Three former University of Alabama sports figures will be inducted into the State of Alabama Sports Hall of Fame this Saturday night, according to rolltide.com. They are former quarterback Jay Barker and basketball players Derrick McKey and Ennis Whatley. A total of eight are to be inducted.
Barker is the winningest quarterback in Tide history by percentage (.934), and was the leader of 1992 National Championship team.
McKey was one of the leaders on the 1986-87 basketball team that went 26-4 overall, 16-2 in the SEC, which was one of Bama's finest teams that ended the season ranked No. 9 in the Associated Press poll. He averaged 18.6 points and 7.5 rebounds per game.
Whatley was one of the top basketball players in the nation during his two seasons at UA, and earned All-America honors in 1983. During that season he averaged 15.2 points and 6.9 assists per game. Bama reached the SEC Tournament Championship game as well as the NCAA Tournament. He was also a member of the 1982 SEC championship team.
McKey and Whatley will become the 11th and 12th former Alabama basketball players or coach to enter the state's Hall of Fame. The other former players are James "Lindy" Hood (class of 1990), Leon Douglas (class of 1996), T.R. Dunn (class of 1997), Jerry Harper (class of 2001), Wendell Hudson (class of 2001), Reggie King (class of 2004), Buck Johnson (class of 2007) and Robert Horry (class of 2010). Two former Alabama basketball coaches are in the Hall of Fame, both legendary in the state of Alabama. They are Wimp Sanderson (class of 1990) and C.M. Newton (class of 1993). .
Other members of the Alabama Sports Hall Of Fame Class of 2015 include: Chris Gray (football), Evander Holyfield (boxing), Bobby Hunt (football), Tom Neville (football) and Tony Richardson (football).
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Basketball Recruiting
University of Alabama head basketball coach Avery Johnson has offered one of the top 2016 prospects a scholarship to play basketball for the Crimson Tide. He is 6' 8", 220-pound small forward Braxton Blackwell, according to to AL.com.
Blackwell attends Christ Presbyterian Academy in Nashville, Tennessee, playing AAU basketball for the Atlanta Celtics.
Blackwell is rated as a four-star recruit, and, according to the 247Sports composite, is the No. 36 overall prospect. He is also listed as the No. 8 small forward and the No. 2 prospect from Tennessee.
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Kobie Eubanks, a 6' 5", 212-pound wing guard from Fort Lauderdale, Florida will be making an official visit to the University Of Alabama from May 19-21. He is one of the nation's top uncommitted prospects in this year's class.
According to the 247Sports composite rankings, Eubanks is the No. 89 overall prospect.
Incidentall, Eubanks' brother, Nick Eubanks, holds an offer from Alabama football as a tight-end recruit in the class of 2016.
Still no confirmation as yet on the actual signing of Avery Johnson, Jr. to the Alabama basketball program. His transfer was announced last week. Johnson is the son of Alabama head basketball coach Avery Johnson.
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Football Recruiting
6'3", 190-pound three-star safety Joshua Perry tweeted on Monday that he has committed to the University of Alabama to play football. Perry is one of the top 40 safeties in the country for the 2016 signing class and is from Amite, Louisiana. He received an offer while visiting Bama on A-Day.
Perry also had offers from in-state school LSU as well as the Ole Miss Rebels.
Perry's tweet read, "Proud to say that I'm verbally committed to The University of Alabama #RTR"
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2016 3-star running back Brandon Stephens out of Plano (Texas) High School has received an offer from the Crimson Tide. He is rated as one of the top-50 running backs in the country and stands at just over six feet tall and weighs in at 201 pounds.
