key led all scorers with 21 points, with 17 of those coming in the second half. He followed by redshirt freshman Dazon Ingram with 12 points to go along with eight rebounds. Senior Bola Olaniyan led Bama with a total of 10 rebounds. Riley Norris was just one point back of double digits with nine points.
This was Coach Calipari's 23rd consecutive on-court 20-season win, the most among all active coaches. The Wildcats also reached 1,000 consecutive game making at least one three-point basket.
Up next for the Crimson Tide will be a trip to Columbia, Missouri on February 15th when Alabama will take on the Missouri Tigers. Game time is 7:30 p.m. CT and can be seen on the SEC Network.
| Game Stats | UK | UA |
|---|---|---|
| FG% | .435 | .451 |
| 3FG% | .200 | .214 |
| FT% | .556 | .346 |
| RB | 41 | 38 |
| TO | 12 | 16 |
| STL | 7 | 3 |
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| Photo Credit: UA Athletics/Kent Gidley |
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Coach Avery Johnson Press Conference
Following Loss To Kentucky
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| Click HERE to view press conference via Tide TV |
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Alabama Softball Continues To Roll On Saturday
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| Photo Credit: UA Athletics |
Though the Tide trailed early against Towson, the Bama belles managed to score three unanswered runs down the stretch to pull out the win 4-2. Then against Youngstown State, Alabama pitcher Sydney Littlejohn was able to take a no-hitter into the fifth inning, striking out 10 with just one hit allowed.
Alabama junior Peyton Grantham was 4-of-7 at the plate in the two games, with Merris Schroder and Elissa Brown banging three hits apiece, including a Bama softball-leading three RBIs for Schroder on the day. Three Crimson Tide pitchers combined for allowing just two runs and four walks in 14.0 innings of play while striking out 17 batters.
The Crimson Tide (4-0) will conclude the Kickin' Chicken Classic today when it takes on tournament host Coastal Carolina (1-1) at 11 a.m. CT.
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2017 Allstate SEC Basketball Legends Announced
The 2017 class includes George Linn, University of Alabama; Oliver Miller, Arkansas; Marquis Daniels, Auburn; Matt Bonner, Florida; Jimmy Pitts, Georgia; Keith Bogans, Kentucky; Tasmin Mitchell, LSU; Jason Harrison, Ole Miss; Dontae' Jones, Mississippi State; Jon Sundvold, Missouri; Bobby Cremins, South Carolina; Ron Slay, Tennessee; Acie Law IV, Texas A&M; Barry Booker, Vanderbilt.
Each SEC Basketball Legend will be recognized at halftime of his institution's first game at the tournament.
2017 marks the 19th year of the SEC Basketball Legends program.
2017 Allstate® SEC Basketball Legends:
ALABAMA - George Linn, Forward/Guard, 1953-56
ARKANSAS - Oliver Miller, Center, 1988-92
AUBURN - Marquis Daniels, Guard/Forward, 1999-03
FLORIDA - Matt Bonner, Forward, 1999-03
GEORGIA - Jimmy Pitts, Guard, 1962-65
KENTUCKY - Keith Bogans, Guard, 2000-03
LSU - Tasmin Mitchell, Forward, 2005-10
OLE MISS - Jason Harrison, Guard, 1999-02
MISSISSIPPI STATE - Dontae' Jones, Forward, 1996
MISSOURI - Jon Sundvold, Guard, 1980-83
SOUTH CAROLINA - Bobby Cremins, Guard, 1967-70
TENNESSEE - Ron Slay, Forward, 1999-03
TEXAS A&M - Acie Law IV, Guard, 2003-07
VANDERBILT - Barry Booker, Guard, 1986-89
