Alabama
Will Alabama basketball win the SEC? What win vs. Georgia showed
![Will Alabama basketball win the SEC? What win vs. Georgia showed Will Alabama basketball win the SEC? What win vs. Georgia showed](https://www.gannett-cdn.com/authoring/images/smg/2024/01/31/USAT/72430425007-USATSI_22415799-e1706753261147.jpeg?auto=webp&crop=5730,3224,x0,y73&format=pjpg&width=1200)
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.
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Alabama
How Kane Wommack is challenging Alabama football defense after first game
Alabama football defensive coordinator Kane Wommack liked plenty of what he saw from his defense against Western Kentucky. It was a shutout after all.
Wommack liked how the defense played dominant up front, the handling of WKU’s tempo offense, affecting the quarterback, battling in the red zone, and more.
But like any coach, Wommack saw areas for improvement for his defenders.
For the most part, he thought Alabama tackled well. But not completely.
“There was a drive where we had a couple of missed tackles on some critical third downs and we’ve got to get those things cleaned up, particularly some vision coverage where our guys did not have their eyes on the quarterback and so their feet weren’t in the ground to drive on the ball once the ball was thrown,” Wommack said.
Wommack also didn’t like how his defense failed to capitalize more on takeaways. He called Keon Sabb’s two first-quarter interceptions a positive, but he wanted more than that.
“I thought we had opportunities to score on defense multiple times and we did not make the most of those opportunities,” Wommack said. “We also had opportunities in the backfield, sacks are great, but sack fumbles are way better to get the ball back for our offense right there on the spot. So those are things that the guys have really been challenged on.”
Wommack said he didn’t think the defense “met the standard of what we are capable of as a defense there.” He wants to see a response from his players on that front.
“In terms of their intentionality to take the ball away, punching, raking at the ball, all those types of things did not show up to the level that I think we’re capable of,” Wommack said. “So we will make that a huge point of emphasis.”
No. 5 Alabama (1-0) will face South Florida (1-0) on Saturday (6 p.m., ESPN) at Bryant-Denny Stadium.
Nick Kelly is an Alabama beat writer for AL.com and the Alabama Media Group. Follow him on X and Instagram.
Alabama
Alabama man arrested for murder of Georgia woman 24 years later
![Alabama man arrested for murder of Georgia woman 24 years later Alabama man arrested for murder of Georgia woman 24 years later](https://images.foxtv.com/static.fox5atlanta.com/www.fox5atlanta.com/content/uploads/2024/09/1280/720/coldcasesolved.jpg?ve=1&tl=1)
ATLANTA – After 24 years of investigation, authorities have arrested Clarence George, 63, of Alabama, in connection with the murder of Julie Ann McDonald. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) and the Walker County Sheriff’s Office announced that George has been charged with murder and aggravated assault in McDonald’s death.
George was arrested on Thursday, August 22, 2024, at approximately 11:30 a.m. by the U.S. Marshals Service in Birmingham, Alabama.
The case dates back to June 11, 2000, when the body of Julie McDonald was discovered in her home on Arnold Lane in Lafayette, Georgia. Despite diligent efforts by the Walker County Sheriff’s Office and the GBI at the time, the case remained unsolved for many years.
Significant progress was made between 2015 and 2016 when a Walker County detective and a GBI Special Agent reviewed the case and resubmitted evidence for testing. Although these tests did not identify a suspect, the investigation continued.
Between 2023 and 2024, renewed efforts by a Walker County Lieutenant and a GBI Special Agent led to the reexamination and retesting of evidence. Their work ultimately resulted in the charges against George.
Clarence George is currently being held at the Jefferson County Jail in Birmingham, Alabama, awaiting extradition to Georgia to face the charges.
Alabama
Scott Cochran pointed former Alabama safety turned pit crew member for Kyle Larson to NASCAR
![Scott Cochran pointed former Alabama safety turned pit crew member for Kyle Larson to NASCAR Scott Cochran pointed former Alabama safety turned pit crew member for Kyle Larson to NASCAR](https://on3static.com/uploads/dev/assets/cms/2024/07/21192834/kyle-larson-brickyard-400.jpg)
Kyle Larson is currently leading the Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington, but he couldn’t do it without his pit crew, which includes front tire changer Blaine Anderson.
Anderson is a former walk-on football player at Alabama, where he was part of a national championship squad.
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The USA broadcast highlighted Anderson on Sunday night, putting a spotlight on a guy who normally does a lot of the gritty work behind the scenes for one of NASCAR’s best drivers.
“Blaine was a football player at Alabama, actually walked on for coach (Nick) Saban and these shots are from the 2015 national championship game,” the broadcast noted as it showed pictures of Anderson celebrating a title. “He was a safety and also a special teams player.”
Now he’s a front tire changer for Larson, hauling heavy tires and slinging them around on the track. It’s a job that takes a lot of physical ability.
To that end, Blaine Anderson has been well prepared.
“But he gives credit to Scott Cochran, who he tells me is the most famous strength coach in college football,” the broadcast said. “He said he’s the one who told me try NASCAR after your football career, and he’s still here years later.”
Not only is he still here, he’s competing for one of the top teams in NASCAR. And Kyle Larson will have playoff aspirations following this weekend.
It’s a different kind of playoffs for Blaine Anderson, but he knows a thing or two about preparing to be on the big stage.
Saban made sure of that.
“I asked him the No. 1 lesson you learned from Nick Saban, he said, ‘Honestly, discipline,’” the broadcast said. “I said, ‘With what?’ He said, ‘With everything.’ No doubt about it.”
An Alabama biography for Blaine Anderson online did not list him as recording any statistics for the Crimson Tide. He appeared on the roster in 2015 and 2016.
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