Alabama

March is here. Alabama basketball needs to wake up fast

Published

3 months ago

March 6, 2024

March is here. Alabama basketball needs to wake up fast

Two things can be true at once.

First truth: the Alabama basketball schedule of late hasn’t been easy; No. 4 Tennessee at home before No. 25 Florida on the road in a four-day span is nothing at which to scoff. Plus, Alabama has played three of its last four games on the road.

Second truth: The Crimson Tide isn’t playing its best basketball right now. It doesn’t matter the opponent, and it doesn’t matter the circumstance. Alabama is capable of better.

The combination of the two truths resulted in back-to-back SEC losses for the first time in two years. The latest was a 105-87 loss to the Gators on Tuesday in Gainesville.

It’s concerning to say the least. Is it time to panic, though? Maybe, maybe not. However, it is certainly time for Alabama to shake off these losses and right the ship. It’s not sinking, but it’s starting to take on some water, ultimately slowing it down.

A vessel that’s not full steam ahead in March isn’t going to stay afloat too long in the postseason.

“We have to bounce back and be ready to go on Saturday and see what seed we can get going into Nashville,” Alabama coach Nate Oats said.

The Crimson Tide can’t seem to get everything to line up lately. Just when the defense started playing better against Tennessee, the offense disappeared. That trend continued in the first half against Florida. With Alabama shooting 10% from beyond the arc, the defense kept the Crimson Tide in the game.

Until it didn’t.

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“We let some offensive frustrations lead to some defensive letdowns that led to them opening it up,” Oats said.

In the final five minutes of the first half, Florida scored 18 points to take a nine-point halftime lead. That continued in the second half with the Gators’ lead ballooning to 23 at one point. The Gators’ points per possession grew to 1.452 in the second half.

“You can play great defense for 4-5 minutes, offense isn’t going well, you have a couple turnovers, you miss some open shots, that can’t frustrate you if you’re really a defensive-minded team,” Oats said. “Right now, we’ve got too many guys getting frustrated and then having too many letdowns.”

Alabama gave up 27 fast-break points and only scored eight. Florida had 13 assists to Alabama’s six. The Crimson Tide only blocked one shot compared to four for the Gators. Alabama also had only half as many steals as Florida.

Turnovers were once again an issue for the Crimson Tide for a second consecutive game. In six of the past nine games, Alabama has reached double-digit turnovers.

Meanwhile, the Crimson Tide’s shooting from deep has slowed. Alabama has made 14 of 60 (23%) of its 3-point attempts the past two games. The Crimson Tide doesn’t have to hit triples at a constant high clip to win, but it needs to be better than that.

Some of this can be fixed, some of it might not be. But either way, rest would be a good first step.

“It looked like we were tired tonight to be honest with you,” Oats said. “We’ve got to do a better job. We’re off (Wednesday). Need to get rested, get in with the trainer, get a bunch of treatment, make sure we’re not going too hard Thursday, Friday, get their bodies and minds fresh ready to play Saturday, and then get ready to try to make a run in Nashville.”

All is not lost. Sure, the SEC regular-season title continues to slip away, but a good seed in the SEC Tournament and NCAA Tournament are still attainable. Alabama just needs to find a way to stop slipping down this path and halt the losing before it becomes a losing streak.

Simply put, it’s time for the Crimson Tide to wake up. Otherwise, any dreams of a tournament run will most certainly disappear.

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.

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Alabama

Will your child have to repeat 3rd grade under Alabama Literacy Act? Some exemptions, opportunities for retesting

Published

5 hours ago

May 19, 2024

Press Room

Will your child have to repeat 3rd grade under Alabama Literacy Act? Some exemptions, opportunities for retesting

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WBRC) – The Alabama Literacy Act went into full effect this past Friday after the state released third grade student reading scores for the school year. State education leaders want parents to know that just because your child didn’t meet the reading requirements, it does not mean they have to repeat third grade.

According to the scores, 9% of third graders, roughly 4,800, are not reading well. However, the Alabama Educators Association says under the act, there are a few exceptions made for some students so they won’t have to repeat:

If a child is in their first two years of learning English language, they will not be required to repeat based off their reading scores.
If a child has a disability, then they may have an alternative set of learning standards they’re required to meet, excluding them from meeting the reading test scores on the ACAP.
If child has disability and they have already been retained once in kindergarten, 1st grade or 2nd grade, and have received at least two years of intensive remediation, they may be exempt from repeating the grade.
If a child has been retained two years, and has received reading remediation for two years, the child can apply to move forward a grade with a continued focus on reading.

There are also opportunities for students to re-test this summer, so if they were close but didn’t meet the proficiency level, they will have the opportunity to try again.

“There’s a lot of data and science behind allowing students to stay with a particular peer group, so all of this is intended to sort of merge the two interests so that the child does not stay too far behind,” said William Tunnell, the Northern Region Manager for the Alabama Educators Association.

State education leaders say you’ll want your child to prepare before they re-test, and they recommend talking with your child’s school to determine a plan for success.

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Alabama

Family from Africa's Burundi join Alabama State University student for graduation – Alabama News Center

Published

13 hours ago

May 19, 2024

Press Room

Family from Africa's Burundi join Alabama State University student for graduation – Alabama News Center

When Alabama State University student Guy Samandari walked across the commencement stage this month, his family was there to support him — all the way from the African nation of Burundi, a small country on the eastern side of the world’s second-largest continent, nearly 8,000 miles from Montgomery, Alabama. Samandari, who graduated with a degree

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Alabama

These were Alabama’s 10 fastest-shrinking cities in 2023

Published

19 hours ago

May 19, 2024

Press Room

These were Alabama’s 10 fastest-shrinking cities in 2023

Most of the fastest-shrinking Alabama cities in 2023 were in the Birmingham metro area – continuing the trend of a declining population around what was long the state’s largest city.

But the Jefferson County cities aren’t losing population as fast as Selma, the Black Belt’s iconic civil rights town, which was the fastest-shrinking city from 2022 to 2023, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

From July 1, 2022 to July 1, 2023, Selma lost 341 residents, bringing its official population estimate to 16,666. That’s a decline of 2% in a single year – the largest drop among Alabama cities with more than 10,000 residents.

The second fastest-shrinking city, Center Point, saw a 1.1% decrease. Located in Jefferson County, Center Point is now home to 15,705.

Six other cities in Jefferson County, home of Birmingham, were among the 10 fastest-shrinking. The city of Birmingham lost 243 people in a single year and now has 196,444 residents. But Montgomery is shrinking much faster. And Birmingham slipped ahead of Montgomery at this latest count and is once again the second most populous city in Alabama. For now.

Like Birmingham, both Mobile and Montgomery shrank in population. Mobile lost 695 people and Montgomery dropped 1,657, to fall behind Birmingham. However, Mobile recently voted to add nearly 20,000 new residents to the city limits. At this time next year, when the next federal estimates come out, Mobile will officially be the second largest city in Alabama.

Huntsville, the most populous city in Alabama, grew by 3,534 residents from 2022-2023 for a total population of 225,564.

(Can’t see the chart? Click here.)

While Alabama saw population decreases in the Black Belt and three of the four major cities – the state’s beach and college towns grew rapidly.

Selma -2% The Dallas County city now has a total population of 16,666 after losing 341 residents in 2023.
Center Point -1.1% Jefferson County’s fastest-shrinking city lost 175 people in 2023 bringing the total population to 15,705.
Alexander City -1% Located in Tallapoosa County, the city now has 14,470 residents. In 2023, it lost 150 people.
Bessemer -1% Also in Jefferson County, the North Birmingham city lost 251 residents, bringing the total population to 25,037
Hueytown -.9% Another Jefferson County city to dwindle in population, Hueytown lost 154 people in 2023. The city now has a population of 16,202.
Mountain Brook -.9% The affluent city now has a population of 21,737 after losing 204 residents.
Montgomery -.8% Alabama’s capital city lost 1,657 people in 2023 and now has a population of 195,287.
Gardendale -.7% Another Jefferson County city to see a decline, Gardendale lost 117 residents for a 2023 population of 16,096.
Vestavia Hills -.7% Vestavia’s population of 38,020 came after the city lost 266 in 2023.
Eufaula – .7% Located in southeastern Barbour County, Eufaula lost 84 people for a population of 12,451.