Remembering the Rocket 8

Now that everyone's attention is turning to basketball, a note about a legendary group of Crimson Tide athletes

The Rocket 8 is what many consider to be the best team in Alabama basketball history.  

The photo above and below represents the lead up to the 1955-56 team which was the first team in the Southeastern Conference to go undefeated in the conference.

Jerry Harper was the star of the talent-laden team and he still holds some Alabama and SEC records.

The Rocket 8 finished 21-3, 14-0 in the conference in 1955-56.  Harper AVERAGED over 21 rebounds and 23 points a game.  

Captain George Linn who was famous for sinking the longest shot college basketball history in Foster Auditorium averaged over 22 points and just under 10 rebounds per game.  

Dennis O'Shea averaged almost 13 points per game while hitting over 51% of his shots.  

The team averaged 88 points a game.

Coach Johnny Dee's first year at Alabama was the start of the Rocket 8

Coach Johnny Dee used to give out these cards to friends

Dee had a coaching record of 68-25 in his time at Alabama. In 1956, the Crimson Tide stunned Adolph Rupp's Kentucky Wildcats with a 101-77 win, the first time any team scored more than 100 points over Kentucky.