Happy Friday, everyone. We got a bit of basketball news yesterday, as both the men and women have set up exhibition games.
Alabama men’s and women’s basketball teams will be in Boutwell Auditorium again this October to compete in preseason exhibitions.
The Ballin’ in Boutwell tournament announced both Crimson Tide squads will play Thursday, Oct. 15. First-year coach Pauline Love’s women’s team will tip off at noon before Nate Oats and company take the floor in Birmingham at 7 p.m. CT.
On Thursday, July 16, Ole Miss was revealed as the opponent for Alabama men’s basketball as UA-Huntsville was set as the competition for Alabama women’s hoops.
I don’t recall two SEC teams playing in the preseason before, but perhaps it’s happened at some point.
Justin Lebron signed his rookie contract and became a very rich young man.
Fourteen of the players chosen by the Cincinnati Reds during the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft on Saturday and Sunday have signed their first contracts, the National League team announced on Thursday night, including Alabama shortstop Justin Lebron.
The Reds picked Lebron at No. 18 in the draft on Saturday after he helped Alabama reach the College World Series this season.
The allocated signing bonus for the 18th selection in this year’s draft was $4,695,500, but MLB.com and the Cincinnati Enquirer reported the Reds had to go to $5 million to keep Lebron from returning to the Crimson Tide for his senior season.
Good for him. Hope to see him in Cincinnati soon.
Speaking of getting paid, Alabama football now has eight players with Nike deals.
Seven Alabama football players became Nike athletes recently, joining Ryan Coleman-Williams, the program announced Thursday.
The new Nike athletes are safety Bray Hubbard, cornerback Zabien Brown, edge rusher Yhonzae Pierre, cornerback Dijon Lee, quarterback Keelon Russell and freshmen EJ Crowell and Cederian Morgan.
Coleman-Williams remains on a multi-year deal with the brand he signed in 2025.
Pierre, Crowell, Morgan and Coleman-Williams are all in-state products. Pierre is from Eufala, Crowell is from Jackson, Morgan is from Alexander City, and Coleman-Williams is from Saraland.
This, again, is what NIL was always supposed to be, rather than a pay for play meat market.
The latest in the “50 players” is manchild Steve Mbouboua, for whom every Alabama fan seems to have been rooting hard for a breakout since he arrived.
Mbouboua took an uncommon road to Tuscaloosa ahead of the 2025 season. For starters, he grew up in Cameroon, where he mostly played soccer as a child.
After that, he moved to Canada. The now-Junior played his high school football at Notre Dame de Foy, located in Quebec.
He was originally slated to be a member of the Crimson Tide’s 2024 recruiting class. However, Mboumoua shifted gears, instead heading to Mississippi, where he played a year at Southwest Mississippi Community College and finished with 46 tackles, including 4.5 sacks.
Big House wrote about Alabama’s not-quite-a-rivalry bad blood with Florida State.
The coach that drew Alabama interest two-plus years ago is now hanging on partially because of the massive buyout added to his contract because of Alabama’s interest.
Meanwhile, DeBoer got a $2 million raise and a buyout bump after Michigan came poking around last December.
Quite a web to weave.
And that’s without noting the multiple mutual flirtations between Alabama and Florida State coaching legend and Birmingham native Bobby Bowden.
Imagine how different this ecosystem would look if UA president Roger Sayers had agreed with the 14-1 vote by the Board of Trustees to hire Bowden in 1990. Instead, he stayed in Tallahassee and won the 1993 and 1999 national titles while Gene Stallings led the Tide to the 1992 crown.
‘Baron may not have shot it well yesterday, but he is still showing out in the NBA summer league.
Philadelphia 76ers guard Labaron Philon is continuing to show off the skill that propelled two playoff runs for Alabama basketball in the 2026 NBA Summer League.
The Crimson Tide former put together his fourth consecutive performance with double figures in the Sixers’ 96-92 loss to the Orlando Magic on Wednesday, July 15. He scored 15 points, but they came from his worst shooting outing since signing with Philadelphia.
Last, Mario Cristobal spoke about what it was like coaching at a place like FIU.
While FIU took a major leap the following season with five wins, the 2009 season was highlighted by a moment Cristobal hasn’t forgotten.
Prior to starting the season against the Alabama Crimson Tide, the team was going to board a plane to Tuscaloosa.
Just one problem: the plane hadn’t been paid for.
“We were supposed to go to play Alabama,” Cristobal said. “And we got to the airport and they said, Where you guys going? We’re going to hop on our plane, we have a game tomorrow against Alabama.”
“They said, Well, you guys didn’t play for a plane, so you’re not going anywhere. So give my credit card to the wife, go get 200 meatball and cheese subs at Subway, bring them back for the players, let me figure this out.”
Eventually, it was figured out, and FIU made it to Alabama, only to lose 40-14.
That’s about it for today. Have a great weekend.
Roll Tide.
