Alabama
Will Alabama basketball win the SEC? What win vs. Georgia showed
Alabama basketball coach Nate Oats felt compelled to interject.
The Crimson Tide was huddled during a timeout with 10:15 left in the second half. Georgia held a 10-point lead in a game in which Alabama had struggled to gain much traction to that point, trailing by as much as 16 in the first half. Then one Crimson Tide player expressed optimism in the huddle.
We can win this game.
Oats, who said postgame he didn’t know which player said it, disagreed with the statement.
No. Stop. We are going to win this game. There’s no ‘we can.’ We are winning this game and here’s how we’re going to do it.
Then he described the plan: Get stops and get rebounds. Georgia scored the next bucket, but soon, Alabama started to draw closer and closer. Before five minutes had even passed, the Crimson Tide tied the game. Then less than a minute later, Alabama took the lead and never looked back.
The No. 22 Crimson Tide managed to pull off the second half comeback on the road, defeating Georgia 85-76 at Stegeman Coliseum in Athens, Georgia.
“Everybody that played that second half showed some toughness,” Oats said. “Some character. Some grit. We grew up a lot tonight.”
The victory kept Alabama (15-6, 7-1 SEC) atop the conference standings, and it keeps winning the SEC very much so in play. As January comes to a close and the halfway point of SEC play approaches, the question is, will the Crimson Tide remain in the top spot?
Will Alabama actually win the SEC?
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That can’t be answered with a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ on Jan. 31. That was the case even for last season’s Alabama team that looked destined for a regular-season championship for much of conference play with frequent dominance.
But this season’s edition of the Crimson Tide has been more difficult to figure out. It’s a team that frequently mixes signs of progress and promise with indications of problems.
Is this an elite offensive team that is capable of a run in the NCAA Tournament? That answer would have been vastly different on Saturday vs. LSU from the one in the first half vs. Georgia. Fresh off 109 points vs. the Tigers, Alabama couldn’t hit open shots before halftime vs. the Bulldogs, as the Crimson Tide went 2-for-11 from beyond the arc and 1-for-4 from the free-throw line.
Will Alabama figure out its defense and play to the level Oats seeks more often than not? Against Auburn, South Carolina and Mississippi State, that looked possible. Against LSU, it didn’t much at all.
Can Alabama win big games away from Coleman Coliseum? So far, Mississippi State is the best road win Alabama has. Meanwhile it has road losses to the likes of Tennessee, Creighton and Arizona. All big games, all losses.
And does Alabama have the necessary intangibles? Does it display proper effort each possession? Does it have enough toughness? Each half of the Georgia game gave different answers. Before halftime, Georgia outrebounded Alabama 27-7. The Crimson Tide returned the favor with a 19-12 rebounding edge in the second half.
“The first four minutes, our effort has to be a lot better,” guard Mark Sears said. “The first four minutes of this game, our effort was not where it needed to be.”
The last four minutes it sure was. Sears and Grant Nelson served as the top catalysts for Alabama’s finishing efforts. The two combined for 20 points in the final six minutes of the game.
“The two (3-pointers Nelson) had late in the game were huge,” Oats said. “They sealed the game for us. He showed he’s a winner. He showed the moment doesn’t get too big for him and he doesn’t shy away from it. We’ve got a lot of guys I thought played hard.”
Alabama has solid pieces, and the Crimson Tide continues to earn victories more often than not. Winning the SEC is not only an aspiration but also a legitimate possibility at this point.
Nonetheless, it will all come down to how Alabama answers the questions that haven’t yet gone away.
Nick Kelly is the Alabama beat writer for The Tuscaloosa News, part of the USA TODAY Network, and he covers Alabama football and men’s basketball. Reach him at nkelly@gannett.com or follow him @_NickKelly on X, the social media app formerly known as Twitter.
The iconic wooden roller coaster at Alabama Adventure & Splash Adventure is officially back in action, along with some seasonal deals. This Father’s Day, dads can get into the park for free to ride the restored coaster, Rampage.
It’s not the only attraction returning; this Halloween, Alabama Adventure is bringing back not one but two haunted houses for the first time since the late 2000s.
If you can’t wait until then, the Bessemer park will be open late on Saturdays and end with a pop of color. Adventure Summer Nights will have the park open until 9:30 p.m. once a week with a fireworks show to round off the night.
And as an apology to their loyal visitors, people who bought a daily ticket before June 10 are welcome to come back and try their new and improved attractions for free. If you’re a season pass holder, don’t feel left out—pass holder discounts are doubled for the month of July.
Governor Kay Ivey on Thursday set an execution date for death row inmate Jeremy Williams, who was convicted in the 2021 kidnapping, rape and murder of 5-year-old Kamarie Holland in Phenix City.
Williams is scheduled to be executed by the state’s three-drug lethal injection during a 30-hour window beginning at 12 a.m. August 13 and ending at 6 a.m. August 14. The execution date comes after the Alabama Supreme Court granted a request from Attorney General Steve Marshall’s office on June 16, authorizing the state to carry out the sentence.
In a letter to Alabama Department of Corrections Commissioner Greg Lovelace, Ivey said the Supreme Court’s June 16 order serves as the official death warrant for Williams.
“By law, I am required to specify the time frame for carrying out the sentence of death,” Ivey said. “Accordingly, I hereby order that Jeremy Lee Williams’s sentence of death be carried out within a time frame beginning on August 13, 2026, at 12:00 a.m. and ending on August 14, 2026, at 6:00 a.m.”
Ivey noted that she retains the authority to commute the sentence before the execution takes place.
Williams, 34, was convicted in April 2024 on four counts of capital murder stemming from Holland’s death. Prosecutors charged him with capital murder during a kidnapping, capital murder during a rape, capital murder during first-degree sodomy and capital murder of a child younger than 14.
Authorities said Holland disappeared from her family’s home in Phenix City on December 13, 2021. Her body was discovered two days later inside an abandoned house less than a mile away. An autopsy determined that she had been sexually assaulted and strangled.
In addition to the death sentence, Williams received several other prison terms. He was sentenced to life imprisonment for human trafficking and for knowingly producing recordings depicting the sexual abuse of a child. He also received another life sentence for a separate sexual abuse conviction, along with a 20-year sentence for conspiracy to commit human trafficking and a 10-year sentence for abuse of a corpse.
Unlike most death row inmates, Williams sought to speed up the execution process. During a hearing, he told the court that he accepted responsibility for his actions and wanted the sentence carried out.
In 2025, Williams dismissed his attorneys and informed the court that he wished to waive any remaining appeals and proceed with his execution. Russell County Circuit Court Judge David Johnson determined that Williams was competent to make that decision and allowed him to forgo further legal challenges.
Under Alabama law, capital convictions automatically receive appellate review. The Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals subsequently affirmed Williams’ conviction and death sentence in March.
After that review concluded, the Alabama Attorney General’s Office petitioned the Alabama Supreme Court in May to authorize an execution date. The court granted the request earlier this week, clearing the way for Ivey to schedule the execution.
If carried out as scheduled, Williams’ execution would occur nearly five years after Holland’s death and a little more than two years after he was sentenced to death.
Williams’ execution would be Alabama’s first by lethal injection since April 2025. The state’s three most recent executions were carried out using nitrogen hypoxia, which Alabama began using in 2024.
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WSFA) – You don’t find too many camps where you learn how to slap someone. But this summer, you will in Montgomery. It’s one of many kids camps put on by the Alabama Shakespeare Festival.
“We have our Camp Shakespeare Junior which is our half day for the littles, kindergarten through 3rd grade,” said Cameron Williams, the ASF director of education. “We have Big Kid Shakespeare camp and everyone is learning all about ‘Much Ado About Nothing’.”
They learn about on stage combat, different acting techniques, and also how to be creative and think on their feet.
“I think theater skills are life skills. So, what makes this camp special is we’re doing more than just boosting literacy and doing theater things. We’re doing life skills, learning what it means to be team players, about discipline, and working with people who may have different personalities than you.”
Different kids have different talents. And even if your child isn’t up for a lead role in the next play, this place can leave a lasting impact.
“If you’re looking for a place where your kid can come out of their shell, to learn how to speak in front of a group, and develop some confidence, this is the place to be.”
It’s a place that’s a real treasure in Montgomery, and its mining some young gems, who one day, could be on the big stage themselves. There are still more ASF camps going on this summer for pre-teens and even adults.
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