# 2013–14 Alabama Crimson Tide men's basketball team

The 2013–14 Alabama Crimson Tide men's basketball team (variously "Alabama", "UA", "Bama" or "The Tide") represented the University of Alabama in the 2013–14 college basketball season. The team's head coach was Anthony Grant, in his fifth season at Alabama after posting a 23–13 record in the 2012–13 season, when the Crimson Tide finished tied for second in the SEC and received a bid to the 2013 National Invitation Tournament. The team played their home games at Coleman Coliseum in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, as a member of the Southeastern Conference. This was the 101st season of basketball in the school's history.

## Off-season
### Departures

Just a week after completing the 2012–13 season, associate head coach Dan Hipsher was named head coach at the University of Texas-Pan American. Former Alabama player Antoine Pettway was promoted to assistant head coach, replacing Hipsher. Then, on April 9, starting center Moussa Gueye announced that he would be transferring from the program, ultimately landing at Valparaiso University. Two weeks later, former 5-star recruit Trevor Lacey announced he would also be transferring from Alabama. Lacey, the only player to start all 36 contests, later announced he would attend North Carolina State University, joining former Crimson Tide head coach Mark Gottfried. On June 4, freshman Devonta Pollard, also a former 5-star recruit, was charged as part of a kidnapping for which his mother was arrested the previous month. Pollard faces one count of conspiracy to commit kidnapping in the April 30 abduction of a child who was taken from her school in Scooba, Mississippi. It was later announced that Pollard was no longer a member of the Crimson Tide basketball team.

### Arrivals

The Crimson Tide also added 2 transfers, 2 freshmen signees as well as a junior college transfer. Guard Ricky Tarrant, a two-time all-conference performer, transferred from Tulane University and will have to sit out the 2013-14 season per NCAA rules. The former Conference USA Freshman of the Year will have two years of eligibility remaining. Before transferring to Alabama, Michael Kessens, a 6-9, 215-pound power forward who played his freshman season at Longwood University. Kessens, a native of Nyon, Switzerland, will also have to sit out this year but will have three years of eligibility remaining.

### Class of 2013 signees

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Shannon Hale PF | Arden, NC | Christ School | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | 200 lb (91 kg) | Oct 21, 2010 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 82 ||||||
| Algie Key G | Decatur, GA | Barton Community College | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 175 lb (79 kg) | Apr 12, 2013 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: N/A ||||||
| Jimmie Taylor C | Greensboro, AL | Greensboro High School | 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) | 210 lb (95 kg) | May 11, 2012 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 85 ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: ||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "Alabama Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved June 29, 2013. "2013 Alabama Basketball Commits". Scout.com. Retrieved June 29, 2013. "ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved June 29, 2013. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved June 29, 2013. "2013 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved June 29, 2013. ||||||

## Roster

Source: Rolltide.com 2013–14 Roster

### Depth chart

| Pos. | Starting 5 | Bench 1 | Bench 2 |
| C | Jimmie Taylor | Nick Jacobs | Carl Engström |
| PF | Rodney Cooper | Shannon Hale | |
| SF | Levi Randolph | Dakota Slaughter | |
| SG | Retin Obasohan | Algie Key | |
| PG | Trevor Releford | | |

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition |||||||||
| Nov 4* 7:00 pm | | West Georgia | W 65–64 $^{OT}$ | – | 27 – Releford | 9 – Jacobs | 3 – Cooper | Coleman Coliseum (9, 542) Tuscaloosa, AL |
| Non-conference regular season |||||||||
| Nov 8* 4:00 pm, FSN | | vs. Oklahoma | L 73–82 | 0–1 | 20 – Key | 10 – Jacobs | 2 – Releford | American Airlines Center (5,207) Dallas, TX |
| Nov 14* 8:00 pm, ESPN2 | | Texas Tech Big 12/SEC Challenge | W 76–64 | 1–1 | 29 – Releford | 7 – Cooper | 4 – Obasohan | Coleman Coliseum (10,746) Tuscaloosa, AL |
| Nov 18* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | No. (3) | Stillman College NIT Season Tip-Off | W 102–65 | 2–1 | 17 – Randolph | 8 – Engstrom | 5 – Key | Coleman Coliseum (9,903) Tuscaloosa, AL |
| Nov 19* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | No. (3) | Georgia State NIT Season Tip-Off | W 75–58 | 3–1 | 19 – Releford | 7 – Hale | 2 – Cooper | Coleman Coliseum (9,527) Tuscaloosa, AL |
| Nov 27* 8:30 pm, ESPN2 | No. (3) | vs. No. 6 (2) Duke NIT Season Tip-Off | L 64–74 | 3–2 | 18 – Jacobs | 7 – Jacobs | 3 – Cooper | Madison Square Garden (8,741) New York, NY |
| Nov 29* 3:30 pm, ESPN3 | No. (3) | vs. No. (8) Drexel NIT Season Tip-Off | L 83–85 $^{3OT}$ | 3–3 | 23 – Jacobs | 10 – Randolph | 5 – Obasohan | Madison Square Garden (13,266) New York, NY |
| Dec 4* 7:00 pm, CSS | | North Florida | W 76–48 | 4–3 | 20 – Randolph | 9 – Taylor | 5 – Releford | Coleman Coliseum (9,398) Tuscaloosa, AL |
| Dec 7* 8:00 pm, ESPNU | | at South Florida | L 64–66 | 4–4 | 20 – Obasohan | 5 – Engstrom | 3 – Releford | USF Sun Dome (4,255) Tampa, FL |
| Dec 14* 7:00 pm | | Charleston Southern | W 59–45 | 5–4 | 22 – Obasohan | 9 – Obasohan | 3 – Cooper | Coleman Coliseum (10,132) Tuscaloosa, AL |
| Dec 17* 8:00 pm, ESPNU | | #11 Wichita State | L 67–72 | 5–5 | 22 – Releford | 5 – Taylor | 6 – Releford | Coleman Coliseum (9,918) Tuscaloosa, AL |
| Dec 21* 6:00 pm, CSS | | Xavier | L 74–77 | 5–6 | 17 – Releford | 8 – Cooper | 3 – Releford | Coleman Coliseum (10,477) Tuscaloosa, AL |
| Dec 28* 9:00 pm, ESPN2 | | at UCLA | L 67–75 | 5–7 | 34 – Releford | 9 – Hale | 3 – Randolph | Pauley Pavilion (9,061) Los Angeles, CA |
| Jan 4* 4:30 pm, CSS | | Robert Morris | W 64–56 | 6–7 | 18 – Releford | 7 – Obasohan | 4 – Cooper | Coleman Coliseum (10,125) Tuscaloosa, AL |
| SEC regular season |||||||||
| Jan 7 8:00 pm, ESPNU | | Vanderbilt | W 68–63 | 7–7 (1–0) | 16 – Releford | 4 – Tied | 6 – Releford | Coleman Coliseum (10,304) Tuscaloosa, AL |
| Jan 11 3:00 pm, SECN | | at Georgia | L 58–66 | 7–8 (1–1) | 17 – Releford | 6 – Cooper | 3 – Tied | Stegeman Coliseum (8,118) Athens, GA |
| Jan 15 7:00 pm, SECN | | Mississippi State | W 80–61 | 8–8 (2–1) | 28 – Releford | 5 – Tied | 4 – Releford | Coleman Coliseum (10,112) Tuscaloosa, AL |
| Jan 18 1:00 pm, ESPN | | at Missouri | L 47–68 | 8–9 (2–2) | 12 – Hale | 8 – Taylor | 3 – Cooper | Mizzou Arena (11,003) Columbia, MO |
| Jan 23 6:00 pm, ESPN | | #6 Florida | L 62–68 | 8–10 (2–3) | 14 – Releford | 7 – Key | 7 – Releford | Coleman Coliseum (11,892) Tuscaloosa, AL |
| Jan 25 7:00 pm, ESPN2 | | LSU | W 82–80 | 9–10 (3–3) | 21 – Releford | 6 – Cooper | 6 – Hale | Coleman Coliseum (12,601) Tuscaloosa, AL |
| Jan 30 7:30 pm, SECN | | at Auburn | L 55–74 | 9–11 (3–4) | 15 – Releford | 7 – Cooper | 2 – Tied | Auburn Arena (9,102) Auburn, AL |
| Feb 1 8:00 pm, ESPN2 | | Tennessee | L 59–76 | 9–12 (3–5) | 23 – Releford | 6 – Jacobs | 6 – Releford | Coleman Coliseum (12,620) Tuscaloosa, AL |
| Feb 5 7:00 pm, SECN | | at Arkansas | L 58–65 | 9–13 (3–6) | 22 – Cooper | 10 – Cooper | 3 – Key | Bud Walton Arena (14,869) Fayetteville, AR |
| Feb 8 11:00 am, ESPN | | at #3 Florida | L 69–78 | 9–14 (3–7) | 25 – Releford | 6 – Cooper | 4 – Releford | O'Connell Center (12,520) Gainesville, FL |
| Feb 11 8:00 pm, ESPNU | | Ole Miss | W 67–64 | 10–14 (4–7) | 26 – Releford | 10 – Cooper | 3 – Tied | Coleman Coliseum (9,703) Tuscaloosa, AL |
| Feb 15 3:00 pm, SECN | | at South Carolina | L 66–67 | 10–15 (4–8) | 27 – Releford | 5 – Cooper | 5 – Cooper | Colonial Life Arena (8,186) Columbia, SC |
| Feb 20 6:00 pm, ESPN | | at Texas A&M | L 48–63 | 10–16 (4–9) | 20 – Releford | 9 – Hale | 3 – Hale | Reed Arena (7,089) College Station, TX |
| Feb 22 7:00 pm, ESPN2 | | Missouri | W 80–73 | 11–16 (5–9) | 33 – Randolph | 6 – Cooper | 6 – Releford | Coleman Coliseum (10,907) Tuscaloosa, AL |
| Feb 26 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Ole Miss | L 67–79 | 11–17 (5–10) | 27 – Hale | 9 – Hale | 3 – Tied | Tad Smith Coliseum (7,165) Oxford, MS |
| Mar 1 2:00 pm, ESPNU | | Auburn | W 73–57 | 12–17 (6–10) | 24 – Randolph | 9 – Tied | 7 – Releford | Coleman Coliseum (13,499) Tuscaloosa, AL |
| Mar 4 8:00 pm, ESPN | | at Kentucky | L 48–55 | 12–18 (6–11) | 13 – Releford | 6 – Hale | 3 – Releford | Rupp Arena (23,504) Lexington, KY |
| Mar 8 3:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Arkansas | W 83–58 | 13–18 (7–11) | 24 – Releford | 7 – Tie | 4 – Releford | Coleman Coliseum (10,961) Tuscaloosa, AL |
| 2014 SEC tournament |||||||||
| Mar 13 6:00 pm, SECN | (10) | vs. (7) LSU Second round | L 56–68 | 13–19 | 11 – Releford, Hale | 6 – Randolph | 3 – Releford | Georgia Dome (–) Atlanta, GA |
| *Non-conference game. Rankings from AP poll. All times are in Central Time. (#) is seed within tournament. |||||||||
Notes:
    Game was originally scheduled for January 29, 2014, but was moved to January 30 due to snowy conditions across Alabama.
Source: 2013–14 Schedule. Rolltide.com