"I picked who guarded me": When Nick Saban comedically shared details of Noontime Basketball League with Kirby Smart 

Alabama had a culture of playing basketball among staff while recruiting was over under the leadership of Nick Saban. It was called the Noontime Basketball League and many Crimson Tide assistants got the chance to be part of it during their time in Tuscaloosa.

One of the most astonishing records in the league is that Nick Saban and Kirby Smart never lost a game when they were on the same team. Ahead of the 2022 College Football Playoff National Championship Game between Alabama and Georgia, Nick Saban discussed why they never lost a game together.

“I was the commissioner of the league,” Saban said (Timestamp 0:17). “So I basically picked the best players, of which Kirby was one of the best players. I also picked who guarded me on the other team. So we had a little bit of an advantage, called all the fouls but Kirby was like the leading scorer on our team.”

Kirby Smart discussed the competitiveness of Nick Saban

Nick Saban is known for his strong ambition to always win, and he's shown an incomparable commitment to ensuring that over the years. His zeal to win eventually made him the greatest coach of all time in college football before his retirement.

Kirby Smart, who worked for Saban for more than a decade at three destinations, discussed his competitive spirit ahead of the national championship game.

“You see the competitive fire they play with, you see the leadership, all the intangible things that you want in your team as a coach, I think, come out in those teams that we've seen from Alabama,” Smart said (Timestamp 0:52).

“It's very indicative of his personality that comes out in practice each day that I've seen. When that comes out, once the game comes, you turn it over to the players.”

Nick Saban also had a lot of praise for Kirby Smart as a competitor

Kirby Smart is arguably the best assistant Nick Saban ever had. He built one of the strongest defenses in the history of college football at Alabama. Saban appreciated how competitive he was ahead of the 2022 national championship game.

“Kirby is a great competitor,” Saban said (Timestamp 1:13). “He was really a great competitor in the basketball games, but he was also a great competitor in terms of how he got the players to compete.

“I think there's something to be said about – players sort of emulate the personality of a coach and when you're in a leadership position, you have a great opportunity to do that. So you see the same thing in his team at Georgia.”

Georgia went on to defeat Alabama 33-18 in the 2022 national championship game. It's the first and only time Smart won against Saban in as many meetings. It was also Smart's first national championship title with the Bulldogs.