Men’s Basketball Season Underway With First Official Team Practice
The 2014-15 Alabama men’s basketball season officially began on Saturday morning with the first practice of the season at the Coleman Coliseum Practice Gym.
“It was exciting,” Alabama head coach Anthony Grant said following the practice. “I was pleased with the guys willingness to work together. I saw great team unity and I thought they really helped each other.”
New NCAA rules that were implemented prior to the start of the 2013-14 campaign which moved the start of team practice earlier in the fall - from 30 days prior to the first game of the season to 42 days. The Crimson Tide's first game will be on Nov. 14 vs. Towson at Coleman Coliseum.
Alabama brings back four starters and eight letterwinners from last season’s team. Leading the list of returnees are seniors Levi Randolph and Rodney Cooper. Randolph returns as the team leader in points per game (9.6 ppg), while Cooper returns as the team’s leading rebounder (4.9 rpg). Also returning is junior Retin Obasohan, who contributed 9.5 points and returns as the team leader in steals per game (1.8 spg).
Included in the returning players are a pair of transfers who sat out the 2013-14 campaign in Ricky Tarrant and Michael Kessens. Both were able to practice with the team but did not suit up for games due to NCAA transfer rules. In addition, the Crimson Tide welcomes five newcomers which includes fifth-year graduate transfer Christophe Varidel and four freshmen which made up the nation’s 24th-ranked recruiting class.
After playing a non-conference schedule that was ranked as the ninth-toughest in the nation a year ago, the Alabama men’s basketball team will play another challenging non-conference slate during the 2014-15 season. The Tide will play the likes of Iowa State (Nov. 24), Xavier (Dec. 6), Wichita State (Dec. 16) and UCLA (Dec. 28), among others.
Alabama will open the season with an exhibition game vs. in-state foe Montevallo on Nov. 10. The regular season will begin on Nov. 14 when it hosts Towson in the opening game of the CBE Hall of Fame Classic.
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