Alabama Basketball Programs Usher in 2017-18 Season with Supe Store Tide Tipoff

The Alabama men’s and women’s basketball teams officially welcomed in the 2017-18 campaign on Tuesday night when they hosted the third annual Supe Store Tide Tipoff. Nearly 7,000 Crimson Tide fans packed Coleman Coliseum for the event that featured a three-point contest on the women’s side, along with an intrasquad scrimmage and a dunk exhibition from the men’s team.

“Wow, what a night to have both our men’s and women’s teams represented,” Alabama head coach Avery Johnson said. “I think both teams put on a great show. Our girls had great attitudes and Coach Kristy (Curry) has done such a marvelous job with them in the way they carry themselves on and off the court. It’s just a wonderful partnership. It’s just so easy for me to support our Women’s team. Even when I don’t have an invitation or a reservation, she (Coach Kristy) allows me to come to her practices and just support pour young ladies and all of their endeavors. I just can’t wait to see our women’s basketball team perform this year in non-conference and in conference play.

“Tonight was a celebration of community. A community that supports both teams, a community that’s behind us 1,000-percent through all of the great wins and the tough losses. They understand that both of our visions are very similar. We are striving and trying to reach the same goals to really represent the University of Alabama, especially in the postseason and the NCAA tournament. But we both understand that we have a lot of work to do. The guys had a lot of fun, they tried to put on a show for our fans and I think they did that.”

“We had a great crowd, a great student crowd, and we really appreciate our community coming out on a Tuesday night,” women’s basketball head coach Kristy Curry said. “We are very excited (for the season). We return more points than anyone in the SEC, and last year was the first time to win 20 games in 19 years. Our goal is to take this thing back to the NCAA tournament for the first time in a long time. We had a great practice this morning for about three-and-a-half hours, so we declined to scrimmage because we knew we had a great show coming with our guys. How much fun it is to see this incredible freshman class blended in with a great group of returnees. Thanks for coming out to support us tonight.”

After both teams signed autographs for nearly an hour, the on-court activities began with an introduction of women’s team followed by a three-point contest, which combined randomly selected fans from the crowd along with several of the women’s players.

Following the women’s portion of the event, the night continued with half-court shot attempts by two students for a possible $25,000 prize. The men’s team then was introduced, which was followed by a 20-minute intrasquad scrimmage between the crimson and white teams. The night concluded with a dunking exhibition.

Coach Johnson also announced that a record number of men’s basketball season tickets have been sold with two weeks remaining prior to the exhibition game.

Season tickets, mini plans and single-game tickets for the upcoming men’s and women’s basketball seasons are currently available and can be purchased online at RollTide.com/Tickets, by phone at 1-877-TIDETIX (843-3849) or at the Alabama Ticket Office, located in the lobby of Coleman Coliseum.