Latest news with #CollinsOnyejiaka
Yahoo
10-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Alabama basketball will return to Boutwell Auditorium for exhibition vs. Florida State
Last year, Alabama men's basketball took part in the first basketball game inside Birmingham's Boutwell Auditorium in a half-century. This fall, the Crimson Tide will be returning to the historic venue. Advertisement Coach Nate Oats' team will square off against Florida State in an exhibition on Oct. 16, the program announced on July 8. REQUIRED READING: Signing of Collins Onyejiaka marks first-time milestone for Alabama basketball recruiting Alabama's matchup with the Seminoles will be one of three contests staged inside the 101-year-old building as part of an event, Ballin in Boutwell. On Oct. 15, Auburn will take on Oklahoma State and two days before that, Samford and Alabama A&M will meet on Oct. 13 in an intrastate showdown. The upcoming 2025-26 season will be a time of change for Florida State, which saw coach Leonard Hamilton retire last March after a decorated 23-year tenure at the school. He was replaced by one of his former players, Luke Loucks, who spent the previous nine years as an NBA assistant coach. The Seminoles finished 17-15 last season and in 11th place in the ACC. Advertisement The exhibition will be a reunion of sorts for Tide junior forward Taylor Bol Bowen, who played the previous two seasons at Florida State before transferring to Alabama in April. The Tide won its exhibition last year at Boutwell, defeating Wake Forest, 98-77, behind 20 points and six assists from Aden Holloway. Despite losing Mark Sears and Grant Nelson, its top two scorers from last season, Alabama is No. 8 in the latest top 25 from USA TODAY Sports for the 2025-26 season. This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Alabama basketball will return to Boutwell Auditorium for exhibition
Yahoo
24-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
4-star big man reclassifies to 2025 to play for Alabama this season
The post 4-star big man reclassifies to 2025 to play for Alabama this season appeared first on ClutchPoints. The Alabama Crimson Tide are hoping to build on what was a fairly successful 2024-25 season, with the arrival of a few new recruits. The Crimson Tide were busy in the transfer portal this offseason, adding players to help shore up what should be a contending roster in the SEC. Alabama also added to its 2025 recruiting class with the recent commitment of big man Collins Onyejiaka who decided to reclassify to play this upcoming season, as per Joe Tipton of On3 Sports. Advertisement Collins Onyejiaka's decision to reclassify to the class of 2025 makes him immediately eligible for Alabama for the 2025-26 season. He joins an incoming class of recruits for Alabama that also includes forward London Jemison, guard Davion Hannah and forward Amari Allen. Onyejiaka is considered a four-star recruit and was playing at The Newman School in Boston, MA. He will be one of eight newcomers on the roster this upcoming season. Alongside the four incoming freshmen, Alabama also added four players out of the transfer portal in forward Keitenn Bristow, guard Jalil Bethea, center Noah Williamson and forward Taylor Bol Bowen. The newcomers are expected to help compliment a strong group of returners including talented guard Labaron Philon. Philon had initially declared for the NBA Draft, but made a surprising reversal and withdrew from the draft to return to Alabama for his sophomore season. This upcoming season will be Nate Oats' seventh as head coach. He took the helm ahead of the 2019-20 season and has compiled an overall record of 145-63 during his tenure. Over that stretch, Oats has led the program to five NCAA Tournament appearances including one Final Four in 2023-24 and two Elite Eights in 2023-24 and 2024-25. This past season, Alabama was eliminated in the Elite Eight by Duke. Advertisement Prior to Oats taking over at Alabama, he was the head coach at Buffalo for four seasons, leading the Bulls to three NCAA Tournament appearances. Related: Dawn Thornton, Alabama A&M land former Pac-12 assistant Related: Ben McCollum sets subdued goal for 1st season with Iowa
Yahoo
21-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Alabama Lands Commitment From 6-Foot-10 Center
Alabama Lands Commitment From 6-Foot-10 Center originally appeared on Athlon Sports. Head coach Nate Oats and the Alabama Crimson Tide basketball program from the top rope on Friday night. According to Travis Branham of 247Sports, four-star center Collins Onyejiaka has committed to Alabama. Alabama head coach Nate Oats.© Andrew Nelles / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images A fringe top 100 recruit in the class of 2026, Onyejiaka's commitment comes with a reclassification. Instead, he will join the Crimson Tide in 2025, fresh off an Elite 8 showing. Advertisement This offseason, Alabama took to the transfer portal in hopes of replacing center Clifford Omoruyi. Oats and Company came away with Patriot League Player of the Year, Noah Williamson. The seven-foot center scored 17.6 points per game for the Bucknell Bison. The addition of Onyejiaka will give Alabama options outside Williamson. Alongside Onyejiaka and Williamson, six-foot-eleven sophomore Aiden Sherrell will likely also be in the mix after scoring just 3.4 points per game as a first-year player in 2024. Nevertheless, Alabama fans should temper expectations for Onyejiaka as a true freshman. Adam Finkelstein, the director of scouting for 247Sports, says, "He misses a surprising amount of dunks for someone so physically dominant, isn't much of a scoring threat on the perimeter, and can lack solutions when not able to overpower the opposition." Advertisement However, he does earn high praise as a post-defender and rim protector. He could find himself in the mix as a defensive anchor, especially with the war chest of offensive talent at the disposal of Oats. Alabama returns Latrell Wrightsell Jr., Labaron Philon, and Houston Mallette next season. Wrightsell Jr. is the most notable after scoring 11.5 points per game last year before suffering a season-ending injury. Related: Alabama Commit Continues Strong Elite 11 Performance on Thursday This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 20, 2025, where it first appeared.
