ST. THOMAS, VIRGIN ISLANDS ?? The No. 10 ranked University of Alabama basketball team practiced for two hours Thursday morning in preparation for its first round game Friday at the Paradise Jam here at St. Thomas, Virgin Islands.
Alabama, 1-0, plays Middle Tennessee, 1-1, at noon CT Friday in the four-day tournament’s opening round. The winner of that game, which opens the tournament, plays the game two winner between Toledo vs. Iowa in the semifinals on Sunday, November 19 at 5 p.m. in a game that will be televised by Fox College Sports on its Fox Sports South affiliates. The losers of those games will play on Saturday, November 18 at 5 p.m. CT. Fox Sports South will televise Sunday's semifinal games as well as Monday's championship game (7:30 p.m. CT) and the game for third place (5:00 p.m. CT).
“We know that Middle Tennessee is the biggest game of the year because it’s the next game,” said Crimson Tide 6-foot-8 sophomore starting forward Richard Hendrix who celebrated his 20th birthday Wednesday. “We know that they are a good team. We’re going to have to come in and execute. It’s really going to be important for us to come out here and win this tournament, and that’s our goal.”
The Tide arrived in St. Thomas on Wednesday evening, sharing a charter flight with Xavier and Toledo, its possible second round opponent. Alabama practiced from 9 a.m. until 11 a.m. Atlantic Standard Time on Thursday morning on its business trip to the islands that will include few diversions. The tournament’s organizers will host a welcoming reception for the teams on Thursday afternoon involving a sky gondola ride up to Paradise Point, a lookout point that is 700 feet above sea level and includes views of St. Thomas and the town of Charlotte Amalie as well as some surrounding islands. The team will attend that event for a about an hour, then go into its game preparation mode.
Alabama’s senior center, John R. Wooden candidate Jermareo Davidson, did not travel with the team but is scheduled to fly into St. Thomas and join the team on Saturday. His playing status for the Sunday and Monday games is questionable. Davidson was a passenger in an automobile accident in his hometown of Atlanta, Ga., on Saturday night in which his girlfriend was killed. He has stayed behind in Alabama to attend her funeral on Friday.
“Our prayers and thoughts are with Jermareo and his situation,” said Hendrix. “And we know that Yamene Coleman is going to step in and do a fine job for us. He’s going to do whatever it takes for us to get the win.”
Eight teams are here participating in the Paradise Jam. The field also includes Xavier, VCU, Charlotte and Villanova.
