ALABAMA NOTEBOOK: Wimp Sanderson, team attending 30th anniversary reunion

One of the most popular editions of University of Alabama men's basketball — the 1986-87 SEC Champions — will be honored at halftime of the Crimson Tide's Wednesday night game against Missouri as part of the 30th anniversary reunion.

The Crimson Tide finished 28-5 that season, advancing to the Sweet 16 at Louisville's Freedom Hall before falling to a hot-shooting Providence team. Alabama won 19 of 21 games against Southeastern Conference competition, including the SEC Tournament championship.

"It was a sort of unique team in that a lot of the players weren't that highly recruited," said Wimp Sanderson, the head coach of the team, who will be attending the reunion. "Derrick McKey came down to us and Ole Miss. Keith Askins came and visited us the week before the (AHSAA) state tournament and we were his first scholarship offer. He committed and then Athens made it to the state tournament and the line of coaches outside their locker room was like they were giving away free ice cream at Baskin-Robbins. But he honored his commitment to us.

"We had always been strong recruiting in Birmingham (Terry Coner, Michael Ansley and Bill DeVaughn all played their high school basketball there.) We had two transfers (Mark Gottfried and J.J. Jackson) and another redshirt (Jim Farmer). I visited Mark in Tulsa (where he had played at Oral Roberts) and he signed his scholarship on the top of a taxi cab. Then I got back in the taxi and left."

"But that team had great chemistry. They enjoyed playing together, they were a good rebounding team and they could really shoot it."

Sanderson said the reunion was difficult to organize, in part because several of the players are still involved in coaching basketball.

"We think almost everyone will be there," Sanderson said. "Terry and J.J. are both coaching but said they will be here. Keith is coaching with the Miami Heat, but he expects to come. Mark is going to try to come from North Carolina State if he can. We found everyone except one player (Joe Hudson), so we are expecting a good group."

Sanderson said part of the reunion would be a tour of the new facilities at Coleman Coliseum, and thanked current head coach Avery Johnson for his support of the event.

"I think it's something we are all looking forward to," Sanderson said.

Women still ahead of the game

The Alabama women’s basketball team has dropped its last two conference contests, but it still stands miles ahead of where it was at this point last season. At 14-4, Alabama needs just one more win to match its win total from 2016, and wins over Ole Miss and Missouri are a sign Alabama is ready to compete in the SEC.

The Crimson Tide have made a living this season by getting to the free-throw line. UA’s 448 attempted free throws ranks No. 2 nationally behind Ohio State, and is 40 more than any other team in the conference. No Crimson Tide player is better at earning trips to the line than Alabama’s leading scorer Meoshonti Knight, who has already attempted 97 free throws this season. With a team free throw percentage of 65, coach Kristy Curry would still like her group to be more efficient from the stripe.

Sophomore Shaquera Wade was fantastic for the Crimson Tide in its last two conference matchups. The Huntsville native scored a career-high 24 points and grabbed six rebounds in a loss to Kentucky. Then followed her previous performance with 11 points and three assists against the Razorbacks while battling foul trouble.

“The (24 points) feels good, but the loss hurts worse,” Wade said Thursday. “It’s really nothing to me because we lost.”

Since conference play began no Crimson Tide player had more field goals than Wade. The sophomore is also shooting the highest percentage (.462) of any player who has played more than 100 minutes since Jan. 1.

— Drew Hill

Gymnastics team still No. 4

Despite increasing its overall score by four-tenths of a point, the University of Alabama gymnastics team didn’t waver in the latest rankings. It’s still slated as the No. 4 team with an average score of 196.9.

Oklahoma is No. 1 with a 197.888 average, reclaiming the top spot after swapping with No. 2 LSU last week. The Tigers’ have a 197.7 average. Florida’s 197.35 average makes it No. 3.

The SEC makes up half of the top 10. LSU, Florida and Alabama go down in order at the top of the list.

Last Friday, Alabama lost its home and SEC opener against LSU, 197.575 to 197.1. Both teams saw a break on the balance beam, but the Tigers consistently posted higher scores. Ashleigh Gnat’s perfect 10 on the vault helped seal the deal.

Junior Kiana Winston has been solid for the Crimson Tide. Individually, the All-American is fifth on the all-around with a 39.55 average, sixth on the beam with a 9.912 average and ninth on the floor exercise with a 9.9 average. She is the only UA gymnast nationally ranked in the top 10 of any event.

As a team, Alabama is fourth on both the beam (49.313) and floor (49.2), fifth on the uneven bars (49.288) and seventh on the vault (49.1).

Up next, the Crimson Tide travels to Columbia, Missouri, to face the No. 8 Tigers. The only event Mizzou currently has an advantage on is vault. Even then, its average is just 0.042 higher than Alabama’s.

— Terrin Waack