Alabama
Will Trump attend UGA vs Alabama game?
Will former President Donald Trump attend the Georgia-Alabama game this weekend? The University of Alabama says yes. Here’s what we know:
The Georgia Bulldogs (No. 2) will take on the Alabama Crimson Tide (No. 4) in Tuscaloosa Saturday night.
This would not be Trump’s first rodeo. In 2018, he attended the College Football Playoff Championship game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. The Dawgs also faced the Crimson Tide that night. In 2019, he visited Bryant-Denny Stadium for a game against LSU.
Having a huge public figure like Trump in attendance would undoubtedly call for heightened security.
However, the University of Alabama said they were implementing the same level of security they have for every game:
“The safety of our campus is and will remain our top priority, and UAPD will work closely with the U.S. Secret Service and other law enforcement partners to coordinate security. Like for every UA football game, walk-through metal detectors will be in place and the clear bag policy will be strictly enforced. Additional safety measures will be enacted in collaboration with local and federal agencies, so fans are encouraged to arrive early to expedite the security screening process. The University’s focus will continue to be ensuring a safe and positive gameday experience for the student-athletes, fans of both teams, and all campus visitors.”
The U.S. Secret Service would not comment on their plan for security.
Ryan Wesley Routh charged with assassination attempt of Trump
The weather may also play a role in whether sports fans will get to catch a glimpse of the Republican candidate. Tropical Storm Helene is expected to make a big impact in the south as it develops into Hurricane Helene and ransacks its way through Georgia, Florida, Alabama and maybe even Tennessee. So far, the FOX 5 Storm Team anticipates the worst of the storm will be over by Friday night.
Helene to impact high school football games | Rescheduled times and dates
The game starts at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday.
Alabama
Alabama Gymnastics Drops Third Straight Meet, Posts Best Score Since Opener
Alabama gymnastics coach Ashley Johnston wanted to see a strong response from her team Friday night at Georgia after struggling in the previous two meets. The No. 14 Crimson Tide did improve on its overall score, but it wasn’t enough on the road against the No. 12 Bulldogs, who won 196.975-196.575.
“They continued to chip away and try to do everything in their power to come away with a win,” Johnston said after the meet. “Unfortunately it didn’t go that way, but I do feel like we learned a ton from this meet. I think this team turned up the intensity this week in training, and they’re continuing to jsut dig in. And they’re hungry to keep getting better.”
It was a close meet all night between Alabama and Georgia with the home team holding a tenth lead heading into the final rotation. As the road team, the Tide had to finish on the balance beam, and Alabama had its worst rotation of the night and third-worst of the season. No gymnasts fell, but several had big balance checks that led to sizable deductions and an overall score of 49.025 on the apparatus.
For the second week in a row, Alabama’s only routine that scored 9.9 or higher was Gabby Gladieux’s floor routine in the anchor spot. Only scoring one 9.9 is not going to win many meets in the SEC as the Crimson Tide has now dropped its third straight conference meet.
Alabama actually held a slight lead at the halfway point of the meet after a solid, but not great, start on the uneven bars and vault. The Tide didn’t have any major mistakes until the final rotation, but it struggled to find stuck landings throughout the meet on each rotation.
Georgia pulled ahead after the third rotation with a strong 49.425 on the balance beam. Alabama had its best rotation of the night in the third rotation as well with a 49.275 on the floor exercise, its highest score on floor since the season opener. Chloe LaCoursiere made her debut in the floor lineup and the all-around and scored a 9.85 on floor. Gladieux (9.9) led the charge with her fourth straight score of 9.9 or higher on the floor this season.
“This was a big breakthrough for Chloe,” Johnston said. “She has been wanting to jump into all-around for a year-and-a-half now, and it was really about helping her develop the confidence and self belief to be prepared to be ready for those moments.”
Overall, the 196.575 was Alabama’s highest score since the 197.025 in the season opener, but Johnston will still want more out of her team. The Crimson Tide hasn’t come anywhere close to yet reaching its ceiling or potential.
With Oklahoma joining the SEC this season, one of the conference’s nine gymnastics teams will get left out of the SEC championship meet in Birmingham. It will not be determined by league standings, but by National Qualifying Score (NQS.) Right now, Alabama is last either way and will need to start scoring higher in future meets if it wants to avoid being in the danger zone of missing out on the conference championship meet.
“Overall, I think we accomplished a lot tonight,” Johnston said. “To lose by just a couple tenths where we gave quite a few away, especially right there at the end, I think that gives them a chip on their shoulder and something to really work towards as we go into another tough matchup agianst LSU this week.”
See also: Alabama Basketball Guard Listed as Questionable for Georgia Game
Recruiting Rundown: Alabama Locks in Junior Day Visitors
Walsh: Should Alabama Have a Crimson Tide Hall of Fame, and Who’s Worthy of First Class?
Alabama
Goodman: Alabama’s big test is here, and the Tide is ready
This is an opinion column.
______________________
There are two key similarities between Alabama basketball coach Nate Oats and former Alabama football coach Nick Saban.
No.1, they both know how to dress, or at least understand that maintaining a classy image in public comes with the job and is a sign of respect for the people they represent.
This might seem trivial to some, but those are probably just the guys who think it’s OK to wear flannel shirts with dress slacks, flip-flops away from the beach, workout attire away from the gym, sweatpants in public, tactical pants to church, saggy jeans anywhere, camo, team jerseys outside of stadiums, tucked in T-shirts and square-toed shoes or boots.
Everyone else appreciates the fact that Oats isn’t the best dressed coach in college basketball by accident and that Saban (or at least Miss Terry) has impeccable fashion sense.
Secondly — and this might be a little more important — Oats is like Saban in that he never wavers from the coaching ethos that winning is all that matters.
Too cutthroat? Maybe for some, but that’s one of the things that makes Oats good at his job.
Oats hasn’t turned Alabama basketball into a national contender by handing out participation trophies, which is why sitting point guard Mark Sears against LSU didn’t come as much of a surprise.
The broadcasters calling the game for ESPN made a big deal about Sears being on the bench, but it’s not the first time that Oats has kept Sears out of the rotation this season and it might not be the last either.
Maybe Oats was trying to send a message by putting his best offensive player on the bench, or maybe Alabama’s coach just wanted more length on defense for the second half. Either way, it was the right call. Alabama won and Oats even noted afterwards that it was some of the best defense Alabama had played all season to end a game.
Sears was back in the lineup on Wednesday against Mississippi State and led Alabama with 17 points, six rebounds and nine assists. Once again, though, Oats made the correct decision late in the game when he subbed out Mark Sears and Aden Holloway in favor of taller players.
If only the football coach at Alabama knew how to manage his team so effectively.
No.4 Alabama basketball (18-3, 7-1 in the SEC) returns to action on Saturday with a home game against Georgia. The Tide is one of the deepest teams in the country, and Oats is going to need it to finish out this season. The remaining schedule is like nothing I’ve ever seen. Ten games remain and Alabama’s final seven opponents are all currently ranked in the AP Top 25.
Alabama could make it all the way to the championship game of the NCAA Tournament and have an easier road.
No one has it easy in the SEC, of course. The league has never been better. Some are calling it the best conference in college basketball history. Maybe so. No.1 Auburn (19-1, 7-0) plays eight ranked opponents across its final 11 games. Tennessee, which has lost three of its last four games, is grinding through a stretch of nine ranked teams in its first 10 conference games.
Coach John Calipari left Kentucky for Arkansas this season, but the Hogs are only 1-6 in the SEC.
Lamont Paris won SEC Coach of the Year in 2024, but his South Carolina Gamecocks are 0-8 to begin conference play this season.
The toughest football conference in the country is now the best basketball conference, too. The SEC’s greatest February of hoops begins on Saturday, but that’s just a build up for the big finish.
With Auburn and Alabama one and two in the SEC standings, it looks like league bragging rights and the regular-season title will go through the Heart of Dixie. Alabama and Auburn play twice over the final three weeks of the season. It will be a test of mental toughness like this league has never seen.
In benching Sears, Oats made sure that his point guard would be ready for the fight. And if Sears needs a rest, well, Alabama’s cutthroat, win-first coach planned ahead by taking Auburn’s old point guard and making him better.
BE HEARD
Got a question for Joe? Want to get something off your chest? Send Joe an email about what’s on your mind. Let your voice be heard. Ask him anything.
Joseph Goodman is the lead sports columnist for the Alabama Media Group, and author of the book “We Want Bama: A Season of Hope and the Making of Nick Saban’s Ultimate Team.”
Alabama
Crimson Tide football star Ryan Williams wants to be ‘on the bench’ for Alabama basketball
Alabama basketball could have a new face on the sidelines.
On the latest episode of the ‘New Wave’ podcast, Crimson Tide football star Ryan Williams said he told coach Nate Oats, “I’m gonna be standing on the bench, ya feel me?”
The joke, capped with a rhythmic clap and “de-fense” cheer, prompted a laugh from co-host Jaylen Mbakwe and Alabama hoops players and guests of the week Aden Holloway and Labaron Philon.
“I’m there,” Williams said.
The wide receiver phenom has only one request.
“Just give me the sweatsuit so I look like I’m on the team,” Williams said. “They gonna be like, ‘Is that Ryan?’ I’m gonna be like, ‘It ain’t even me.’ “
Ryan Williams might be incognito for his next Alabama basketball game appearance
Philon thought back to the season opener against UNC-Asheville when Williams’ attendance made waves on social media.
“You couldn’t even watch the game,” Philon said. “Them people, they was way over there and came all the way down to where you were just to take a picture. I saw it with my own two eyes.”
Williams said he was “just trying to talk to my guys. Let them boys eat.”
Instead, it was another night when having to accommodate his celebrity with the media got in the way of an attempt at just trying to be a college student.
“They on the opposite side of the arena and they done tracked me down,” Williams said. “Can’t even watch the game.”
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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