Alabama Men's Basketball Coaching Staff
Brings In No. 3 National Recruiting Class
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| Graphics/Photo Credit: Alabama Athletics |
If you listen closely, you can barely hear the instruments as they begin to play "Happy Days Are Here Again" for University of Alabama men's basketball. The Crimson Tide had a banner national signing period the past two days, inking five quality players to national letters of intent and placing second in the nation by some organizations, and number three by the 247Sports Composite, for their latest class.
Alabama head coach Avery Johnson and company certainly outdid themselves. According to the university, this is the highest-rated signing class in UA men's basketball history. Not bad for a guy many were asking, "...but can he recruit?" Answered. Oh, there was plenty of help, of course. But the head coach put together the team that brought home the bacon this year.
Joining the Crimson Tide are four-star power forward Alex Reese of Pelham, three-star shooting guard
Herb Jones of Hale County and three-star center Galin Smith of Clinton,
Mississippi, all of whom signed on the first day. Then yesterday five-star guard John "Mr. Basketball" Petty out of Huntsville, Alabama signed on the dotted line. Also signing on Thursday was a HUGE get for Bama, the No. 7 overall prospect Collin Sexton out of the state of Kentucky.
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| Graphics/Photo Credit: Alabama Athletics |
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| Graphics/Photo Credit: Alabama Athletics |
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| Graphics/Photo Credit: Alabama Athletics |
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| Graphics/Photo Credit: Alabama Athletics |
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Avery Johnson Pleased With Recruiting Haul
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Avery Johnson Pleased With Recruiting Haul
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| Alabama Men's Head Basketball Coach Avery Johnson Photo Credit: Alabama Athletics |
If it's still a thing, Alabama men's head basketball coach Avery Johnson was pleased as punch over the five 2017 signees for his second year at the helm of the Crimson Tide's basketball program. He was beaming when he spoke with the press. Both Scout.com and Rivals.com ranks the accomplishment as the number two recruiting class in the country, with 247Sports.com going as high as third in the nation. He made the official announcement earlier today.
The past two days' new additions are guards John Petty, Herb Jones and Collin Sexton, as well as forwards Alex Reese and Galin Smith. Get this, ALL are either four-star or five-star recruits. ALL were top-100 recruits. Petty, Jones and Reese were the top-3 recruits in Alabama, Sexton was tops in Georgia and of course Smith was the big man of Mississippi.
Smiling and clearly excited, Johnson said, "We're excited about this 2017 recruiting class. All five of the players have signed their NLI with us, and I would like to thank their families that have committed to us. I am extremely proud of all of the hard work that our assistant coaches and all of our auxiliary staff that has put into us having what we feel is the best recruiting class in the University of Alabama men's basketball history. Now obviously with a recruiting class, they have to come in and develop and be coachable and learn, mature, grow and develop. We have to win some games for it to really be a true, great recruiting class. Times of Wimp Sanderson and C.M. Anderson, they had some terrific, high level, pro-like players; we are trying to duplicate and imitate a lot of their success in recruiting and hopefully their success on the court."
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Bama Is Now Prepped & Ready For Dogs
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| Photo Credit: Alabama Athletics |
There were no significant changes to the injury list yesterday, but players are showing improvement. Reuben Foster still sports the "club hand" after a finger injury. He will be playing in tomorrows matchup with Mississippi State. Alphonse Taylor will miss yet another game due to a concussion sustained against the Arkansas Razorbacks back on September 8th. Taylor's replacement, Lester Cotton, has seen only very limited action in practices this week due to injury.
Kickoff for this one is scheduled for 11:00 a.m. CT. The contest will be broadcast live from Bryant-Denny Stadium on ESPN. Joe Tessitore and Todd Blackledge will handle the call from the booth while Holly Rowe will be on the sidelines.
Alabama leads the 78-18-3, and has been the victor in the last eight contests between the pair. In addion, the Crimson Tide has won the last four meetings in Tuscaloosa, with Bama most recently winning 31-6 in Starkville last season.
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Jalen Hurts Is Semifinalist For Davey O'Brien Award
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| Photo Credit: Alabama Athletics |
This is the time those awards and honors start to roll in, or at least the nominations to said awards. And this one has pretty much been expected. University ofAlabama freshman quarterback Jalen Hurts has been selected as one of 18 semifinalists for the Davey O'Brien National
Quarterback Award, and was announced by the Davey O'Brien National Selection Committee on Thursday afternoon.
Hurts has been outstanding during his first season for the Crimson Tide. He has played in all nine games this season and started the last eight consecutive contests. After coming in as a catalyst to get the team moving in the first game of the season against the USC Trojans, the starting job was pretty much his. The young Hurts has contributed 2,320 yards of total offense for the Tide, including 1,685 passing and 635 rushing. He has completed 139-of-223 (62.3 percent) passing attempts garnering 12 touchdowns compared to six interceptions. The youngster has accumulated 635 yards on 115 rushing attempts to average 5.5 yards per carry with a team-leading 10 touchdowns. Hurts already ranks second in Alabama single-season history for rushing yards by a quarterback and is just 156 yards shy of matching the all-time leader, Steadman Shealy (1979), at 791 yards, with three regular season games remaining as well as any post-season play.
That's not all. Hurts has earned a 138.2 pass efficiency rating, ranking third overall in the Southeastern Conference. He boasts 2,320 yards of total
offense which leads all conference freshmen at any position and ranks fifth
overall in the conference. When it comes to scoring Hurts has himself accounted for 6.7 scores per game
and 60 total points, good enough to lead all freshmen and tie for eighth overall in the SEC.Hurts has been outstanding during his first season for the Crimson Tide. He has played in all nine games this season and started the last eight consecutive contests. After coming in as a catalyst to get the team moving in the first game of the season against the USC Trojans, the starting job was pretty much his. The young Hurts has contributed 2,320 yards of total offense for the Tide, including 1,685 passing and 635 rushing. He has completed 139-of-223 (62.3 percent) passing attempts garnering 12 touchdowns compared to six interceptions. The youngster has accumulated 635 yards on 115 rushing attempts to average 5.5 yards per carry with a team-leading 10 touchdowns. Hurts already ranks second in Alabama single-season history for rushing yards by a quarterback and is just 156 yards shy of matching the all-time leader, Steadman Shealy (1979), at 791 yards, with three regular season games remaining as well as any post-season play.
Hurts is the first true freshman to start at quarterback for the Crimson Tide since Vince Sutton did so back in 1984. He set the Alabama freshman record for passing yards in a game with 287 in the contest against the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers. Twice this season Hurts has been honored with the Davey O'Brien "Great 8" award, with those coming early in the season. The first time was on September 3rd in the season opener against USC, the only game in which he didn't start this season, and again on September 17th against when he helped the Tide to snap a two-game losing streak against the Rebels.
The semifinalists list for the Davey O'Brien Award is made up of five seniors, nine juniors, two sophomores and two freshmen. There are schools from seven conference affiliations making up the list, while the Southeastern Conference was one of five with multiple honorees. Representing the Southeastern Conference on this year's list are Hurts, Chad Kelly from Ole Miss and Trevor Knight of Texas A&M.
It is important for the fans to get out and vote for their favorite candidate, as the Davey O'Brien Fan Vote counts as five percent during each round of the voting process. This vote tally is combined with the results from the foundation's national selection committee, which is comprised of journalists, broadcasters, commentators and former winners.
The fan vote is now open, and everyone may participate at VoteOBrien.org. Voting will remain open until noon CT on Sunday, November 20th. Fans are invited to cast their vote for the nation's best college quarterback once daily per e-mail address.
The Dave O'Brien Foundation and the selection committee, in conjunction with ESPN, will release the names of the three finalists on Tuesday, November 22nd, with the 2016 Davey O'Brien winner being announced live on Thursday, December 8th on The Home Depot College Football Awards in Atlanta, Georgia.
The Davey O'Brien National Quarterback Award is presented annually to the best college quarterback, and is the nation's oldest and one of the most prestigious national quarterback awards in the nation.
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Jonathan Allen Receives Honor
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| UA footballs Jonathan Allen Photo Credit: Alabama Athletics |
To say that Allen has been had a great season would be an understatement. Allen is a part of a Crimson Tide defense that is leading the nation with 4.11 sacks per game, while also ranking first in rush defense, and second in total defense and scoring defense. Individually this young man has returned two fumbles for touchdowns this season, racking up 105 yards on the returns, while leading The Tide with 11 quarterback hurries. Allen has 38 tackles, including 7.5 for a loss (-55 yards) and seven sacks (-55 yards), while also responsible for two pass breakups and a blocked field goal.
The Lott IMPACT Trophy is awarded to a college football defensive player who has had the biggest IMPACT on his team both on and off the field. IMPACT stands for Integrity, Maturity, Performance, Academics, Community and Tenacity.
A national voter panel, made up of former coaches, players, selected media and previous Lott winners, will select both the four finalists as well as the winner. The finalists will be announced on November 29th. The four finalists will be flown into Newport Beach, California where the annual Lott IMPACT Trophy Awards Banquet will be held at the prestigious Pacific Club on December 11th.
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Crimson Tide Women's Basketball Opens Tonight
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| Photo Credit: Alabama Athletics |
The first 300 fans to enter the doors will receive an Alabama women's basketball Coleman Coliseum T-shirt, postgame autographs from the players and coaches and more.
This afternoon's game will be broadcast on SEC Network + with Eli Gold on play-by-play and Rick Moody as the analyst, and also available on the Crimson Tide Sports Network with Roger Hoover and Tyler Williams calling all the action.
This will be the third meeting between the two schools, with the Crimson Tide winning the last one 87-58 in Tuscaloosa back on December 21, 2014.
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| Photo Credit: Alabama Athletics |
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Bama's Men's Basketball To Open Season Tonight
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| Photo Credit: Alabama Athletics |
Fans can enjoy tonight's contest online via SEC Network+ with Eli Gold and former University of Alabama men's basketball head coach Wimp Sanderson handling the play-by-play and analysis, and Hannah Chalker handling sideline duties. Fans can listen to the radio broadcast on the Crimson Tide Sports Network with Chris Stewart handling play-by-play duties and Bryan Passink with expert analysis.
Tonight begins the Crimson Tide's 104th season of basketball, boasting an all-time record of 1,618-999-1 (.618), which includes a 765-588 (.565) record in Southeastern Conference play. Alabama ranks second in the SEC in league victories and all-time winning percentage. Additionally, in the post-season, Bama has made 33 NCAA (19) or NIT (14) appearances and has won seven SEC regular-season titles and six SEC Tournament championships.
This will be the second season for Alabama men's basketball head coach Avery Johnson, who led his Crimson Tide men to an 18-15 overall record in his first year, good enough for a trip to the National Invitational Tournament. Those 18 wins last season tied Johnson for the most wins by a first-year head coach in Alabama men's basketball history (matched Wimp Sanderson's 18 wins during his inaugural season in 1980-81). In addition, Johnson led Bama to eight road wins, the most since the 2011-12 campaign. Of those eight road wins, the biggest came when the Tide defeated Florida 61-55, which not only snapped an 11-game losing streak to the Gators, but also was Alabama's first win in Gainesville since 1995.
The Crimson Tide returns two starters and eight lettermen from last season's team. Part of the void in losing three of its four scorers and top three assist leaders will be filled with the return of redshirt freshman Dazon Ingram, who started each of the first seven games last year before suffering a season-ending foot injury. At the time of his injury, Ingram was leading the team in assists and rebounds from his point guard position. Ingram was averaging 7.7 points, 5.9 rebounds and 3.3 assists through his first seven games before suffering his season-ending injury.
Also returning is senior forward Shannon Hale, who was the team's leading scorer at 10.8 points per game. Hale also leads all returnees in threes attempted (131) and free throw percentage (.747), while ranking second on the list in threes made (43) and minutes per game (24.6) played. Starting 19 games last season, junior forward Riley Norris, is back. He averaged 7.5 points and a team-leading 5.3 rebounds per contest as a sophomore. Norris also led Alabama in threes made (45) and total offensive rebounds (54), while ranking second in three-point field goal percentage (.375) and steals (26).
Joining the Crimson Tide this season is a pair of fifth-year graduate transfers, Corban Collins and Bola Olaniyan.Collins comes to Bama from Morehead State, earning second team All-Ohio Valley Conference honors last season, while leading the team in scoring (11.0 ppg), three-point shooting (57-of-134/.425) and assist-to-turnover ratio (90 assists and 36 turnovers). Olaniyan transferred to Alabama from Southern Illinois where he earned a spot on the Missouri Valley Conference Most Improved team. He ranked second in MVC in rebounds per game (8.8) and led the league in offensive rebounds per game (3.0) while scoring 7.8 points per contest.
Also joining Alabama is junior Nick King out of Memphis as well as sophomore Avery Johnson, Jr. who transferred in from Texas A&M. Johnson had to sit out last season due to NCAA transfer rules.
Tonight will be Bama Salute Night, honoring all our military men and women. There is a special military halftime performance planned for this evening as well. All tickets are $6 for general admission seats, and the tickets are good for both the men's as well as the early game played by the women.
