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Challenging schedule and turnovers: What we know about Alabama basketball after eight games

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Challenging schedule and turnovers: What we know about Alabama basketball after eight games


Alabama basketball has made its way through eight games of the 2024-25 season.

The Crimson Tide (6-2) entered the season as the No. 2-ranked squad in the nation, but has since fallen to No. 9 with a loss to No. 12 Purdue. UA is likely to see another dip in the polls after an 83-80 upset loss to undefeated and unranked Oregon in the first-ever Players Era Festival championship on Saturday in Las Vegas.

For those just now starting to tune into basketball after being locked into Alabama football all season, the losses early after a historic run to the Final Four last season could be glaring. Just remember that coach Nate Oats has formulated one of the toughest non-conference schedules in the country, so this team has been tested more than many.

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UA played exhibitions against Wake Forest and Memphis before facing the likes of gritty mid-majors like Arkansas State and McNeese State. Alabama played Purdue, Illinois, Houston and Rutgers before Oregon, and travels to North Carolina next.

Here’s what we’ve learned about the Crimson Tide.

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Turnovers trouble Alabama basketball through eight games

Before Oregon, Alabama averaged 12.4 turnovers per game. The Crimson Tide exceeded that average against the Ducks with 15, which was an improvement from the 20 turnovers that almost saw UA fall to Rutgers this past Wednesday. In victory against Houston, Alabama still lost possession seven times in the first half, and eight more turnovers in the second half contributed to the game heading into overtime.

In the 87-78 defeat at Purdue, Alabama had eight turnovers compared to three for the Boilermakers.

Injuries still concern for returning Final Four starter Latrell Wrightsell Jr.

What SEC Preseason Player of the Year Mark Sears has called a “Cinderella” journey to the Final Four saw guard Latrell Wrightsell, Jr. ailing through parts the 2023-24 season. Fans were left heartbroken after the senior left the Oregon game with a leg injury.

Wrightsell finds company on the bench in South Florida transfer Chris Youngblood (ankle) until the sharp-shooting guard is cleared to play, which Oats expects to be mid to late December.

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Transfer, freshman depth helps Crimson Tide shine

Oats made sure UA loaded up on more than just Youngblood from the transfer portal. Alabama’s 2024 transfer class was ranked seventh in the country with guards like redshirt senior Houston Mallette (Pepperdine) and sophomore Aden Holloway (Auburn).

When Rutgers transfer and starting center Clifford Omoruyi heads to the bench with foul trouble, forward Grant Nelson has still looked efficient at the No. 5 spot, and in most of the minutes freshman Aiden Sherrell has played, he seems to be learning how to be a threat around the rim.

Sherrell is one of four freshmen who made up Alabama’s No. 2-ranked 2024 recruiting class, highlighted by starting guard Labaron Philon, who averages of 9.9 points, 3.6 rebounds and 4.3 assists, shooting 47.3% so far. The class also includes five-star forward Derrion Reid and another redshirt in Naas Cunningham.

Emilee Smarr covers Alabama basketball and Crimson Tide athletics for the Tuscaloosa News. She can be reached via email at esmarr@gannett.com.



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Alabama teen charged with stabbing mom to death issued vile threat to dad — as new pic shows bloodbath left behind

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Alabama teen charged with stabbing mom to death issued vile threat to dad — as new pic shows bloodbath left behind


The Alabama teen charged in a heinous knife attack on his parents in their sleepy private community hissed that he was “gonna kill” his dad as he allegedly stabbed him — as new photos show the blood-soaked front porch where his butchered mom died.

The grisly scene unfolded on home surveillance footage Sunday night along Augustine Drive in the handsome Belforest complex — which captured the 17-year-old threatening his father, while allegedly knifing him.

“You can hear both of them coming out of the house, and there’s like one scream from the mom,” neighbor Shawn Scurry, 51, told The Post Wednesday.

“Then the dad is arguing with the [son] — and when I say arguing, I mean like, ‘Why are you doing this?’

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“He’s basically saying, ‘I don’t want to die. Please stop. No.’ And then he’s repeating, ‘Somebody help me, please, help me’ very loudly,” Scurry said of the clip. 

Samantha Baker (left) was allegedly stabbed to death by her 17-year-old son — as her husband, Lance Baker (right), begged the boy to stop the sickening attack. Facebook/Lance Samantha Baker

At one point, the audio captures the son “telling [the dad] he was gonna kill him.”

“Those words are in the video,” she said. 

Meanwhile, a large pool of blood stained the front entrance of a neighbor’s home where cops say 37-year-old Samantha Baker was butchered around 9 p.m. Sunday.

Another haunting image exclusively obtained by The Post shows blood splattered and smeared across a glass window overlooking the spot where Samantha was found dead.

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The bloodbath began after Samantha and her 46-year-old husband Lance Baker got into a heated argument with their 17-year-old son over a disciplinary issue inside their family home, Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office Captain Justin Correa told The Post Wednesday. 

That’s when the boy — whose name is being withheld by police — turned a kitchen knife on his parents, allegedly stabbing them both “multiple times,” according to Correa. 

A large pool of blood stained the front entrance of the Belforest community home in Baldwin County, where cops say Samantha Baker was found dead from multiple stab wounds Sunday night. Obtained by NY Post
Another haunting video clip exclusively obtained by The Post shows blood splattered and smeared across a glass window overlooking the spot where Samantha was found dead. Obtained by NY Post

The parents fled outside in a desperate bid to escape — but the attack continued.  

Lance’s spine-chilling screams could be heard as he ran door to door down the block, leaving bloodied handprints on neighbors’ front doors while seeking help — with his son right on his tail, according to the traumatized neighbor. 

“It was like fighting off a bee that keeps stinging you,” Scurry said, and claimed that another neighbor’s surveillance camera captured the teen repeatedly stabbing his father outside another nearby home. 

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Correa confirmed that doorbell camera footage of the assault had been handed over to police, and said at least “a few” of the neighbors were not home when Lance was looking for help. 

Lance only “went to doors where people were on vacation — that’s why they didn’t answer, and that’s why he was becoming helpless,” Scurry claimed.  

Scurry, who was home at the time, only became slightly aware of the horror unfolding when she spotted the Bakers’ dog wandering around her front door. 

“I walked with the dog back to their house, rang their doorbell. Nobody answered, and I went around to the garage,” she recalled. 

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That’s when she heard cries in the distance. 

“I heard … ‘Help me.’ I couldn’t find where it was coming from,” Scurry said, adding that she went back into her home after that. 

The bloodbath began after Samantha and Lance got into a heated argument with the knife-wielding son over a disciplinary issue, according to authorities. Facebook/Lance Samantha Baker

The teen eventually retreated to his family’s home and called 911, said authorities, who described the attack as an isolated domestic matter. 

Cops arrested him at the home without incident, according to Correa, who pushed back on reports that the alleged killer barricaded himself inside the house.

As emergency crews flooded their typically quiet street, Scurry said she stepped outside again and saw Samantha’s body before the coroner arrived. 

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“I saw her face down with stab wounds all over her back,” the shaken neighbor said. 

Samantha, a realtor, was pronounced dead at the scene. 

Lance, a US Army Reserve Battalion Commander with the 1184th Deployment and Distribution Support Battalion in Mobile, was flown to a local hospital in critical condition, according to cops. 

Nest camera footage from a neighboring home allegedly captured chilling audio of Samantha’s final moments — along with Lance’s frantic pleas for the teen to drop the knife.  Obtained by NY Post

As of Wednesday, the father of two was still in the hospital, where his condition had become stable, Correa said. 

The teen, who will be tried as an adult, is facing charges of murder and attempted murder. He is being held in jail on a $1 million bond after his arraignment on Monday.

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The family’s younger teen son was not at the home at the time of the attack, police said.

“A very sad event for sure,” Correa said.



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Mac Jones asked who was his craziest teammate at Alabama

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Mac Jones asked who was his craziest teammate at Alabama





Jan 8, 2018; Atlanta, GA, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide defensive back Tony Brown (2) against the Georgia Bulldogs in the 2018 CFP national championship college football game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Mac Jones joined “Bussin With The Boys” and was asked who his craziest teammate ever was, and he went back to his Alabama days to highlight Tony Brown.

Brown is a former Alabama cornerback.

“There’s this guy, Tony Brown,” Jones said. “I don’t know if you guys know him. Look him up on there. His name’s Crazy Tony, but he was a stud at Alabama. He played on that defense with like Daron Payne, like all those guys, Minka (Fitzpatrick), everybody. He played in the league for a little bit. He was the man, like scout team, me and him. Every day, like going at it, like pretty much fighting. He was just crazy, dude. I’d throw a dig route over the middle, and he would just crush our scout team receiver. Like, Mac Hereford… he would go over the middle and Crazy Tony would just crush him. Saban would just look the other way. I’m like, dude, he just got smoked. Like, what are we doing? It’s like same thing, fighting at practice and stuff. But he was a great teammate. He just had his thing on the field where it was like he just blacked out. It wasn’t because he was a bad guy or anything. That’s what he does. He goes and knocks people out.”

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Brown played for Alabama from 2014 to 2017, and he was a part of two National Championship teams. He finished his career at Alabama with 89 total tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss and three interceptions before moving on to the NFL.







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Alabama adds commitment from in-state linebacker to 2028 class

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Alabama adds commitment from in-state linebacker to 2028 class


The Alabama Crimson Tide have landed a commitment from Ryquan Butler, he announced Tuesday on social media.

An in-state prospect, Butler is Alabama’s fourth commitment of the 2028 cycle.

At the moment, Butler is currently unranked as a recruit, per the 247Sports Composite rankings, but that is likely to change in the near future ahead of his upcoming junior season at Alabama’s Loachapoka High School. There, Butler plays a number of different roles, but likely projects as a linebacker at the next level.

Following the commitment of Butler, Alabama’s 2028 class now ranks No. 2 nationally, per 247Sports. Butler is also now Alabama’s second 2028 linebacker commitment where he joins Dustin Henry out of St. Frances Academy in Maryland, as well as the Crimson Tide’s first from in-state.

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