Nick Saban's successor in Tuscaloosa, former Washington Huskies HC Kalen DeBoer is in the midst of preparing for his debut season with the Alabama Crimson Tide. But he took time from his busy schedule to congratulate Nate Oats and the Alabama basketball team on their recent Sweet 16 upset victory over the North Carolina Tar Heels.
Kalen DeBoer, who signed an eight-year deal worth $87 million with the Crimson Tide, took to social media to share a congratulatory message for the school's basketball program as they now advance to the Elite 8 for the second time in the program's history.
DeBoer retweeted a post from Crimson Tide basketball's official account, declaring their victory in the Sweet 16 game. The 49-year-old HC accompanied the tweet with the caption:
"ROLL TIDE!"
Crimson Tide forward Grant Nelson was the main attraction of the game as he proved to be the key figure in his team's victory over the No. 1 seed Tar Heels in the West Region. Nelson scored 24 points in total, out of which 19 were scored during the second half, which contributed to Alabama's offensive rhythm in the latter half of the game.
In the dying moments of the game, Grant Nelson missed a free throw but followed it up with a block on Harrison Ingram's final shot to help his team win the game. With a final score of 89-87, the Crimson Tide now gears up to face the Clemson Tigers in the Elite 8 showdown.
Alabama AD Greg Byrne pumped after Crimson Tide's Elite 8 qualification
Following the victory over the North Carolina Tar Heels, Alabama athletic director Greg Byrne was visibly emotional witnessing the school's basketball program advance to their second-ever Elite 8 game. Byrne opened up about the hard work and commitment everyone puts in and congratulated them on their hard-earned victory.
"You know, so I am on the basketball committee right? And they led the AD's that his team made the Sweet 16. Last year, I came to Louisville and we lost. So I don't want to jinx it. But you want to be with your team. Because you know how hard these kids coaches have worked and how much this means to our university."
"And you know, we're not done, we got to keep going at it but I couldn't be prouder of these guys and I am happy for everybody. All of our fans, everybody associated with the University of Alabama. Roll Tide," Byrne said.
It will be interesting to see if Alabama can continue this momentum and move one step closer to contending for this year's national championship.
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