2015–16 Alabama Crimson Tide men's basketball team

2015–16 Alabama Crimson Tide men's basketball
Conference	Southeastern Conference
2015–16 record	15–9 (6–6 SEC)
Head coach	Avery Johnson (1st year)
Assistant coach	Antoine Pettway (3rd year)
Assistant coach	Scott Pospichal (1st year)
Assistant coach	Bob Simon (1st year)
Home arena	Coleman Coliseum (Capacity: 15,383)

The 2015–16 Alabama Crimson Tide men's basketball team (variously "Alabama", "UA", "Bama" or "The Tide") represents the University of Alabama in the 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Crimson Tide plays its home games at Coleman Coliseum in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, as a member of the Southeastern Conference. Avery Johnson is in his inaugural season as head coach of the team. He was hired on April 6, 2015, to replace Anthony Grant, who was fired on March 15 after serving as Alabama's head coach for six seasons.

Before the season

Previous season

The 2014–15 season saw Alabama go 19–15 overall (8–10 in the SEC) with an appearance in the National Invitation Tournament. The team started the season very strong, winning twelve of its first fifteen games, with all three losses coming against teams that went on to make the 2015 NCAA Tournament. However, through the course of SEC play after those first fifteen games, the Tide faltered, developing an inability to put together consecutive wins—an issue that lasted for the rest of the season.^[1] As a result, Alabama suffered a losing home record in conference play for the first time since 1969.^[2] The team finished the season tied for eighth place in the SEC standings and was awarded the #9 seed and a first-round bye in the SEC Tournament.^[3] In the second round, the Crimson Tide was eliminated, falling to the eighth-seeded Florida Gators 69–61.^[4] In the postseason, the team was selected to play in the NIT as a #6 seed.^[5] Alabama routed #3 seed Illinois 79–58 in the first round,^[4] but lost to #2 seed Miami 73–66 in the second round to end the Tide's season.^[1]

Coaching changes

On March 15, three days after Alabama's loss to Florida in the SEC Tournament, UA athletic director Bill Battle released a statement announcing that Anthony Grant would not be retained as the head coach thereafter,^[6] presumably due to major fan dissatisfaction with the consistently mediocre seasons his teams produced, as evidenced by declining home attendance numbers.^[7] Later that day, Alabama received its invitation to the NIT. Stuck without a head coach, the school named assistant coach John Brannen as the interim head coach for the tournament.^[8]

Avery Johnson is coaching in his first season at Alabama.

Following the conclusion of Alabama's season on March 21, Battle began intensively searching for a replacement for Grant. Early rumors indicated that Indiana head coach Tom Crean and then-Murray State head coach Steve Prohm (who attended Alabama) were Battle's biggest targets.^[9] However, over the next several days, those names gave way to that of Wichita State's Gregg Marshall, and it was reported on March 23 that Alabama was prepared to offer Marshall a contract in excess of $3 million per year.^[10] Then, on April 1, reports indicated that Marshall would soon visit Tuscaloosa with his family while pondering whether or not to take the Alabama job; however, later that day, it was confirmed that he had decided to stay at Wichita State.^[11]

In an unusual move, Battle addressed Marshall's decision to remain at Wichita State in a public statement.^[12] With his first option ruled out, Battle contacted former National Basketball Association player and coach Avery Johnson, who expressed considerable interest in the job.^[13] Johnson had not been a coach since 2012, and had never coached at the collegiate level (having only been the head coach of the NBA's Dallas Mavericks and New Jersey/Brooklyn Nets). Despite that, Battle quickly arranged to meet with Johnson and his family and hired him shortly afterward on April 6. It was later reported that at the time of his meeting with Battle, Johnson was just days away from signing a contract extension as an analyst with ESPN. He was formally introduced as the new Alabama head coach on April 8.^[14]

Johnson subsequently hired two assistant coaches, while retaining former Alabama player Antoine Pettway as an assistant coach for his fifth year with the program and Lou DeNeen as the strength and conditioning coach for his third year with the program. On April 20, he hired Providence assistant coach Bob Simon as his associate head coach, and then on June 4, he hired "legendary" AAU coach Scott Pospichal as a third assistant.^[15][16]

Roster changes

Departures

Following the firing of Grant, four players left the team, with three of them electing to transfer to other schools. Additionally, two seniors graduated and signed with professional teams, while another chose to continue his collegiate career as a graduate student at a different school.

Source: ^[24]

Class of 2015 signees

Name	Home town	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Brandon Austin SF	Montgomery, Alabama	George W. Carver High School	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	Aug 18, 2013
	Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:   ESPN grade: 79
Kobie Eubanks* SG	Fort Lauderdale, Florida	Our Savior New American School	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	206 lb (93 kg)	Jun 22, 2015
	Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:   ESPN grade: 80
Donta Hall† PF	Luverne, Alabama	Luverne High School	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	208 lb (94 kg)	Apr 24, 2014
	Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:   ESPN grade: 83
Dazon Ingram SG	Theodore, Alabama	Theodore High School	6 ft 4.5 in (1.94 m)	184 lb (83 kg)	Apr 17, 2015
	Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:   ESPN grade: 80
Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: NR   Rivals: NR  247Sports: 68  ESPN: NR
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "Alabama 2015 Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved August 17, 2015.  "2015 Alabama Basketball Commits". Scout.com. Retrieved August 17, 2015.  "ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved August 17, 2015.  "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved August 17, 2015.  "2015 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved August 17, 2015.

 • Lawson Schaffer, a 5-foot-11 point guard from Cullman High School in Cullman, Alabama, announced on April 30, 2015, that he would walk on at Alabama as part of the class of 2015.^[25] He was not rated by Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, or ESPN.

Other additions

Following the hiring of Johnson, Alabama added to its roster four players not part of the class of 2015: a former national Top 50 recruit, junior Nick King; Johnson's son, sophomore Avery Johnson Jr.; graduate transfer Arthur Edwards; and sophomore walk-on Christian Clark.

Sources: ^{[28][29][30][31]}

Roster

2015–16 Alabama Crimson Tide men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown 2.5 !G/F 0 King, NickNick King (I) 79 !6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 3.0 !Jr University of Memphis Memphis, Tennessee 2.5 !G/F 1 Norris, RileyRiley Norris 79 !6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 203 lb (92 kg) 2.0 !So Albertville High School Albertville, Alabama 1.5 !G 2 Schaffer, LawsonLawson Schaffer (W) 71 !5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) 160 lb (73 kg) 1.0 !Fr Cullman High School Cullman, Alabama 3.5 !F 3 Kessens, MichaelMichael Kessens 81 !6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 228 lb (103 kg) 3.0 !Jr Longwood University Nyon, Switzerland 1.5 !G 4 Edwards, ArthurArthur Edwards 78 !6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 217 lb (98 kg) 5.0 !GS University of New Mexico Washington, D.C. 1.5 !G 5 Coleman, JustinJustin Coleman 70 !5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 168 lb (76 kg) 2.0 !So Wenonah High School Birmingham, Alabama 3.5 !F 10 Taylor, JimmieJimmie Taylor (C) 82 !6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 248 lb (112 kg) 3.0 !Jr Greensboro High School Greensboro, Alabama 3.5 !F 11 Hale, ShannonShannon Hale 80 !6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 233 lb (106 kg) 3.0 !Jr Christ School Johnson City, Tennessee 1.5 !G 12 Ingram, DazonDazon Ingram  77 !6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 1.0 !Fr Theodore High School Theodore, Alabama 1.5 !G 13 Johnson Jr., AveryAvery Johnson Jr. (I) 71 !5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) 187 lb (85 kg) 2.0 !So Texas A&M University Houston, Texas 1.5 !G 23 Austin, BrandonBrandon Austin 77 !6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 197 lb (89 kg) 1.0 !Fr George W. Carver High School Montgomery, Alabama 3.5 !F 24 Clark, ChristianChristian Clark (W) 78 !6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 2.0 !So Thomas Dale High School Chester, Virginia 1.5 !G 32 Obasohan, RetinRetin Obasohan (C) 74 !6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 4.5 !RS Sr K.A. Redingenhof Antwerp, Belgium 3.5 !F 35 Hall, DontaDonta Hall 81 !6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 224 lb (102 kg) 1.0 !Fr Luverne High School Luverne, Alabama	Head coach Avery Johnson (Southern) Assistant coach(es) Antoine Pettway (Alabama) Scott Pospichal (Florida Southern) Bob Simon (Eastern Michigan) Strength and conditioning coach(es) Lou DeNeen (South Florida) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster Last update: January 30, 2016

Season

On August 5, the school announced that the student section in Coleman Coliseum would be shifted over two sections to the side and corner of the court opposite the visiting team's bench in an attempt to enhance the home-court advantage in the coliseum and to make the students more visible on television and closer to the court. The student section was previously directly behind the goal next to the visiting team's bench. To complement that change, the area where television cameras are set up was moved to the opposite side of the coliseum and the court was repainted so it would not appear upside down on television broadcasts.^[32]

Alabama released its full non-conference schedule, consisting of twelve regular season games and one exhibition game, on August 10.^[33] The full conference slate was released by the SEC for all of its member schools on August 19.^[34] Alabama will play eighteen SEC games for a total of thirty regular season games overall.

The team held its first official full team practice on October 2.^[35]

On October 21, members of the SEC media voted the Crimson Tide to finish 13th in the end-of-season SEC standings, ahead of only Missouri.^[36]

On October 27, the entire team, along with the women's basketball team, was introduced to students, faculty, and season ticket holders at the "Tide Tipoff" at Coleman Coliseum, which included a three-point contest, a dunk contest, and a performance from hip hop duo Rae Sremmurd.^[37]

Alabama announced on December 10 that freshman point guard Dazon Ingram had suffered a fractured left foot in practice two days prior and would miss the remainder of the season following surgery. Ingram started the first seven games for the Crimson Tide, and at the time of his injury, he led the team in rebounding and assists averages. He is eligible for a medical redshirt and will return for the 2016–17 season with four years of eligibility.^[38][39]

Junior forward and starter Shannon Hale missed three games from December 16 to December 29 due to an ambiguously-referenced "medical condition". He returned in a backup role on January 2 to play limited minutes in Alabama's win over Norfolk State.^[40] He returned to a starting role on January 23 versus LSU.^[41]

Sophomore guard Justin Coleman saw his playing time suddenly drop for a period from January 23 to February 2 due to a nagging turf toe injury that he aggravated in practice.^[42] Although he did not start, he returned to being a big contributor for the team in the February 2 game against Mississippi State, seemingly unbothered by the injury despite being listed as a "game-time decision".^[43][44]

Injuries continued to pile up on Alabama during SEC play as Hale missed the February 2 Mississippi State game with a foot injury suffered in the January 30 game at South Carolina. Additionally, junior forward Michael Kessens was forced to exit the MSU game with a knee injury.^[43] Kessens returned the next game, while Hale missed one more game before returning on February 10 against Texas A&M.^[45]

Game summaries

Non-conference play

Alabama has played all but one of its home games at Coleman Coliseum this year.

Alabama kicked off the season with a home exhibition game against the Division II Trevecca Nazarene Trojans on November 6, which the Crimson Tide won handily, 87–65.^[46] The regular season began on November 13 in Tuscaloosa with a 77–64 win over Kennesaw State in front of 14,970 fans, the most at an Alabama home opener since 1989. This game marked Avery Johnson's official head coaching debut with Alabama, as well as his collegiate coaching debut in general.^[47] Alabama then took a trip to Dayton, Ohio, to face the Dayton Flyers as part of ESPN's College Hoops Tip-Off Marathon. Despite a competitive start, the Tide suffered a poor overall shooting performance against the Flyers' stout defense and got obliterated, 80–48. The 32-point margin of defeat marked the worst Alabama loss since a 2001 game against Ole Miss.^[48]

After winning a 105–93 shootout at home over Louisiana–Lafayette in which the Crimson Tide displayed a much-improved shooting proficiency with six players reaching double-digit point totals,^[49] Alabama headed to the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando for the AdvoCare Invitational, where in the first round the team fell to #23 Xavier, 64–45, in a game very similar to the Dayton game. The Crimson Tide played a competitive first half and trailed by only three at halftime, but poor second-half shooting allowed the Musketeers to pull away. This was Alabama's third loss to Xavier in as many seasons.^[50] However, the Tide bounced back in a huge way, knocking off 20th-ranked (and shorthanded) Wichita State 64–60 the very next day in the consolation game for the school's first win versus a ranked opponent since the 2010–11 season.^[51] Two days later, the team pulled off an even bigger upset, this time over #17 Notre Dame in the fifth-place game, with senior guard Retin Obasohan contorting his body to get the go-ahead game-winning layup with eight seconds remaining in the 74–73 win. Alabama had not beaten back-to-back ranked opponents since 2006.^[52]

The Tide continued its non-conference slate by heading to Hattiesburg, Mississippi, to play Southern Miss, where the team staggered its way to a 58–55 win over the then-winless Golden Eagles for the Crimson Tide's first true road win of the season.^[53] After losing freshman guard Dazon Ingram for the rest of the season due to injury, Alabama traveled to Greenville, South Carolina, to face the Clemson Tigers.^[38] The Crimson Tide held a single-digit lead for most of the game until Clemson took advantage of an Alabama scoring drought to take a 50–49 lead with under a minute to play. But with 29 seconds left, Alabama junior forward Shannon Hale stole a Clemson inbounds pass and broke away for an easy dunk to give the Tide the lead for good in the 51–50 win, its fourth straight away from home. After going 4–1 (and 2–1 versus ranked teams) on its longest road trip since the 2000–01 season, Alabama returned home for a December 16 matchup with Winthrop.^[54] With Hale, a starter, out due to a medical condition, the Tide used a dominant second half and a double-double from junior forward Jimmie Taylor to soundly beat the Eagles 72–60.^[55]

In the last major game of Alabama's non-conference schedule, the Crimson Tide hosted Oregon at the Birmingham–Jefferson Convention Complex. This was the first time Alabama had played in Birmingham since a game against Oklahoma State at the BJCC during the 2011–12 season, which the Tide won.^[56][57] This time, however, the team came up just short. Following the narrative of its previous two losses, Alabama played an outstanding first half with great shooting and led 38–26 at the break, but Oregon's shooters got hot in the second half and held on to an early second-half lead to beat the Tide 72–68.^[58] After returning to Tuscaloosa and escaping a low-scoring overtime game against a pesky Jacksonville State team by a score of 67–59,^[59] Alabama capped off its non-conference slate against Norfolk State, using some sharp shooting from Retin Obasohan to aid in a 68–49 blowout win. Shannon Hale returned to the team for this game for his first playing time since the Clemson game.^[40]

Conference play

Alabama opened its SEC schedule against Ole Miss at the Rebels' new arena, The Pavilion at Ole Miss. This was the Rebels' debut game there after having played their home games in Tad Smith Coliseum for nearly 50 years,^[60] and it attracted a capacity crowd of 9,500 people. Alabama fell victim to early foul trouble for its post players, particularly starter Jimmie Taylor, and blew an eight-point halftime lead, losing the game 74–66.^[61] Two days later, the Tide played an even tougher opponent in #9 Kentucky, this time at home in front of another sellout crowd. Despite a third-straight 20-plus-point performance from Alabama's Retin Obasohan, Kentucky enjoyed a career-best 25 points from senior forward Alex Poythress and a massive +18 team rebounding margin en route to a 77–61 blowout victory over the Crimson Tide. After the game, Wildcats head coach John Calipari was quoted as saying "that's as good as we play".^[62] However, Alabama's confidence evidently did not waver despite opening SEC play with an 0–2 record, because in its next game against 19th-ranked and 15–0 South Carolina (which, along with SMU, represented the only remaining undefeated Division I teams), the Tide attacked the Gamecocks early and often. Alabama turned a 19–4 start and a 35–22 halftime lead into a 73–50 onslaught to give South Carolina its first loss of the season and head coach Avery Johnson his first ever SEC win. Sophomore forward Riley Norris tied a school record for most made three-pointers, going 8-for-11 from long range, and finished with a career-high 27 points.^[63]

Alabama then began a two-game road trip in Nashville at Vanderbilt. Horrid free-throw shooting by Alabama (7/20; 35%) and hot three-point shooting by Vandy (9/16; 56%) resulted in a convincing 71–63 win for the Commodores. With the win, Vanderbilt took a 68–67 lead in the all-time series.^[64] To close out the short road trip, the Crimson Tide headed south to visit Auburn for the Iron Bowl of Basketball. Retin Obasohan came up big for the team once again, contributing a career-high 27 points along with six rebounds, but Auburn junior guard Kareem Canty seemingly couldn't miss, going 5-for-8 from the three-point line and finishing with 25 points as the Tigers held on to a slim halftime lead to win, 83–77, in the first of two editions of the rivalry for the season.^[65] With the team bereft of any semblance of momentum, having lost four of its last five games, Alabama returned home for a huge matchup against spectacular freshman forward Ben Simmons and the LSU Tigers. The game was back-and-forth throughout its duration, with the largest lead of the whole game being eight points. After a Tim Quarterman layup gave LSU a two-point lead with 32 seconds to go, Alabama was unable to get a quality shot off before the buzzer, resulting in a 72–70 win for the Tigers.^[41] Simmons shined, racking up 23 points and eight boards despite foul trouble late in the game.

Retin Obasohan has clearly been the team's leader this season, averaging a team-high 16 points per game.

The demoralizing effects of the loss to LSU were evident throughout the majority of the Crimson Tide's next game, when the team hosted the Tennessee Volunteers. Alabama mustered only four points in the first ten minutes of the game, and eventually the team found itself down by fifteen to the Vols with fourteen minutes to go in the game. Then, Retin Obasohan and Shannon Hale took over the game; Obasohan (22 points) made multiple driving layups and a high-flying dunk while Hale (20 points) converted nine of ten free throws and a dunk of his own, powering a fierce Tide comeback. With the game tied at 57 with less than a minute to go, senior guard Arthur Edwards swished a three-pointer to take the lead, and off of a steal Obasohan converted a layup and the ensuing free throw to seal the comeback win, 63–57. The win snapped a three-game losing skid, the longest of the season thus far.^[66] In its following game, Alabama took on South Carolina in Columbia in an attempt to complete a two-game season sweep of the Gamecocks. In just the seventh sellout in Colonial Life Arena history, South Carolina took advantage of a foul advantage of 30–19 (which resulted in four Alabama players, including two starters, fouling out) as well as a whopping 20 offensive rebounds to outmuscle the Tide in a 78–64 Gamecock revenge win. Yet again, Obasohan proved his worth as the only true consistent leader on Alabama's team, at one point scoring 16 straight points for the Crimson Tide in the second half despite being burdened with four fouls during that entire stretch. He ended with 23 points and was eventually disqualified on a technical foul after the game was out of reach.^[67]

Alabama next faced the surging Bulldogs of Mississippi State at Humphrey Coliseum. The Crimson Tide was very hampered by injuries, inherently missing Dazon Ingram while also missing starter Shannon Hale due to injury and losing junior forward Michael Kessens (who started in place of Hale) to an injury during the game. The game was a close one throughout, and a clutch, acrobatic running jumper by Retin Obasohan with about a minute left in regulation tied the game at 67, ultimately forcing overtime. In OT, Justin Coleman's seven points helped lead the Tide to a 82–80 win. Obasohan continued his all-SEC-caliber style of play, finishing with 25 points (his fifth-straight game with at least 20 points) and a career-high eight assists.^[43] The team followed that victory with an easy 80–71 win over a struggling Missouri squad. Five Tide players scored in double figures, Coleman Coliseum sold out for the third time of the season, and the win, coupled with the victory at MSU, signified back-to-back SEC wins for Alabama for the first time in nearly three years.^[68] Now with a little bit of momentum, the Crimson Tide turned to a major home game against #15 Texas A&M, who entered the game having lost three straight SEC games after starting 7–0 in the league. Alabama enjoyed nice contributions from essentially every scholarship player, including 16 points from Obasohan and a career-high ten rebounds from freshman forward Donta Hall, and the Tide held on for a thrilling 63–62 win over the Aggies. 93.3% free-throw shooter Anthony Collins missed two potentially game-tying free throws for A&M with 2.3 seconds remaining in the game. This game marked Alabama's fourth win over a ranked team, a feat the school had not accomplished since the 2001–02 season. Shannon Hale returned from a two-game hiatus due to injury, scoring ten points off the bench.^[45]

Alabama then hit the road to take on a talented Florida Gators squad. The Gators came in as a near-double-digit point favorite and led at the half, 27–23, with both teams having trouble making shots in the first half. In the second half, Alabama surged, eventually taking a two-point lead on a three-point play by Retin Obasohan with 8:50 to go. However, about three minutes later, with the Crimson Tide up 48–44, Obasohan and Arthur Edwards, both starters, were called for their fifth fouls and were forced to exit the game, leaving the Tide without its entire starting backcourt. Then Jimmie Taylor sprung into action, swatting Florida's shots and drilling thunderous dunks. Because of his efforts, Alabama never trailed for the rest of the game and left the O'Connell Center with a huge 61–55 victory. Taylor finished with eleven points, five blocks, and four rebounds in 27 minutes of work. The win was Alabama's first at Florida since 1995, snapping an ten-game losing streak in Gainesville as well as an eleven-game losing streak to the Gators in general.^[69][70] The Tide, now firmly in the NCAA Tournament conversation, will try to continue its incredible surge on February 17 at LSU.

Through the course of the conference schedule, Alabama will face all thirteen fellow SEC members, playing five of them twice. Three of those five teams—Auburn, LSU, and Mississippi State—are Alabama's permanent "rivals", in a sense, in that Alabama will face those three teams twice every season, starting with the 2015–16 season.^[71] The regular season will culminate with the 2016 SEC Tournament, which will be held on March 9–13 at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville.

Statistics and rankings (as of 2/14)

The team holds a 15–9 record (6–6 in conference play), with an 9–3 record at home, a 4–5 record on the road, and a 2–1 record at neutral sites. The team also owns a 4–2 record against teams that were ranked when Alabama played them. Retin Obasohan leads the team in scoring average at 16.0 points per game, Jimmie Taylor leads all active players with 5.2 rebounds per game, and Justin Coleman leads the team in assists at 3.4 per game.^[72] Taylor is tied for 52nd-best in the country in blocks per game at an average of 1.92, while Coleman ranks second-best in the country in free-throw percentage, having made 59 of his 64 attempts, which is good for 92.2%.^[73][74] Alabama is averaging a meager 67.5 points per game, while allowing an average of 67.0 points scored by its opponents.^[75] According to NCAA.com, Alabama's RPI résumé is the 37th-best in the country and the fifth-best in the SEC, while according to ESPN, its strength of schedule ranks 14th-highest in the country and second-highest in the conference.^[76][77] The Crimson Tide has not received any votes in the AP or Coaches Polls.^[78]

Schedule and results

Class of 2016 recruiting

Alabama currently holds three verbal commitments for its 2016 recruiting class: five-star shooting guard Terrance Ferguson, who committed to the Crimson Tide via Twitter on August 17, 2015, over Kansas, North Carolina, and other major basketball programs;^[79][80] JUCO swingman Ar'Mond Davis, who announced his commitment to Alabama on Twitter on September 23, 2015, after decommitting from Memphis earlier that month;^[81] and four-star forward Braxton Key (formerly Braxton Blackwell), who committed to the Tide over his hometown school, Vanderbilt, as well as Kansas and Texas, on October 21, 2015.^[82]

Name	Home town	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Ar'Mond Davis SG	Tacoma, Washington	College of Southern Idaho	6 ft 5.5 in (1.97 m)	179 lb (81 kg)	Sep 23, 2015
	Scout: N/A   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN: N/A   ESPN grade: JC
Terrance Ferguson SG	Dallas, Texas	Advanced Preparatory International	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	181 lb (82 kg)	Aug 17, 2015
	Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:   ESPN grade: 94
Braxton Key SF	Mouth of Wilson, Virginia	Oak Hill Academy	6 ft 7.5 in (2.02 m)	216 lb (98 kg)	Oct 21, 2015
	Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:   ESPN grade: 85
Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: 15   Rivals: 14  247Sports: 12  ESPN: 13
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "Alabama 2016 Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved January 30, 2016.  "2016 Alabama Basketball Commits". Scout.com. Retrieved January 30, 2016.  "ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved January 30, 2016.  "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved January 30, 2016.  "2016 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved January 30, 2016.

See also

• Iron Bowl of Basketball
• 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball season
• 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings
• 2015–16 Alabama Crimson Tide women's basketball team

References

External links

• Alabama Men's Basketball Home at RollTide.com