1988–89 Alabama Crimson Tide men's basketball team

1988–89 Alabama Crimson Tide men's basketball
1988–89 Alabama Crimson Tide men's basketball
SEC tournament champions
NCAA tournament, First round
Conference	Southeastern Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 20
AP	No. 20
Record	23–8 (12–6 SEC)
Head coach	Wimp Sanderson (9th season);
Home arena	Coleman Coliseum
	Seasons ← 1987–88 1989–90 →

1988–89 Southeastern Conference men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Florida	13	–	5	.722	21	–	13	.618
No. 20 Alabama †	12	–	6	.667	23	–	8	.742
Vanderbilt	12	–	6	.667	19	–	14	.576
LSU	11	–	7	.611	20	–	12	.625
Tennessee	11	–	7	.611	19	–	11	.633
Kentucky	8	–	10	.444	13	–	19	.406
Ole Miss	8	–	10	.444	15	–	15	.500
Mississippi State	7	–	11	.389	13	–	15	.464
Georgia	6	–	12	.333	15	–	16	.484
Auburn	2	–	16	.111	9	–	19	.321

† 1989 SEC tournament winner Rankings from AP poll^[1]

The 1988–89 Alabama Crimson Tide men's basketball team represented the University of Alabama in the 1988-89 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team's head coach was Wimp Sanderson, who was in his ninth season at Alabama. The team played their home games at Coleman Coliseum in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. They finished the season with a record of 23–8, 12–6 in conference, good for second behind Florida.

It was a strong off-season of signings for the Crimson Tide. Freshmen signees Marcus Webb and Robert Horry and junior college transfer David Benoit joined holdovers Keith Askins, Melvin Cheatum, Alvin Lee, and Michael Ansley.

The Tide won the 1989 SEC men's basketball tournament, beating Florida in the final and earning an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. However, they were upset in the first round by South Alabama in the first ever meeting in history between the two Alabama-based schools.^[2]

Roster

1988–89 Alabama Crimson Tide men's basketball team

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Weight	Year	Previous school	Hometown
F	45	Michael Ansley	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	—	Sr	Jackson-Olin High School	Birmingham, Alabama
G	44	Melvin Cheatum	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	—	So	Livingston High School	Livingston, Alabama
G	20	Alvin Lee	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	—	Sr	Jefferson-Huguenot-Wythe High School	Richmond, Virginia
G	12	Gary Waites	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	—	So	Decatur High School	Decatur, Georgia
F	30	David Benoit	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	—	Jr	Lafayette High School	Lafayette, Louisiana
G	22	Bryant Lancaster	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	—	Fr	Valley High School	Valley, Alabama
F	41	Keith Askins	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	—	So	Athens High School	Athens, Alabama
F	25	Robert Horry	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	—	Fr	Andalusia (AL) High School	Harford County, Maryland
G	14	James Sanders	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	—	Fr
F		Marcus Webb	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	—	Fr	Sidney Lanier High School	Montgomery, Alabama

Head coach

Wimp Sanderson

Assistant coach(es)

Legend

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

Injured
Current redshirt

References

^ sports-reference.com 1988-89 Southeastern Conference Season Summary
^ "1988-89 Alabama Crimson Tide Roster and Stats". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com.

[1] sports-reference.com 1988-89 Southeastern Conference Season Summary

[2] "1988-89 Alabama Crimson Tide Roster and Stats". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com.

[1]

[2]

v t e Alabama Crimson Tide men's basketball
Venues	Little Hall (1915–1939) Foster Auditorium (1939–1968) Coleman Coliseum (1968–present)
Rivalries	Auburn
Culture & lore	Traditions Big Al Gambling scandal 2017–18 corruption scandal
People	Head coaches NBA players Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of seasons 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25
Premo-Porretta national championship in bold; NCAA Final Four appearance in italics