Alabama
Alabama basketball downs Memphis in final tuneup of preseason
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – No. 2 Alabama basketball defeated Memphis, 96-88, on Monday night in a charity exhibition at the Von Braun Center. The Crimson Tide closed out the preseason with a perfect 2-0 record after having blitzed Wake Forest 10 days prior in Birmingham.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Clifford Omoruyi opened the scoring with a layup in the first minute of play. The first four were quiet for both teams from an offensive standpoint, but Alabama can catch fire quickly, and did, out of the first media timeout. Jarin Stevenson and Mark Sears knocked down back-to-back threes to give the Tide an 11-4 lead. The run was briefly interrupted by a Memphis layup, but Aden Holloway pushed the UA advantage to 16-6 with a transition and-1.
The Alabama lead in the first half ballooned to 13 points (26-13) after four straight points from Derrion Reid, but the Tigers slowly trimmed it to seven (30-23) after a 6-2 stretch before the under-4 break. But that quickly evaporated as Alabama went on a 16-9 run to close out the first half with a 49-29 lead. The scorching finish to the first 20 minutes was capped by a Sears three – the star guard’s third triple and the Crimson Tide’s sixth of the first half.
Memphis opened the second half by making its first six shots and cutting the Alabama lead to 14 points, but back-to-back threes from Labaron Philon and Houston Mallette put the Tide back on top by 20 before the under-16 timeout. The Tigers knocked down their first 3-pointer of the night with 13:17 left in the game – they had missed their first seven from deep. By that point, UA was 10-24 from beyond the arc, aptly illustrating the scoreboard disparity.
But the Tigers clawed their way back in the final 11 minutes. Memphis used a 9-1 run to slice Alabama’s edge in half, 71-61, with nine minutes to play. The Crimson Tide went 7:19 without a field goal but never saw its lead dwindle to single digits. A Stevenson three ended the drought and gave UA a 79-65 lead with 6:23 to play. The Tigers made things interesting late, getting as close as six points, 93-87, but Alabama held on to claim an 8-point victory.
It was a free-throw fest to end things, as the two teams combined for 96 attempts at the stripe, including 62 in the second half. The Tide went 30-48 at the line; the Tigers were 29-48.
PLAYERS OF THE GAME
Monday was a night that ended with Y, after all, and Sears led Alabama with 20 points. Sears was one of six Crimson Tide players to score in double figures, and Philon wasn’t far off from the preseason All-American, scoring 17 points. Omoruyi posted a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds despite seven fouls, as the teams chose to let players go on after five fouls. For Memphis, PJ Haggerty paced all scorers with 32 points. He attempted 18 free throws, and made 14 of them, and picked up eight fouls in a team-high 35 minutes.
FINAL EXHIBITION STATS
QUOTE FROM OATS
“There’s a reason we play the exhibitions – so that we can get exposed a little bit on what we got to work on. We definitely got exposed tonight a little bit. I thought our turnovers were not where we need them to be, and we got to do a better job taking care of the ball. Our defensive rebounding, our transition defense, they exposed in a bad way. They got all over the offensive boards, they had 23 O boards. They kind of came from everywhere, too. And then our transition – I mean, shoot, 36 fastbreak points is not good.
“So we’ve got a lot of work to do before the regular season, but I thought it was good that we got some young guys. Labaron is a freshmen that got to play. Holloway’s in his first year with us, got to play a decent amount of minutes with some of those other guys being out. Derrion’s been out a lot in the summer, in the fall with some injuries, so he’s a little bit rusty, but we were able to get him 24 minutes. Cliff, we need to get Cliff kind of used to our pace and our system a little bit more. So I think we got a lot of new guys a lot of minutes. Kind of if you go through the roster, look, out of the five starters, only one was with us last year, and off the bench, Mo and Jarin were with us last year, that was it. I think we needed to get to new guys kind of used to how we play, but we gotta be a lot better in a lot of areas.
“So super thankful Memphis agreed to do this for us. I’m glad we got to come up here to Huntsville. I think the crowd was great. I wish we’d have played a little bit better for them in the second half, but they were great. I enjoyed the game and glad we were able to get a win, but definitely got a lot to work on here.”
TID(E)BITS
– The Crimson Tide’s starting five consisted of Mark Sears, Aden Holloway, Labron Philon, Derrion Reid and Clifford Omoruyi. One returner, two transfers and two true freshmen.
– Alabama was once again without four scholarship players on Monday night. Grant Nelson, Aiden Sherrell, Latrell Wrightsell and Chris Youngblood were all in street clothes. Youngblood is expected to be out until December, but the other injuries are not serious.
WHAT’S NEXT?
Alabama will open the 2024-25 season on Monday, Nov. 4, against UNC Asheville. The Crimson Tide will welcome the Bulldogs to Coleman Coliseum at 8 p.m. It will air live on ESPNU.
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Alabama
Former Alabama WR transfer signs with UNLV, Dan Mullen
TCU transfer wide receiver JoJo Earle signed with UNLV under new head coach Dan Mullen, On3’s Pete Nakos has learned. He started his career at Alabama before spending two seasons at TCU.
Earle entered the transfer portal earlier this month following his second year with the Horned Frogs. He only appeared in four games in 2024, totaling seven receptions for 37 yards and a touchdown. That came after he played in all 12 games as a junior when he had 16 receptions for 239 yards and two touchdowns after transferring from Alabama.
During his two years at Alabama, Earle appeared in 20 games. He totaled 303 yards and two touchdowns during that time before taking his talents to TCU. He will have one year of eligibility remaining.
To keep up with the latest players on the move, check out On3’s Transfer Portal wire.
The On3 Transfer Portal Instagram account and X account are excellent resources to stay up to date with the latest moves.
Earle played high school football at Aledo (TX), where he was a four-star prospect. He was the No. 44 overall player from the 2021 cycle, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.
JoJo Earle is the latest high-profile transfer to commit to UNLV under Mullen, who is returning to the sidelines as Barry Odom’s replacement. The Rebels have been active in the portal market since the transition, notably making a splash at quarterback.
Former Virginia quarterback Anthony Colandrea is also making his way to Las Vegas next season after announcing his commitment Dec. 21. He arrives as the No. 340 overall player and No. 30-ranked quarterback to enter the portal so far this cycle, according to the On3 Industry Transfer Rankings.
Colandrea played in 11 games last season with Virginia, throwing for 2,125 yards 13 touchdowns, along with 11 interceptions. He chose UNLV over suitors such as Pitt, Syracuse and Ole Miss, which were all in pursuit.
Mullen is making his return to the sidelines after two years as an ESPN analyst. He previously worked as the head coach at Florida, amassing a 34-15 record, including a 21-14 mark in SEC play. That came after nine seasons as the head coach at Mississippi State, where he went 69-46 and led the Bulldogs to a 10-win season in 2014.
Alabama
16-year-old 'Baby Driver' actor dies after fall from moving vehicle in Alabama
ATLANTA – Hudson Meek, a rising teen actor best known for his role as “Young Baby” in the 2017 Atlanta-filmed blockbuster Baby Driver, has tragically passed away at the age of 16.
Meek died on Saturday from injuries sustained after falling from a moving vehicle in his hometown of Vestavia Hills, Alabama, according to multiple sources. The Jefferson County Medical Examiner’s Office confirmed that he suffered blunt force injuries in the incident, which occurred last Thursday on the 1900 block of Canyon Road. The circumstances surrounding the accident remain under investigation by the Vestavia Hills Police Department.
Meek’s family shared the heartbreaking news on his Instagram account, writing, “Our hearts are broken to share that Hudson Meek went home to be with Jesus tonight.”
Hudson Meek was a graduate of Vestavia Hills High School and had a blossoming career in the entertainment industry. In Baby Driver, filmed and set in Atlanta, he portrayed the younger version of Ansel Elgort’s main character in the Edgar Wright-directed action film. His talents extended to appearances in NBC’s Found, the MacGyver reboot, and voice acting roles. Alongside his brother, Tucker Meek, he also appeared in the 2014 Lifetime movie The Santa Con.
Meek’s obituary highlighted his passion for acting and his love for working on set, saying, “He absolutely loved spending time on set and having the chance to learn the names and stories of every member of the cast and crew.” Several of his projects are set to be released in 2025.
READ THE OBIT
J Pervis Talent Agency, which represented Meek, paid tribute on Instagram: “Hudson was an extraordinary young talent, whose dedication, passion, and promise shone brightly within our industry. Over the past 10 years, he contributed so much to the spirit of our agency, and his loss leaves a void that will be deeply felt by all of us.”
Baby Driver (2017) is a stylish action-crime film directed by Edgar Wright. The movie revolves around Baby, a young and talented getaway driver with a passion for music. Played by Ansel Elgort, Baby uses his carefully curated playlists to drown out the tinnitus he developed from a childhood car accident and to synchronize his driving, making him one of the best in the business.
Baby works for Doc, a mysterious crime boss played by Kevin Spacey, who organizes heists with rotating crews of criminals. Baby is reluctantly tied to Doc due to a debt, but he dreams of leaving the criminal world behind. His plans are further solidified when he meets Debora, a kind-hearted waitress played by Lily James, and the two begin to imagine a future free from crime.
However, Baby’s path to freedom is complicated by a dangerous heist crew and escalating tensions with volatile criminals like Bats (Jamie Foxx) and Buddy (Jon Hamm). As the stakes rise, Baby must use his driving skills, quick thinking, and determination to protect Debora and escape the life of crime once and for all.
Alabama
Alabama quadruplets out of NICU and home for Christmas
AUBURN, Ala. (WSFA) – When Becca Bryant found out she was pregnant, she was excited to add a fourth child to her family. What the family didn’t expect is it wouldn’t just be adding a fourth kid, but also a fifth, sixth and seventh.
The quadruplets – Kali, Koen, Laney and Lennon – were born premature at 23 weeks and four days.
Because of their early birth, they had to spend five to six months in the neonatal intensive care unit. The last one was brought home on Dec. 10, just weeks before Christmas.
“We get closer to Christmas and our last one’s still in the NICU, and I’m like come on, come on, come on, let’s go home, let’s go home,” Bryant said. “So now that we’re all here, I’m so excited. I cannot wait to get all of them in front of the tree and take a picture.”
Having three more kids than you’re expecting is sure to put a financial strain on any family, but the community has made sure the Bryant family has all of its needs covered.
“We are very blessed to say that we have not bought a single diaper yet, and we’ve had people send gift cards, and we’ve had people send cash,” she said. “We wouldn’t make it without that.”
The parents are also getting much-needed help from their older kids.
“Once they started trickling home, they were all excited, and they just couldn’t wait. They wanted to hold them, they wanted to help, they wanted to get their clothes, they wanted to do their bottles, and they still want to do all that stuff,” said Bryant.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there were 148 sets of quadruplets or higher-order births in 2023. That’s the lowest number since it started collecting data in 1998.
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