May 13, 2015
Cecil Hurt
SHOAL CREEK | University of Alabama coaches Nick Saban and Avery Johnson did have relatively short press conferences at the Regions Tradition Pro-Am on Wednesday but the day was more for interaction than it was for information.
Both coaches - as well as other celebrities like Auburn coaches Gus Malzahn and Bruce Pearl, Mississippi State football coach Dan Mullen, Ole Miss football coach Hugh Freeze and former Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice spent the day interacting with the players from the Champions Tour (Saban was paired with Tom Watson, while Johnson played his round with Jeff Maggert) and, more importantly, interacting with friends and family. (Saban's daughter Kristen served as her father's handler for much of the day.) The coaches walked the course with cancer survivors from Children's Hospital of Alabama and veterans from the Birdies for the Brave.
Saban even told a humorous golf anecdote from a past pro-am.
"They called me with a recruit when I was playing with (Tom Kite) a few years ago," Saban said. "Of course, he's a Texas grad and Will Muschamp was at Texas at the time. So they called me on the course with this recruit just as it was time to hit my shot, so I just handed the phone to Tom and said 'Here, talk to this guy,' " Saban said. "So Kite is talking on the phone to this guy and after I hit my shot, I come back and tell Kite that 'I'm calling Mack Brown and telling him I'm going to turn you in because you're a Texas alum and you just talked to a recruit. So we had some fun with it."
Probably the most notable news item that came from the day came from Johnson, who has been so media friendly since taking the Alabama job that he preemptively answered one question before it was even asked.
"I'm not going to New Orleans, by the way, so all of the Crimson Tide fans can calm down," he said, in reference to the suddenly-vacant head coaching job with the NBA New Orleans Pelicans. "I'm here to stay. It's a lot of work but I love the challenge of trying to create a culture and an identity with our basketball program."
https://alabama.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1766093
Cecil Hurt
SHOAL CREEK | University of Alabama coaches Nick Saban and Avery Johnson did have relatively short press conferences at the Regions Tradition Pro-Am on Wednesday but the day was more for interaction than it was for information.
Both coaches - as well as other celebrities like Auburn coaches Gus Malzahn and Bruce Pearl, Mississippi State football coach Dan Mullen, Ole Miss football coach Hugh Freeze and former Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice spent the day interacting with the players from the Champions Tour (Saban was paired with Tom Watson, while Johnson played his round with Jeff Maggert) and, more importantly, interacting with friends and family. (Saban's daughter Kristen served as her father's handler for much of the day.) The coaches walked the course with cancer survivors from Children's Hospital of Alabama and veterans from the Birdies for the Brave.
Saban even told a humorous golf anecdote from a past pro-am.
"They called me with a recruit when I was playing with (Tom Kite) a few years ago," Saban said. "Of course, he's a Texas grad and Will Muschamp was at Texas at the time. So they called me on the course with this recruit just as it was time to hit my shot, so I just handed the phone to Tom and said 'Here, talk to this guy,' " Saban said. "So Kite is talking on the phone to this guy and after I hit my shot, I come back and tell Kite that 'I'm calling Mack Brown and telling him I'm going to turn you in because you're a Texas alum and you just talked to a recruit. So we had some fun with it."
Probably the most notable news item that came from the day came from Johnson, who has been so media friendly since taking the Alabama job that he preemptively answered one question before it was even asked.
"I'm not going to New Orleans, by the way, so all of the Crimson Tide fans can calm down," he said, in reference to the suddenly-vacant head coaching job with the NBA New Orleans Pelicans. "I'm here to stay. It's a lot of work but I love the challenge of trying to create a culture and an identity with our basketball program."
https://alabama.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1766093
