Magazine-Winter-2025 - Flipbook - Page 41
R O L L T I DE
Dudley, his teammates and fans celebrate the Tide clinching the regular season SEC title in 2002.
No program is perfect, but here at Alabama, we do a
good job of trying to be proactive at a lot of things. It’s
definitely a blessing to be able to represent it.”
While the student-athlete experience has changed
over the years, Dudley still feels a connection to current
players given his experience.
“The game is still pretty much the same,” he said.
“They know my body of work, they know what I’ve
done, and some of them ask me about it. I’ve been in
their shoes before, you know what I’m saying? So, I can
kind of process and talk to them on a different level
than someone else. That’s the biggest component of
me being a former player, wearing the same jersey.
I can relate to them a lot better.”
Dudley also stays in touch with other Alabama
basketball alums, including those before and after
his college career.
“I’m big on history and knowing the guys that came
before me. I know that they helped lay a foundation for
me. And I know in my time here, I laid the foundation
for the guys that came after me, and the guys here
today.”
During practice, Dudley serves as a calm force
behind Oats and the rest of the coaching staff.
Sometimes he cracks a joke or offers a friendly smile
to a player, all while a black and white photo of himself
from the 2002 season watches over the practice courts
on a wall filled with other Tide basketball legends.
From that breakthrough SEC title to today’s rise of Tide
hoops, Dudley’s legacy at Bama continues.
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