Tag: conference

Crimson Tide add former Nicholls State head coach Austin Claunch to the MBB staff

Nate Oats and Alabama MBB land a massive hire to join MBB staff

After maybe the best season in the history of the Alabama Crimson Tide basketball program, Nate Oats is back on the recruiting trail, but this time it’s for assistant coaches.

Oats and the Crimson Tide are in unprecedented waters after losing all three assistants from the 2022-2023 team to head coaching positions elsewhere. Charlie Henry departed for Georgia Southern, Bryan Hodgson to Arkansas State and Antoine Pettway to Kennesaw State. Oats’ staff was a key part of the Tide’s success this year, especially recruiting, and they will be greatly missed.

Fortunately, Oats is already on the move and making new hires to fill the three positions. Alabama is expected to add Nicholls State head coach, Austin Claunch, to the staff as an assistant. Claunch has been incredibly successful at only 33 years old, going 51-17 in conference play over the past four years with two league titles.

Joining the Tide is a very attractive position for all coaches after seeing them churn out three head coaches in one offseason. Oats will have some major changes to make to the roster, but he needs to get some help with the coaching staff first.

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Alabama’s Brandon Miller named SEC Player and Freshman of the Year

SEC coaches vote Brandon Miller as the SEC’s 2022-2023 Player and Freshman of the year

No player in the Southeastern Conference had a better season in 2022-2023 than the Alabama Crimson Tide’s Brandon Miller. For his outstanding efforts, Miller has been named the SEC men’s basketball Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year by the coaches in the conference.

From start to finish, Miller has been the best player in the conference so it is awesome to see him rewarded as such. The Tide will need him to have an outstanding couple of days this weekend if they want to claim the SEC Tournament championship and a one-seed in March Madness.

In 31 games this season, Miller averaged 33.5 minutes, 19.6 points, 8.0 rebounds, and 1.8 assists and shot 45.3% from the field. He will certainly be a lottery pick and is on his way to being a superstar in the NBA. Alabama has been fortunate to have him so fans should enjoy what are expected to be his last few games in Crimson and hope for a deep run in March.

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Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama news, notes and opinion. You can also follow Sam Murphy on Twitter @SamMurphy02.

Experts make their picks for Alabama vs. Vanderbilt in Week 4

Alabama vs. Vanderbilt broken down by the experts

The reigning SEC Champions, Alabama Crimson Tide, begin conference play this week when they host the Vanderbilt Commodores. The Tide opened as massive (40.5) point favorites, and for good reason. The Commodores have lost the last 21 games they have played in the conference, although they look slightly improved this year with a 3-1 record, and their only loss coming to a ranked Wake Forest.

The last time these two teams met was back in 2017 when the Tide traveled to Nashville to take on a ranked and undefeated Vanderbilt side. Alabama walked away victorious by a narrow margin of 59-0.

Alabama still has a lot of things they need to fix, especially offensively, so it’s important they get a few things ironed out this week before they head into the meat of their schedule.

Here are how the experts see things going down in Tuscaloosa this weekend.

5 teams SEC should look to add now that the dust has settled

Now that everything has somewhat settled down, here are five programs the SEC could realistically make a push for.

USC and UCLA recently announced their departure from the Pac-12 and will be making the switch to the Big Ten. It was the most recent move in a series of shocking conference realignment moves.

In the summer of 2021, it was reported that Texas and Oklahoma would be joining the SEC, which took the collegiate sports world by storm. However, the ripple effect caused by Texas and Oklahoma continues to grow. Many expect seismic changes to come as a result of the two Southern California schools departing.

The SEC and Big Ten are headed toward becoming superconferences of 20 or more members while the Big 12, Pac-12 and ACC scramble to figure out their future. So as conferences continue to expand, how does the SEC continue to be proactive rather than reactive?

Here are five programs the SEC should add to continue to strengthen the conference.

How the SEC could look if Texas and Oklahoma join

Here is how the new super conference could look if Texas and Oklahoma were to join.

When the earth-shattering news dropped on Wednesday regarding Texas and Oklahoma reportedly wanting to join the SEC to form a super conference, it sent the media and fans into a frenzy. The more time that passes, the more it appears likely to happen.

While this move has apparently been percolating behind the scenes for a while, the rest of the Big 12 and even SEC members were blindsided by the announcement. Texas A&M did not seem too thrilled with the idea, but if it opposes it, it would need three other schools to vote against the move.

Politicians could also get involved and veto the move, but we will likely get answers at some point throughout the next few weeks.

With two more teams, the SEC will certainly have to realign. Two methods seem the most popular.

First, the idea of having four pods of four teams

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Checking in on Chiefs’ AFC conference and Super Bowl LV betting odds

With the NFL’s regular season in the books, the Kansas City Chiefs are still favored to win it all.

The Kansas City Chiefs secured the lone bye week in the AFC way back in Week 16. They’re getting back to practice today with a focus strictly on the playoffs. The wild-card round is coming up this weekend, where their first postseason opponent will be determined. The divisional round of the playoffs set for the following week.

In our last check-in on the betting odds, the Chiefs were monster favorites to win the AFC West. They, of course, managed to win their fifth-straight AFC West title this season. After a 14-2 record during the regular season, oddsmakers still feel like the reigning champions on track to repeat as AFC conference and Super Bowl champions.

Here’s a quick look at the latest betting odds:

Gators’ Keyonatae Johnson named CBS preseason SEC Player of the Year

Florida Gators forward Keyontae Johnson was selected by CBS Sports as the SEC’s Player of the Year award in its conference preview.

Gators forward Keyontae Johnson, who passed on a shot at a spot in the NBA Draft this past offseason to return to Florida for his junior year, is already racking up some preseason accolades from publications.

In CBS Sports’ SEC preview, Johnson was named the preseason SEC Player of the Year. He’s coming off a 2019-20 season in which he was named to the First Team All-SEC after leading the Gators in scoring.

Now, he’s receiving tremendous hype, and many expect him to be one of the nation’s top players this season.

Here’s what CBS’ Gary Parrish said about him.

SEC Preseason Player of the Year

Keyontae Johnson, Florida

Most people assumed, this time last year, that Kerry Blackshear Jr., a graduate-transfer from Virginia Tech, would be Florida’s best player in the 2019-20 season. But he wasn’t. Instead, it was Keyontae Johnson, a 6-foot-5 forward who averaged a team-high 14.0 points and 7.1 rebounds in 31.3 minutes per game. When he announced in April that he was returning for his junior season, it was a great development for the Gators. He’s the biggest reason Florida is expected to finish in the top four of the SEC standings for what would be the fourth time in a five-year span under Mike White, who is entering his sixth season at the school.

This is an important year for both Johnson, who returned with the hopes of becoming a first-round pick, and the Gators, who haven’t quite lived up to expectations in most of White’s first five seasons.

But they’re loaded with talent and experience this year, and they’ll look to players like Johnson to take them to the next level.

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Head coach Dan Mullen suggests measures as Gators prepare for the season

At his press conference on Tuesday, Dan Mullen floated several ideas regarding the 2020 football season in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic

At his press conference on Tuesday, Gators coach Dan Mullen took the opportunity to float several ideas regarding the 2020 football season in the wake of the novel coronavirus pandemic and all the adjustments that have been made to the prospective season as a result.

Florida is at full strength now in the second week of fall camp after receivers Kadarius Toney, Trevon Grimes and Jacob Copeland, in addition to defensive end Zach Carter (who were all holding out of practice and were reportedly considering opt-outs) have reported to practice and all stated that they plan to play this season.

However, for part of the first week of camp, Mullen was unsure if he’d have his entire first line of receivers for the season. With those guys’ absence, Penn State transfer Justin Shorter allegedly stepped up and performed well in practice. Shorter, a former five-star recruit, has yet to be granted eligibility for the 2020 season by the NCAA.

While talking about Shorter’s progress, Mullen took the opportunity to mention the uncertainty regarding approval of transfer waivers and the NCAA’s decision to grant a blanket eligibility extension to all athletes this fall.

Here’s an excerpt from The Athletic’s report.

“(Shorter) was there kinda leading the way,” Mullen said. “It was a great adjustment for him being an older, veteran guy and getting in there while those guys were gone and showing what he can do.”

Mullen doesn’t hide his frustration over the mercurial nature surrounding NCAA transfer waivers. Like so many who have navigated the process — only to be astonished over the circumstances of certain denials and approvals — he just seeks consistency. The kind of blanket consistency the NCAA displayed recently in granting an additional year of eligibility to the current batch of fall sports athletes.

“It was the right move, a great idea for the NCAA to do that. It certainly helps makes decisions for the guys about what they were gonna do a lot easier,” he said. “(The NCAA) answered a question that they could answer. It’s great to create certainty in the world of uncertainties.”

Mullen, who mentioned that the idea of a commissioner for the Power Five leagues was “worth investigating,” had several other ideas and issues he wanted to see the SEC address.

One of these was roster expansion. Road teams are allowed to travel 70 players, while home teams are allowed 80 players on the sideline. However, positive tests could force players to quarantine during a game week, and having expanded roster numbers would give schools and coaches more flexibility to navigate these issues.

Mullen also suggested that the SEC make a decision on regulating crowd noise. He said he was concerned about the ability to pump crowd noise being abused.

Mullen suggests the league set parameters on how much home schools can amplify the atmosphere with stadium crowds on pace to be only 25 percent capacity.

“We’re gonna pump in crowd noise or we’re not gonna pump in crowd noise. Really simple deal,” he said. “That’s an easy decision that could be made today.

“If you’re gonna create whatever atmosphere — (decide) what level, what volume that is. The league has the big rule against any artificial noise-makers and no outside noise being pumped in. So if we’re gonna stick with that, let’s come out and say 100 percent we’re sticking with that.”

It remains unclear if the SEC will be able to kick off its season on Sept. 26, but Mullen’s suggestions may help ease some of the pressures currently facing the league as it attempts to decide.

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Map shows SEC states still all in on CFB in 2020

A tweet posted by Stadium.com shows a map of the US detailing where college football will be played as some conferences cancel fall sports.

Amid the coronavirus pandemic, two Power Five conferences, the Big Ten and Pac-12, have canceled their fall sports and will look to pick back up in the spring of 2021. The SEC, along with the ACC and Big 12, are planning on following through with their seasons.

The SEC’s commissioner, Greg Sankey, has openly supported the decisions by each conference to play sports in the fall of this year:

“Our soccer, volleyball and cross-country student-athletes are working hard to prepare for their seasons and they have been diligent in taking personal health precautions and following protocols around covid-19,” Sankey said. “We will support them in every way possible as we evaluate the impact of these cancellations on their fall sports seasons.”

As of Aug. 13, all FBS teams within the state of Alabama are set to kick off their seasons.

A map tweeted by Stadium.com’s Brett McMurphy shows the landscape of where college football will be played in the coming months.

There are clear patterns found due to geographical location, as well as how each region has been affected by the ongoing pandemic.

Changes are expected to be made as the season approaches. Numerous variables including students return to campus, teams’ travel plans and more can contribute to an individual program, or an entire conference, deciding to cancel or postpone the season.

Roll Tide Wire will keep you updated on the state of the SEC and the forthcoming decisions regarding fall sports and college football in 2020!

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Gators News: August 5, 2020

It is Wednesday and on this fine humpday, there is plenty of news from around the Gators Nation just waiting to satiate your reading needs. 

It is Wednesday and on this fine humpday, there is plenty from around the Gators Nation just waiting to satiate your reading desires.

The biggest news comes from the Big Ten, which announced this morning its schedule of 10 conference games to start on Sept. 5. The announcement sets the parameters for a regular season that eliminates all non-conference play and adds in an additional off week to provide the highest degree of scheduling flexibility in the face of the coronavirus pandemic.

Check below for the latest from Gators Wire.

Around the Swamp

It’s great to be a Florida Gator!

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