Alabama

Alabama’s win over Oklahoma shows Tide’s growing confidence, unselfishness

Published

2 days ago

January 5, 2025

Alabama’s win over Oklahoma shows Tide’s growing confidence, unselfishness

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Nate Oats told his team that he wanted them to set the tone for the rest of the season by dominating its first Southeastern Conference games. No. 5 Alabama accomplished that mission in its first home matchup, rolling No. 12 Oklahoma 107-79 Saturday.

The Crimson Tide’s blowout victory not only showcased its elite talent and deep roster but also the team’s improvement in confidence and unselfishness playing as a unit. The Tide shared the wealth all game, which allowed it to bully Oklahoma on the glass, create second-chance opportunities, run out in transition and rack up 20 assists as a team to just nine turnovers.

The best representation of the Tide’s unselfishness Saturday came from its star player. Fifth-year guard Mark Sears led the Tide in scoring with 22 points but was far more proud of setting up his teammates. He ended the game with a double-double that included a career-high 10 assists, which demonstrated growth that Oats thinks will be critical for his side going forward.

“You could see his energy when his teammates were scoring, which is great,” Oats said. “We need that out of him. He was more excited about getting 10 assists — I mean, I think you saw when he hit [Aden] Holloway for one 3, that was his ninth and he was all fired up. Then he got Jarin [Stevenson] on the roll for his 10th. I was happy to see that. We talk about Mudita — vicarious joy through others’ success. Mark was really happy for his teammates scoring, particularly off his passes tonight, but thought it was good.”

For Oats, Saturday’s win can serve as a launchpad for a team with plenty of newcomers still figuring out how to play with one another. Alabama has been hit with the injury bug and had to readjust after Latrell Wrightsell Jr. was knocked out for the season with an Achilles tear. Other players like Chris Youngblood and Houston Mallette have had to get up to speed after missing the beginning of the season.

“We’ve kind of figured ourselves some,” Oats said. “I still think there’s a lot of chemistry that has to be figured out because some of these guys haven’t played that much together. So we’re still figuring some of our chemistry stuff out but I think our offensive rebounding and our ability to get to the free throw line has been big for this team.”

Youngblood in particular has demonstrated the kind of unselfishness required for a player who is still finding his confidence this season. The South Florida transfer is still working his way back to full fitness and finding his rhythm shooting after a leg injury kept him sidelined until mid-December.

Alabama has big expectations for what Youngblood can do when he’s 100%, but he hasn’t let his injury prevent him from contributing in other ways right away while his shot isn’t falling. In 20 minutes against the Sooners, Youngblood finished with nine points and eight rebounds, including a team-leading four offensive boards and had a plus-17 box plus-minus rating.

“Chris is the ultimate competitor,” Oats said. “He hates losing at anything. He’s gonna talk, be aggressive. He’s gonna try to be physical. He had a couple fouls where maybe he was trying to do some stuff like that. He’s gotta be a little bit better with that, but he’s gonna get to the O Boards. He’s gonna try to use his strength. He’s a strong kid. He’s strong and competitive so he’s gonna make plays like that.”

Performances like Sears’ and Youngblood’s and others helped Alabama get off to the strong start Oats was looking for in its first home conference game. Now, the Tide will look to accomplish step two in Oats’ plan of early league domination turning into a trophy in March.

Alabama will head on the road to face South Carolina on Wednesday. The Gamecocks haven’t had the best season by the SEC’s high standards, but Oats knows Alabama will have to play with the same kind of togetherness and unselfishness, to pick up a win on the road.

The Tide’s first SEC victory should serve as a massive confidence boost and a roadmap to future victories in conference play. The next step is displaying the dominance it showed for most of the game against Oklahoma on both ends of the court for an entire game.

“I thought the first 20 minutes was exactly what we needed to see out of these guys on a nightly basis. I thought we came out with the right mindset. I thought our walkthrough was sharp. Our trainer told me that the guys were really locked in as soon as they got here in the morning. It was a great day of prep. I thought it was good preparation coming in. We had some really good practices and got a week off. It’s what we need.”

“Now can we do it consistently and honestly, can we do it for 40 minutes? We didn’t do it for 40 tonight we did it for maybe 20 or 30. We got up 28 on them with I think 12-something to go in the second half is what they had. To be up 28 with 13 minutes to go in the half and then finish at 28, they played us even for the last 13 minutes which is a little disappointing. But I think for the first 27 minutes of that game we had the edge we needed.”

Alabama will face South Carolina at 6 p.m. CT Wednesday inside Colonial Life Arena. The game will be broadcast on SEC Network.

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Alabama

Former Alabama cornerback joins NFL playoff team

Published

3 hours ago

January 6, 2025

Press Room

Former Alabama cornerback joins NFL playoff team

The Houston Texans have signed cornerback Anthony Averett to their practice squad, the NFL team announced on Monday.

The former Alabama defensive back joins the Texans as they prepare to play the Los Angeles Chargers in the first round of the AFC playoffs at 3:30 p.m. CST Saturday at NRG Stadium in Houston.

Averett fills the roster spot opened when the Texans signed cornerback D’Angelo Ross from their practice squad for their 53-man active roster on Saturday, and he played 48 defensive snaps in Sunday’s 23-14 victory over the Tennessee Titans.

Each NFL team can elevate two players from its practice squad to active status for each game, and that rule includes playoff contests.

Averett was in training camp and played in the preseason with the Pittsburgh Steelers in August and spent the first eight weeks of the season on the team’s practice squad before being released with an injury settlement on Oct. 28.

Averett hasn’t played in an NFL regular-season game since Nov. 20, 2022, when his injury-affected, lone season with the Las Vegas Raiders ended early. He spent time with the San Francisco 49ers and Detroit Lions in 2023.

A senior starter for the Crimson Tide’s CFP national-championship team for the 2017 season, Averett entered the NFL as a fourth-round selection of the Baltimore Ravens in the 2018 draft.

Averett spent his first three seasons largely as a reserve with the Ravens before moving into a starting role when Marcus Peters got hurt in the second game of the 2021 season. Averett’s performance across 14 starts in Baltimore’s defensive backfield included his three NFL interceptions and earned him a one-year, $4 million contract from the Raiders in free agency.

Averett sustained a broken thumb and broken toe with Las Vegas in 2022.

Averett has played in 51 NFL regular-season games and three playoff contests.

FOR MORE OF AL.COM’S COVERAGE OF THE NFL, GO TO OUR NFL PAGE

Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on X at @AMarkG1.

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Alabama

Alabama Woman Injured in New Orleans Terror Attack Shares How Friends' Call to Her Mother Saved Her Life

Published

11 hours ago

January 6, 2025

Press Room

Alabama Woman Injured in New Orleans Terror Attack Shares How Friends' Call to Her Mother Saved Her Life

As we learn more about the stories of those impacted by the deadly New Year’s Day terrorist attack in New Orleans, one Alabama woman is sharing her story of how her friends’ quick thinking after the attack likely saved her life.

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In the early morning hours of January 1, Shamsud-Din Jabbar drove a rented pickup truck into a crowd of people celebrating the start of 2025 on New Orleans’ world-famous Bourbon Street, killing 14 people and injuring dozens more.

Mobile, Al. native Alexis Scott-Windham was celebrating with her friends in the area when the 23-year-old says she noticed the truck speeding towards them.

“As we look to our left, we see the truck come down the sidewalk because he was halfway on the sidewalk and halfway on the street. As he’s coming down, he has no lights on,” she told CNN in an interview. “He was hitting people like speed bumps like we were nothing.”

Jabbar’s truck clipped the back of Alexis’ leg. But when she tried to get up from the ground, she realized something else was wrong.

“That’s when I tried to run, but I couldn’t,” she told NBC News. “I knew something was wrong with my foot. I thought it was just a broken bone or something, but it wasn’t. My feet had started leaking.”

When Scott-Windham’s friends realized she’d been shot, they immediately called her mother, who told them to make a tourniquet in order to apply pressure to the area and stop the flow of blood.

“So I just told my daughter’s friend to just tie her other sock around her leg so she wouldn’t bleed so heavy,” Alexis’ mom Tryphena Scott-Windham told NBC News.

Alexis’ friends sprung into action, getting her blood loss under control before a good Samaritan drove her to the hospital.

You might think Tryphena Scott-Windham’s advice comes from years of medical training, but she says she got the idea from watching television.

“I just blurted that out. I was in straight panic mode,” she told NBC News.

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Alabama

Alabama Nursing Student and Cheerleader Crowned Miss America 2025: 'So Grateful'

Published

18 hours ago

January 6, 2025

Press Room

Alabama Nursing Student and Cheerleader Crowned Miss America 2025: 'So Grateful'

A new Miss America is in town.

On Sunday, Dec. 5, Abbie Stockard, representing Alabama, was crowned Miss America after earning Miss Alabama in 2024.

According to CNN, the 22-year-old nursing student is an undergraduate and cheerleader at Auburn University in Alabama. She won at the annual event in Orlando, Florida, triumphing over 51 other US state representatives.

In a video shared on Miss America’s Instagram page, Stockard appeared flabbergasted as she was crowned the victor. Sporting a sparkly silver and white gown, she looked shocked as runner-up Annette Addo-Yobo, who represented Texas, hugged her.

The competition shared the aftermath of her victory with a series of Instagram Stories posts, one of which shows an overjoyed Stockard saying, “This is insane. I don’t know what I did to deserve this. Holy Moly. I’m so excited, I’m so grateful.”

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Miss America 2024 Madison Marsh crowns Miss Alabama Abbie Stockard as the new Miss America 2025 on Jan 5, 2025.

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In another video, Stockard — who also scoops a $50,000 tuition scholarship as part of her victory — became emotional as she held onto her bouquet of flowers while wearing her crown. Per CNN, the runner-up states included Tennessee, Florida and Ohio.

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Miss Alabama Abbie Stockard wearing sportswear during Miss America 2025 Pageant on Jan 5, 2025.

Joe Marino/UPI/Shutterstock

Rounds in the competition included choreographed dances and live segments. The pageant also included a fitness section, with contenders sporting red and gold activewear. This was followed by talent, eveningwear and interview segments.

CNN reported that the talent round showcased slam poetry by Miss Texas, a jazz dance routine by Miss Wisconsin and a contemporary dance by Stockard.

Stockard also spoke about the decreasing labor force among 25 to 54-year-olds following the COVID-19 pandemic during the competition. “I believe we need to encourage those (people) to join the workforce, adapt to new skills and learn to grow in our current workforce and industries we have today,” she said.

Stockard will take over from 2024 winner, Madison Marsh, to begin her 12-month reign as a Miss America advocate and will have the opportunity to travel the world in her new position.

Ahead of the final, Stockard reflected on her journey to the competition via Instagram. “Tonight, a new Miss America will be crowned. As I step into this evening, I am filled with excitement, honor, and gratitude,” she said.

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