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The best trash talk Alabama basketball heard entering Final Four
- Story byThe Tuscaloosa News
- The best trash talk Alabama basketball heard entering Final Four
GLENDALE, Ariz. — Mo Dioubate has heard a few lines of trash talk during Alabama basketball 's run to the Final Four.
First there was Grand Canyon calling one Alabama player a baby in the Round of 32. Then in the Sweet 16, Dioubate was the recipient of some trash talk from UNC's Armando Bacot.
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It happened in the second half, when Dioubate fouled UNC's big underneath the basket.
"He said I was too small," Dioubate said.
For reference, Dioubate is 6-foot-7, 215 pounds. But small is a relative term; Bacot is 6-11, 240.
Dioubate wasn't the only one hit with some trash talk in that game. Rylan Griffen said UNC's Harrison Ingram, a friend of his, called him ugly when Griffen was at the free-throw line.
"I'm like, 'Bro, what you talking about?'" Griffen said. "I'm like, 'It doesn't matter if I'm ugly because we finna win.' It was like 15 minutes into the second half. It don't matter if I'm ugly, if we win."
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And Alabama did. It upset No. 1 seed UNC to advance to the Elite Eight in Los Angeles.
Those are just a few glimpses of trash talk that has occurred on the court during Alabama's time in the NCAA Tournament. The Crimson Tide has been on the receiving end of it, and Alabama players have dished out some too en route to facing No. 1 seed UConn in the Final Four on Saturday at State Farm Stadium.
Some players talk plenty of trash. Some players don't talk at all. There are a variety of trash talking strategies players employ on the court. It's often part of the game, and it can be a fun part.
While at the Final Four, The Tuscaloosa News asked a variety of Alabama players for the best trash talk they heard during the run through the NCAA Tournament. Some remembered teams, some remembered opposing players. Then there were those who said they had tuned most of it out. And then there was the crowd that referenced their own.
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Some of it is fit for print. Some of it most definitely is not.
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"I've been trying to trash talk," Griffen said. "I talked to Harrison Ingram."
And what was discussed?
"I can't really say," Griffen said, grinning. "It … involved some stuff."
Grant Nelson said doesn't hear most of the trash talk, but he has heard Griffen.
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"He'll score, he'll start talking trash," Nelson said. "He'll get a stop. It's all fun, though."
Much of it is, and players often smiled thinking about it, like Dioubate and Mo Wague did talking about a moment in the Charleston game in the first round. Wague heard Dioubate trash talked a bit about not having "wiggle" to his game.
"That one was funny," Wague said. "They were saying he just went straight to the basket and got no moves."
Aaron Estrada said he hasn't heard much trash talk during the NCAA Tournament, but he did hear something else memorable from Grand Canyon.
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"They tried to be friendly," Estrada said.
The Lopes complimented him, said he's good and asked where he was from while at the free-throw line.
"I don't know if they're trying reverse psychology," Estrada said. "I don't know what they're doing but it doesn't work on me."
Speaking of the free-throw line, that's a common spot for trash talk to take place if it's going to occur. Nick Pringle said every team in the tournament Alabama has faced has questioned his free-throw shooting routine. "What is that?" Pringle shoots free throws one handed.
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Otherwise, Pringle said he hasn't heard much.
"I'm going to be real honest," Pringle said. "Nobody really trash talks me. I think there's a reason behind that as well. I don't think they want to see angry Pringle."
Mark Sears said nobody really talks trash to him on the court either. He hurls plenty at his opponents, though.
"Once I get going, I do let people hear it," Sears said.
Sears described it as speaking confidence in himself. Confidence boosters.
"Saying stuff like, 'I'm him,'" Sears said.
Sears, however, did note some trash talk from fans in the Grand Canyon game. He heard the Lopes fans "talking mad trash." The fans said Sears was too small, that he wasn't good and that they could guard him.
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Sears went on to score 26 points and grab 12 rebounds while tallying six assists in the win over the Lopes.
To the Grand Canyon fans, Sears then made sure to wave.
All's fun in a little trash talk, especially in the NCAA Tournament.
Nick Kelly is the Alabama beat writer for The Tuscaloosa News, part of the USA TODAY Network, and he covers Alabama football and men's basketball. Reach him at nkelly@gannett.com or follow him @_NickKelly on X, the social media app formerly known as Twitter .
This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Final Four: Alabama reveals best trash talk from NCAA Tournament
