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Alabama

Grant Nelson throws down poster dunk, hits 'Crimson Crane' celebration in front of Johni Broome

ns_headshot_2024-clearby:Nick Schultz•03/08/25•

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Alabama forward Grant Nelson
Alabama forward Grant Nelson (Kirby Lee / USA TODAY Sports)

In front of a raucous crowd at Neville Arena on Saturday, Grant Nelson threw down a nasty poster dunk on Dylan Cardwell. Afterward, he had something to say – and he also hit the “Crimson Crane” celebration in front of Johni Broome.

Nelson was fired up after the dunk, which provided quite a spark for Alabama. Amid the celebration, he did the “Crimson Crane” as the two teams gathered before the ensuing free throw, and things got a bit chippy between the two teams.

The officials went to the monitor and deemed there was no need to upgrade the foul. Bruce Pearl clearly didn’t agree and made it abundantly clear with the officials. He specifically pointed out, and performed, Grant Nelson’s Crane celebration as a reason there should have been a taunting call.

Saturday’s game is a highly anticipated rematch of the Iron Bowl of Basketball after the two teams’ thriller in February. Alabama mounted a charge to make things interesting before Auburn pulled away for the 94-85 victory at Coleman Coliseum.

The Tigers entered the regular-season finale with the SEC title in hand and, therefore, the No. 1 seed in next week’s conference tournament. However, they were on the wrong end of an upset last time out, falling to Texas A&M 83-72 in College Station earlier this week.

Alabama is also looking to bounce back from a loss. The Crimson Tide dropped their last matchup against Florida and the game before that against Tennessee, meaning Saturday’s rivalry game is also a chance to avoid a three-game losing streak.

When it comes to the rematch against Auburn, Nate Oats pointed out everything the Tigers do well, which is why they rank No. 1 and will be the No. 1 seed in Nashville. But he also stressed the need to avoid self-inflicted mistakes, which will help keep Alabama in striking distance amid a tough environment in The Jungle.

“They’re good. We can play a really good basketball game and still lose to them,” Oats said. “We’re gonna have to do all the little things well. We’re gonna have to make free throws, we didn’t turn it over much the first game.

“We’re gonna have to take care of the ball again. We can’t let some stuff that we did well the first game all of a sudden go to the wayside emphasizing some other stuff too.”