tOfficial Alabama Basketball Thread | Now Accepting Transfers l #BuckleUp

A new era is upon us. Tonight the Avery Johnson Era officially gets started when the Kennesaw State Owls visit Coleman Coliseum.





If you recall, the Kennesaw State baseball team knocked our boys out in the Tallahasse Regional in 2014. So if a season opener with a brand new dynamic coaching staff wasn't enough, now you have something else to help motivate you to root your arse off tonight. I don't think there are enough seat belts left in Tuscaloosa to save the Owls tonight. The Tide is ready to roll and tipoff is set for 8:30 EST.

Up-tempo offense and an attacking defense is what to expect early and often as the Owls committed over 14 turnovers per game last season. It appears that their PG Yonel Brown is their best player, so it will be interesting to see how we play him. Coleman, Retin, Dazon, Brandon Austin and Arthur Edwards could all potentially see time guarding him one on one depending on situations. The Owls do not have a single player over 6'8", so Taylor, Kessens and Donta Hall should be able to dominate the boards and get some easy looks in the paint. Shannon Hale won't really have a huge height advantage, but he has 20-30 pounds on his opposition. I wouldn't mind seeing him try to post up a few times instead of being satisfied with only taking mid range jumpers.

We lost our top three scorers from last season, so the time is now for the young guys to step up and prove they can be legitimate scoring options at the collegiate level. In all, seven of the Tide's 12 eligible players on this year's roster are either freshmen or sophomores. We have a young team with a passionate coach and the program is on a wave of momentum that it hasn't seen in over a decade.


We currently have a top 10 recruiting class and if you believe Avery, that could become a regular occurrence for the program with big time prospects being linked to Alabama this cycle and for the next several recruiting classes. A win tonight is only one win, but it will be a big one. Avery believes he is building something special and I am inclined to believe him. We are going to have nationally ranked recruiting classes, win a lot of games and make deep runs into the NCAA Tournament. And it won't be long until "Built by Bama" is used for more than football recruiting.




Now is not the time for reasonable expectations. It's time to begin our march to March. Start saving your money now, because you'll need to book your flight and rooms for the NCAA Tournament on Selection Sunday.


Alabama is going dancing this year.







Date Opponent / Event Location Time / Result
11/06/15 vs. Trevecca Nazarene # Tuscaloosa, Ala. W, 87-65
11/13/15 vs. Kennesaw State Tuscaloosa, Ala. W, 77-64
11/17/15 at Dayton TV Dayton, Ohio L, 80-48
11/20/15 vs. Louisiana-Lafayette Tuscaloosa, Ala. W, 105-93
2015 AdvoCare Invitational
11/26/15 vs. Xavier TV Orlando, Fla. L, 64-45
11/27/15 vs. Wichita State Orlando, Fla. W, 64-60
11/29/15 vs. Notre Dame Orlando, Fla. W, 74-73
12/04/15 at Southern Miss Hattiesburg, Miss. W, 58-55
12/13/15 at Clemson Greenville, S.C. W, 51-50
12/16/15 vs. Winthrop Tuscaloosa, Ala. W, 72-60
Legacy Arena (Birmingham, Ala.)
12/21/15 vs. Oregon Birmingham, Ala. L, 72-68
12/29/15 vs. Jacksonville State Tuscaloosa, Ala. W, 67-59 (OT)
01/02/16 vs. Norfolk State Tuscaloosa, Ala. W, 68-49
01/07/16 at Ole Miss * Oxford, Miss. L, 74-66
01/09/16 vs. Kentucky * TV Tuscaloosa, Ala. L, 77-61
01/13/16 vs. South Carolina * TV Tuscaloosa, Ala. W, 73-50
01/16/16 at Vanderbilt * TV Nashville, Tenn. L, 71-63
01/19/16 at Auburn * TV Auburn, Ala. L, 83-77
01/23/16 vs. LSU * TV Tuscaloosa, Ala. L, 72-70
01/26/16 vs. Tennessee * TV Tuscaloosa, Ala. W, 63-57
01/30/16 at South Carolina * TV Columbia, S.C. L, 78-64
02/02/16 at Mississippi State * TV Starkville, Miss. W, 82-80 (OT)
02/06/16 vs. Missouri * TV Tuscaloosa, Ala. W, 80-71
02/10/16 vs. Texas A&M * TV Tuscaloosa, Ala W, 63-62
02/13/16 at Florida * TV Gainesville, Fla. W, 61-55
02/17/16 at LSU * TV Baton Rouge, La. W, 76-69
02/20/16 vs. Mississippi State * TV Tuscaloosa, Ala. L, 67-61
02/23/16 at Kentucky * TV Lexington, Ky. L, 78-53
02/27/16 vs. Auburn * TV Tuscaloosa, Ala. W, 65-57
03/02/16 vs. Arkansas * TV Tuscaloosa, Ala. L, 62-61
03/05/16 at Georgia * TV Athens, Ga. L, 70-63

SECT

1st Round - Ole Miss W, 81-73
2nd Round - Kentucky