Alabama Basketball Pre-Tournament Practice Report
TAMPA, Fla. — Last season, Alabama left Nashville, Tenn. as SEC Tournament Champions. The Crimson Tide is looking to repeat this year.
Alabama arrived in Tampa, Fla. on Tuesday and was given its 40 minute practice session inside Amalie Arena on Wednesday afternoon.
Alabama did what many would expect during its only time in the arena before tournament play begins: shoot the basketball.
The SEC's leading team in three-point attempts took an abundant amount of three-pointers during its shootaround, utilizing many different drills.
The practice opened with groups on both baskets shooting corner threes, wing threes, and top-of-the-key threes each for allotted time periods before switching to the net spot.
The longest drill head coach Nate Oats had the Crimson Tide do was a competition between the crimson and white jerseys. Each team would begin on one basket, and would shoot until one team had reached 10 three-point makes. The teams would then switch goals, and do this for all five major three-point spots on the floor.
Oats also conducted a close-out drill that served both offense and defense. Defenders would close out on passes made by players outside of the arc, and offensive players would take contested three-pointers after a few passes.
The Crimson Tide looked like a combination of both locked in and having fun. There were lots of smiles across the court from a lot of players, as players would express excitement for their teammates' three-point makes.
Alabama guards Jaden Shackelord and Keon Ellis exuded confidence on the court, calling out many of their makes before the ball reached the basket.
Alabama also was incredibly active throughout the entire 40 minute period. There were hardly period of standing-still, while drills constantly had players moving around the court. Alabama's managers were key in ensuring there was no standing around on the court, as they were incredibly vocal about movement throughout the practice.
Injured Alabama guard Nimari Burnett also participated in all shooting drills in practice. Burnett was poised to be a major part of this season's team but tore his ACL in September.
Alabama will take the court for the first time on Thursday night at 7:30 p.m. CT, taking on the winner of Georgia and Vanderbilt, who play Wednesday night.
