Crimson Tide Closes Out 2008 Against Quincy
12/29/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 29, 2008
Alabama (8-3) VS. Quincy (6-2)
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Tipoff Time: 7 p.m. Central Time
TV: None
Radio: CTSN (Play by Play - Chris Stewart; Analyst - Bryan Passink)
Series: First Meeting
Crimson Tide Closes Out 2008 Against Quincy
The Alabama men's basketball team (8-3) continues its 8-game homestand on Tuesday, December 30 when it hosts Quincy University in the final game of the 2008 portion of its schedule. The first-ever meeting between the two programs tips off at 7 p.m. CT in Coleman Coliseum. Alabama plays its second game in three days after defeating Yale, 66-63, on Sunday evening and has won seven of its last eight games coming into Tuesday's game. Meanwhile, Quincy is 6-2 on the season and brings three-straight wins into Coleman Coliseum. The Hawks have had 10 days off to celebrate the Christmas holiday and prepare for Alabama having last played on December 20 when they avenged an earlier loss to Truman State with a 79-56 victory in Quincy, Ill.
Who to Watch
Alabama senior Alonzo Gee is coming off his first double-double of the season with 20 points and 10 rebounds against Yale. The guard also had two of Alabama's eight blocks and connected on eight of his season-high 17 field goal attempts. Gee was nearly joined in double-double territory by freshman JaMychal Green who had 10 points and nine rebounds in just 20 minutes of action. Green suffered a blow to the head with 10:25 left in the contest that required four stitches to suture and did not return to the game. Defensively, Yamene Coleman made the most of his 27 minutes on the floor with a career-high six blocks, three steals and four rebounds.
Last Time Out
Alabama got its eighth win of the season on Sunday night with a 66-63 victory over visiting Yale in Coleman Coliseum. Despite Alabama leading by as many as 18 points, Yale got within one point in the final minute of the game but Alabama made 7-8 free throws in the final 30 seconds including two by sophomore Senario Hillman with three seconds left to seal the victory. Four Alabama players scored in double figures led by senior Alonzo Gee's 20 points. Senario Hillman finished the game with 18 points, while senior Ronald Steele added 16 along with seven rebounds and six assists. The Tide ended the first half on a 10-0 run capped by an alley-oop from Hillman to Gee as time expired to take a 36-25 lead into the break. Gee paced the Crimson Tide with 15 points in the first frame. Alabama went a perfect 9-9 from the foul line prior to intermission.
Scouting Quincy
Quincy travels to Alabama for its first game in 10 days with a 6-2 record in tow. The Hawks have won three-straight games and last lost on December 6 to Great Lakes Valley Conference foe Rockhurst by an 89-78 margin. Tuesday's game will be just the second away from Quincy, Ill. for the Hawks, who are 0-1 in road contests this season. Alabama will also be the first Division I opponent for Quincy this season and just the second Division I opponent the Hawks have faced in the past six seasons. Quincy is a member of the Great Lakes Valley Conference, a tradition-rich Division II league that features four teams in the most recent USA Today/ESPN Division II Top-25 Poll. The Hawks are paced by a starting five that all average double-figures in scoring with Justin Brock's 15 points per game leading the way. Brock is also second on the squad in rebounding with 6.4 per game. The other four in double-figures lead an offense that is averaging 76.2 points per game on 48.7 percent shooting. On the defensive end, the team is limiting opponents to just 59.5 points per outing with Rockhurst being the only squad to score more than 70 points on the Hawks.
Alabama vs. Quincy
Alabama and Quincy are meeting for the first time in the programs' respective histories. It is also Alabama's first-ever meeting with a current Great Lakes Valley Conference School. Tuesday's game is also the first against a non-Division I program during head coach Mark Gottfried's 11 seasons on the bench.
Gottfried in December
Alabama head coach Mark Gottfried has taken a liking to the month of December. Overall while at the helm of the Crimson Tide, Gottfried sports a 57-13 (.814) record in the year's final month. As he enters the contest against Quincy with a 5-1 record this season in December, the fourth most victorious coach in UA history has only lost more than once in the month one time in the past nine seasons. At Murray State, Gottfried's team went 14-8 in December games in his three seasons there including wins over powers Washington (1995) and Arkansas (1997).
Steele Taking Care of the Ball
Alabama senior guard Ronald Steele has made a name for himself for his ability to take care of the basketball. Over the last four games, Steele has dished out 23 assists with only nine turnovers. Steele had his best game of the season in that category by handing out six assists without a single turnover against Texas A&M and then followed that up with six more against Tennessee State, and had five assists with two turnovers against Chattanooga. More recently, he added to his assist totals with six against Yale. However, that performance was tempered by a season-high five turnovers. In his career, the Birmingham, Ala., native has tallied more assists than turnovers 67 times. Steele has recorded five or more assists 46 times and has tallied five more assists than turnovers 15 times. The 6-1 guard has played in seven games in which he did not record a single turnover. Against East Tennessee State on Dec. 1, 2004, Steele etched his name in the UA record books by handing out 18 assists while not turning the ball over.
Hillman Develops Into All-Around Threat
Sophomore guard Senario Hillman has excelled in his starting role this season and has shown dramatic improvement over a year ago. The Irwinton, Ga., native is averaging 13.0 points a game this season and has scored in double figures in eight of the last nine games. As a freshman, the 6-1 guard averaged 4.3 points a game and tallied four double-digit point totals. Hillman recorded a career-high 22 points in a win against Chaminade at the Maui Invitational.
Gee Streaking In December
Senior guard Alonzo Gee has put together a nine-game streak of scoring in double figures after starting the season with a combined six points in the first two games. Over the nine-game streak, Gee is averaging 17.4 points per game and is shooting 50 percent (58-of-116)from the floor. Over that span Gee has also led Alabama in scoring seven times, including a season-high 24 points against Tennessee State. The scoring streak is the second longest of his career as he ran a 10-game double-digit streak last season and had his first seven-game streak during the 2006-07 campaign.
20-Point Scorers = Wins
Among current players on the Alabama roster the Crimson Tide has had an individual score 20 or more points 28 times. UA sports a 21-7 overall record when the Tide has a 20-point scorer over that span. Alonzo Gee leads the team with 17 20-point performances. In those games the Tide is 14-3. Ronald Steele closely follows with 10 20-point games. In those contests UA is 6-4. Senario Hillman tallied his first 20-point game with 22 points in a win against Chaminade.
Double-Doubles = Wins
Among current players on the Alabama roster the Crimson Tide has had an individual record a double-double 13 times, going 11-2 in those games. Senior guard Alonzo Gee leads the way with nine double-doubles. In those games the Crimson Tide is 8-1 overall. Demetrius Jemison has tallied two double-doubles and in those games UA is a perfect 2-0. JaMychal Green tallied a double-double in a loss against Mercer. Junior Yamene Coleman record his first double-double with a career-high 14 points and 14 rebounds in the win against Tennessee State.
Steele Makes History
Alabama senior point guard Ronald Steele eclipsed the 1,000-point mark by scoring 11 points against Alabama A&M. Steele became the 42nd player in Alabama history to record 1,000 points as he enters the game against Quincy with 1,061 career points. In addition to joining the 1,000-point club, Steele is only the second player in school history to record more than 1,000 points and 400 assists, joining Robert Scott (1,321 points and 444 assists from 1977-80). Steele has 437 assists coming into the Yale game.
Gee Scoring Watch
Alabama senior guard Alonzo Gee eclipsed the 1,000-point barrier last season and is rapidly climbing up the all-time scoring list. A total of 42 current and former members of the Crimson Tide are in the prestigious scoring club while Gee ranks 23rd overall with 1,313 points. Robert Scott (1,321), Ernest Shelton (1,323) are next on the list with Gee needing just 14 points to leap into 18th all-time.
Steele In The Record Book
Ronald Steele has etched his name prominently in the Crimson Tide record book. Steele has made his mark in the assist categories where he ranks sixth in career assists (437), first in assists in a single game (18) and fifth in assists per game in a career (4.37 average) The Birmingham, Ala., native is first in free throw percentage for a career (.871) and a season (.892), and ranks third in career three-point field goal percentage (.410) with head coach Mark Gottfried (1985-87) holding the all-time mark with a .485 clip.
Gottfried Among Winningest SEC Coaches
Alabama head coach Mark Gottfried, in his 11th season at the Capstone, has had great success while directing the Crimson Tide. Gottfried is one of only two coaches to have taken his SEC squad to the NCAA Tournament five times since the 2001-02 season. At Alabama, Gottfried has averaged 20 wins per season to rank second behind only Wimp Sanderson (22.3 in 12 seasons) in the UA record books. Throughout his 13-year coaching career Gottfried has averaged 21 wins per season.
Gottfried Gets 200th Win at Alabama
The win over Chaminade on November 25 was Alabama head coach Mark Gottfried's 200th victory at Alabama. Gottfried now has a 206-127 record in his 11th season with the Crimson Tide. With his 200th win at Alabama, Gottfried joined an exclusive club of 200-game winners at Alabama. Wimp Sanderson (267), Hank Crisp (264) and C.M. Newton (211) are the only other coaches in school history to reach the 200-win mark with the Tide.
Alabama Basketball: A Historical Perspective
• 7 SEC regular season championships
• 6 SEC tournament championships
• 19 NCAA Tournament Appearances (2004 NCAA Elite 8)
• 8 NCAA Tournament "Sweet 16" advancements
• 5 NIT Final Four Trips
• 40 NBA Players (5 current NBA players)
• 19 First Team All-Americans
• 48 Academic All-SEC players
• Ranks 20th in NCAA tournament appearances since 1984
• 126 All-SEC players • Ranks second all-time in SEC wins behind Kentucky
Alabama Picked to win the West
In a poll by both national and SEC media the Crimson Tide were selected to win the SEC's Western Division as selected by a 30-member voting panel. Alabama received 11 first-place votes and earned a total of 151 points. LSU had 147 points and also received 11 first-place votes. Tennessee was selected to win the conference.
Gee and Steele Garner Preseason Honors
University of Alabama senior guards Alonzo Gee and Ronald Steele were selected to the Second Team of the 2008-09 Preseason Southeastern Conference All-Conference team as voted by the league's coaches. Gee was third on the team with 14.5 points per game and second on the team with 6.8 rebounds per game. He led the Tide in scoring in 10 games last season. Steele was a Preseason All-American in 2007-08 before an injury forced him to sit out the 2007-08 season. Alabama's all-time leader in free-throw accuracy (.868), Steele has started 89 of 90 games he has been in a Crimson Tide uniform.
Next Time Out
Alabama opens the New Year and closes its eight-game homestand on January 3 when Georgia Tech visits Coleman Coliseum for a 2 p.m. matinee. The Crimson Tide and Yellow Jackets meet for the first time since the 1998 season with Alabama holding a 38-27 advantage in the all-time series despite Tech winning the last three meetings.
