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1st Official Basketball Practice Yesterday
Photo Credit: RollTide.com
The latest edition of Crimson Tide basketball took to the court for their first official practice of the 2015-16 season yesterday at Coleman Coliseum. Also taking the practice court was new head coach Avery Johnson and his newly hired basketball staff putting the young men through their paces.
Johnson said yesterday, "We started off by getting the boys up early (yesterday) morning for a one hour practice and now we are going again (yesterday) afternoon.We are so excited to get things started. We
have a lot of young players who need time on the court because they
haven't spent a lot of time playing together. We also have coaches who
haven't coached together before. The more time we can get on the court
and prepare, the better off we will be. We have been pleased with what
we've seen to this point, but now it's time to get after it and that's
what we intend to do."
With the implementation of the new NCAA rules back in 2013 the start of team practices may now begin earlier in the fall, 42 days prior to the first game of the season. The first game for Bama will be on November 13th when they take on Kennesaw State at Coleman Coliseum in a double-header shared with the Tide women's team.
With the implementation of the new NCAA rules back in 2013 the start of team practices may now begin earlier in the fall, 42 days prior to the first game of the season. The first game for Bama will be on November 13th when they take on Kennesaw State at Coleman Coliseum in a double-header shared with the Tide women's team.
The Crimson Tide has three starters returning for the 2015-16 campaign, as well as six lettermen. Bama also welcomes five newcomers for the upcoming season.
Alabama plays an exhibition game against Trevecca Nazarene on November 6th of open the season prior to the first official game.
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Tide Volleyball Falls To Vols Yesterday
Photo Credit: RollTide.com
Though coming back to take the third match after being down 2-0, the Alabama volleyball team fell to Tennessee last night in Knoxville, Tennessee by a score of 3-1 in Thompson-Boling arena. The loss drops the Tide to 7-9 overall, 1-1 in the SEC. Tennessee improved to 16-2, 2-1.
Alabama will face Kentucky tomorrow in Lexington, Kentucky at 12:30 pm CT.
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Alabama Softball Opens Season Tomorrow
The fall season begins tomorrow morning for the University of Alabama softball team with a doubleheader on tap with Middle Tennessee State. The first game is scheduled to begin at 11:30 am CT with game two starting 30 minutes following the conclusion of game one.
Head softball coach Patrick Murphy commented, "With such a big group of newcomers, I’d prefer to go on the road at least once in the fall. We’re very happy to make the trip. We’re paying back Middle Tennessee State a bit as well since they’ve come to our place multiple times in the fall before."
The Tide hosts four additional contests at Rhoads Stadium this month, with Western Kentucky and Mobile on October 17th, West Alabama on October 18th and Shorter College on October 25th.
Murphy said, "The fall season gives us a great opportunity to play around with the lineup since none of these games count. I want to see what different players do in different situations. We know what a lot of our older players can do, but I’m really excited to see what our newcomers do and I think the rest of the team is as well."
12 players return to the Tide softball team, beginning the 20th season as an organized sport at UA. All four of it's All-Americans return. They are senior Haylie McCleney, junior Marisa Runyon, sophomore Alexis Osorio and sophomore Demi Turner.
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Tide Primed For A Fight Despite Being 2-point Underdogs
Photo Credit: RollTide.com
Though the Crimson Tide enters today's clash with the Georgia Bulldogs a 2-point underdog. But realistically the main reason is probably it's a home game for the Bulldogs. If the game were being played in Tuscaloosa, the line would be reversed and possibly higher than the current one. Chances of Bama losing another game in Tuscaloosa are practically non-existent.
This game will probably be more of a running attack than passing attack. Weather there is supposed to be rainy...very. Not to say that passes won't be thrown, but this should probably be the running contest so many Bama (Twitter) fans have been yelling for. Sloppy conditions could cause problems either way, however.
Bama's defensive line is arguably the best in the nation. Whether pass or run they have shown to be superior. But if they know the run is coming, Bama has been dominant. Georgia has no spread offense and hasn't been an uptempo team. However, none of the Tide's previous opponents have had Nick Chubb. Chubb has gained a minimum of 100 yards in each of his last 12 games. In fact, Chubb could be on track for an unbelievable 2,000-yard season.
A lot is on the line in this afternoon's contest. Another SEC loss would more than likely take Bama out of both the SEC championship and national championship races. So, this could be considered an elimination game for Bama, or at least one with elimination undertones.
No one knows what's at stake better than the Crimson Tide. They don't have to be told what another loss this season could mean. Expect them to be motivated because of the previous loss, a first-time underdog, and the possibilities of the end of championship hopes for the season.
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2016 UA Football Commitments
This is the complete list of the 18 University of Alabama football commitments for 2016 class as of October 2, 2015.
- T.J. Simmons, WR (6' 2", 185 lbs), Clay-Chalkville High School, Pinson, Ala.*
- Deonte Brown, OL (6' 3", 330 lbs), Austin High, Decatur, Ala.*
- Riley Cole, LB (6' 3", 210lbs), Oneonta High Schol, Oneonta, Ala.*
- Quinnen Williams, DL (6' 4", 265 lbs), Wenonah High School, Birmingham, Ala.*
- Shawn Jennings S (6'2", 218 lbs.), Dadeville High School, Dadeville, Ala.*
- Chris Owens, OL (6' 3", 312 lbs), Lamar High, Arlington, Texas
- Raekwon Davis, DT (6' 7", 315 lbs), Meridian High, Meridian, Miss.
- Jonah Williams, OL (6' 5", 283 lbs), Folsom High, Folsom, Calif.
- Brendan Scales, TE (6' 4", 230 lbs), Lafayette, Ballwin, Mo.
- Joshua Perry, DB (6' 3", 190 lbs), Amite High, Amite, La.
- Kendell Jones, DT (6' 4", 360 lbs), Shoemaker High, Killeen, Texas
- Charles Baldwin, OL (6' 5", 305 lbs), ASA College, Brooklyn, N.Y.
- Jalen Hurts, QB (6' 2", 208lbs), Channelview High, Channelview, Texas
- Jaquan Yulee, LB (6' 0", 252 lbs), Indian River High, Chesapeake, Va.
- Eddy Pineiro, K (6' 1", 180 lbs), ASA College, Miami, Fla.
- Miller Forristall, TE (6' 5", 220lbs), Cartersville High School, Cartersville, Ga.
- Khalid Kareem, DE (6' 4", 260 lbs), Harrison High School, Farmington, Mich.
- B.J. Emmons, RB (5' 10", 232 lbs), Freedom High School, Morganton, N.C.
*In-state commitments
