1987–88 Alabama Crimson Tide men's basketball team

1987–88 Alabama Crimson Tide men's basketball
1987–88 Alabama Crimson Tide men's basketball
Conference	Southeastern Conference
Record	14–17 (6–12 SEC)
Head coach	Wimp Sanderson (8th season);
Home arena	Coleman Coliseum
	Seasons ← 1986–87 1988–89 →

1987–88 Southeastern Conference men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
No. 6 Kentucky †	13	–	5	.722	27	–	6	.818
Auburn	11	–	7	.611	19	–	11	.633
Florida	11	–	7	.611	23	–	12	.657
LSU	10	–	8	.556	16	–	14	.533
Vanderbilt	10	–	8	.556	20	–	11	.645
Tennessee	9	–	9	.500	16	–	13	.552
Georgia	8	–	10	.444	20	–	16	.556
Ole Miss	6	–	12	.333	13	–	16	.448
Alabama	6	–	12	.333	14	–	17	.452
Mississippi State	6	–	12	.333	14	–	15	.483

† 1988 SEC tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll

The 1987–88 Alabama Crimson Tide men's basketball team represented the University of Alabama in the 1987–88 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team's head coach was Wimp Sanderson, who was in his eighth season at Alabama. The team played their home games at Coleman Coliseum in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. They finished the season with a record of 14–17, 6–12 in conference, finishing in a tie for eighth place. It was the Tide's first non-winning season since the 1971–72 season.

The Tide suffered heavy losses in the 1987 offseason. Forward Derrick McKey declared early for the NBA draft after his junior season. Forward Jim Farmer graduated and was also drafted into the NBA. Also, guards James Jackson, Terry Coner, and Mark Gottfried all graduated. The Tide signed freshman forward Melvin Cheatum and freshman guards Gary Waites and Bryant Lancaster to try and offset the losses. Also, junior college transfer Alvin Lee, who the previous season led the NJCAA in scoring, was also signed.

The Tide lost in the first round of the SEC tournament to Ole Miss. The team failed to make the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1982 and failed to reach any postseason play for the first time since 1978.^[1]

Roster[edit]

1987–88 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)	—	Jr	Jackson-Olin High School	Birmingham, Alabama
G	12	Melvin Cheatum	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	—	Fr
G		Alvin Lee	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	—	Jr
G		Gary Waites	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	—	Fr
G	24	Craig Dudley	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	—	Sr
G		Bryant Lancaster	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	—	Fr
F		Keith Askins	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	—	So	Athens High School	Athens, Alabama
	52	William DeVaughn	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	—	Jr

Head coach

Wimp Sanderson

Assistant coach(es)

Legend

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

Injured
Current redshirt

References[edit]

^ "1987-88 Alabama Crimson Tide Roster and Stats". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com.

[1] "1987-88 Alabama Crimson Tide Roster and Stats". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com.

[1]

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 2017 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