1982–83 Alabama Crimson Tide men's basketball team

The 1982–83 Alabama Crimson Tide men's basketball team represented the University of Alabama in the 1982–83 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team's head coach was Wimp Sanderson, who was in his third season at Alabama. The team played their home games at Coleman Coliseum in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. They finished the season 18–12, 8–10 in SEC play, and finished in a tie for eighth place.

1982–83 Alabama Crimson Tide men's basketball
NCAA tournament, First Round
ConferenceSoutheastern Conference
Record20–12 (8–10 SEC)
Head coach
Home arenaColeman Coliseum
Seasons
1982–83 Southeastern Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 12 Kentucky 13 5   .722 23 8   .742
LSU 10 8   .556 19 13   .594
Ole Miss 10 8   .556 19 12   .613
Vanderbilt 9 9   .500 19 14   .576
Mississippi State 9 9   .500 17 12   .586
No. 18 Georgia 9 9   .500 24 10   .706
Tennessee 9 9   .500 20 12   .625
Auburn 8 10   .444 15 13   .536
Alabama 8 10   .444 20 12   .625
Florida 5 13   .278 13 18   .419
1983 SEC tournament winner
Rankings from AP Poll

The key freshman signee was forward Alphonso "Buck" Johnson from Hayes High School in Birmingham, Alabama.

It was an odd year for Sanderson and the Tide. They opened the season with eight consecutive wins, including a victory over Patrick Ewing and 10th ranked Georgetown, who had reached the NCAA Finals the season before. Once conference play began, the Tide struggled, notably losing to Vanderbilt and Ole Miss each twice. Even so, the Tide still managed to post wins over nationally ranked Kentucky (#3) and top-ranked UCLA (the latter notably occurring two days after legendary football coach Bear Bryant's death).

The Tide reached the SEC tournament final and lost to Georgia. They received an at-large bid to the 1983 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, and lost in the first round to Lamar.[1]

Roster

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1982–83 Alabama Crimson Tide men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
G 3 Ennis Whatley 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
So Phillips High School Birmingham, Alabama
F/C 34 Bobby Lee Hurt 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
So Butler High School Huntsville, Alabama
F 24 Buck Johnson 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
Fr Hayes High School Birmingham, Alabama
G 44 Mike Davis 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Sr Fayette High School Fayette, Alabama
F 33 Cliff Windham 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Sr Livingston High School Emelle, Alabama
G 11 Eric Richardson 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Jr Carver High School Birmingham, Alabama
F Eugene Jones 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Sr
G Vance Wheeler 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Sr
F 41 Terry Williams 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
Jr Elkmont High School Elkmont, Alabama
G 23 Rex Jones 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
So Bradshaw High School Florence, Alabama
C 51 Mark Farmer 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)
So Arab High School Arab, Alabama
F 21 Jim Farmer 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
RS Fr Houston Academy Dothan, Alabama
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Schedule and results

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Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site
city, state
Regular season
Nov 29, 1982*
No. 12 Middle Tennessee State W 103–58  1–0
Coleman Coliseum 
Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Dec 4, 1982*
No. 13 vs. Texas Tech W 74–53  2–0
 
 
Dec 6, 1982*
No. 11 SMU W 74–56  3–0
Coleman Coliseum 
Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Dec 11, 1982*
No. 11 at Penn State W 74–65  4–0
Rec Hall 
University Park, Pennsylvania
Dec 18, 1982*
No. 10 Louisiana Tech W 88–73  5–0
Coleman Coliseum 
Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Dec 20, 1982*
No. 8 Texas Southern W 88–58  6–0
Coleman Coliseum 
Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Dec 28, 1982*
No. 6 at USC
Winston Tire Classic
W 74–61  7–0
L.A. Sports Arena 
Los Angeles, California
Dec 29, 1982*
No. 6 vs. No. 10 Georgetown
Winston Tire Classic
W 94–73  8–0
L.A. Sports Arena (10,940)
Los Angeles, California
Jan 3, 1983
No. 5 at Florida L 85–89  8–1
(0–1)
Stephen C. O'Connell Center 
Gainesville, Florida
Jan 5, 1983
No. 5 at Auburn L 80–91  8–2
(0–2)
Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum 
Auburn, Alabama
Jan 8, 1983
No. 5 No. 3 Kentucky W 74–67  9–2
(1–2)
Coleman Coliseum 
Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Jan 11, 1983
No. 10 Vanderbilt L 79–81  9–3
(1–3)
Coleman Coliseum 
Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Jan 15, 1983
No. 10 at Georgia L 64–67  9–4
(1–4)
Stegeman Coliseum 
Athens, Georgia
Jan 18, 1983
at Tennessee L 64–73  9–5
(1–5)
Stokely Athletic Center 
Knoxville, Tennessee
Jan 28, 1983*
at No. 1 UCLA W 70–67  11–6
Pauley Pavilion (12,574)
Los Angeles, California
Mar 6, 1983
Auburn W 86–78  17–10
(8–10)
Coleman Coliseum 
Tuscaloosa, Alabama
SEC Tournament
Mar 10, 1983*
vs. Auburn
First Round
W 62–61  18–10
Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center 
Birmingham, Alabama
Mar 11, 1983*
vs. No. 10 Kentucky
Quarterfinals
W 69–64  19–10
Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center 
Birmingham, Alabama
Mar 12, 1983*
vs. Mississippi State
Semifinals
W 51–50  20–10
Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center 
Birmingham, Alabama
Mar 13, 1983*
vs. Georgia
Championship game
L 71–86  20–11
Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center 
Birmingham, Alabama
NCAA Tournament
Mar 17, 1983*
(6 MW) vs. (11 MW) Lamar L 50–73  20–12
The Summit 
Houston, Texas
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.

Rankings

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[2]

References

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  1. ^ "1982-83 Alabama Crimson Tide Roster and Stats". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com.
  2. ^ *ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia: The Complete History of the Men's Game. Random House. 2009. pp. 899–900. ISBN 978-0-345-51392-2.