Practice footage and observations from Chicago as the Crimson Tide prepares to face No. 1 Michigan in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament.
CHICAGO–– Alabama basketball held its first full Chicago practice at the United Center on Thursday morning ahead of the Crimson Tide's matchup in the Sweet 16 with No. 1 Michigan. The media was allowed a 15-minute practice viewing at the beginning of the practice period.
Here are some of BamaCentral's notes and observations:Injured players Collins Onyejiaka and Davion Hannah were practicing with the team. Keitenn Bristow was not spotted, at least during the media observation period. Alabama head coach Nate Oats huddled up the team before practice and gave the team a quote about how arrogance sits on top of insecurity. He also told the team that they're playing their best basketball right now. Both the backcourt and frontcourt started practice with shots from the corner. They started just on the inside of the arc, which is interesting because Oats essentially forbids mid-range shots. But they proceeded to back up a couple of steps for some corner 3s. There weren’t many misses across the board, and most of the ones that didn't hit the bottom of the net were likely due to the basketballs hitting each other near the cylinder. Alabama assistant Chris Fleming was undisputedly the most vocal among players and coaches during the practice viewing. This included a pick drill he instructed, which ends with a kick-out to the corner for a shot from downtown. Alabama had to stop the music playing numerous times as Fleming re-explained and emphasized the drills after the Crimson Tide didn’t execute them to his standard. In another drill involving passes to the corner, Alabama guard Jalil Bethea, who starts every pregame warmup with a self-alley-oop, used his jaw-dropping vertical to leap and distract the passer as a defender. Just like in the games, Alabama guard Houston Mallette was the most excited during the drills when they were successful. After the Texas Tech game, Mallette, who is in his final year of eligibility, said, “I don't want to leave Alabama. I will die for this school. I love this place." The guards were split into two uneven groups during the shooting drills. One group consisted of Labaron Philon Jr., Jalil Bethea and Hannah. The other group was Latrell Wrightsell Jr., Amari Allen, Preston Murphy Jr. and Houston Mallette. The groups had to try to make 10 3-pointers from each spot, and the groups would move on when one of them reached that total. Former player and current special assisstant to the head coach Erwin Dudley still gets in on the scout team action for the Crimson Tide. Even though this was Alabama's first practice this week in Chicago, the Crimson Tide did play in this same venue back on Nov. 19 in a 90-86 win over Illinois.Katie Windham is the assistant editor for BamaCentral, primarily covering football, basketball, gymnastics and softball. She is a two-time graduate of the University of Alabama and has covered a variety of Crimson Tide athletics since 2019 for outlets like The Tuscaloosa News, The Crimson White and the Associated Press before joining BamaCentral full time in 2021. Windham has covered College Football Playoff games, the Women's College World Series, NCAA March Madness, SEC Tournaments and championships in multiple sports.NCAA Shoots Down Deion Sanders’s Bold Spring Football Concept for Second Straight Year
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