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Except from WP article.
Sign stealing by players, coaches and staff members is common practice during college basketball and NBA games, though Alabama was afforded an unusual advantage Thursday. The Los Angeles venue hosted a doubleheader — Clemson beat Arizona before Alabama upset North Carolina — and the arena’s lower bowl was divided into four fan sections, one for each school. The higher-seeded teams, No. 1 North Carolina and No. 2 Arizona, had their fan sections directly behind their team benches. The lower-seeded teams, No. 4 Alabama and No. 6 Clemson, were pushed across the court to the opposite side.
As such, the Alabama graduate assistants, forced into the overflow section, enjoyed an unobstructed view of North Carolina’s bench from across the court. Once Tar Heels Coach Hubert Davis signaled to his team, the Crimson Tide’s graduate assistants set about deciphering the call. When that was complete, often within a second or two, they loudly shouted out the play in unison — “Floppy,” “Rebel,” or “Double” — to notify Alabama’s defense...
...... the graduate assistants also painstakingly charted the game action. During timeouts, their notes were shuttled from their location in the fan section to Oats by player development coordinator Christian Pino. Though the unusual sight of paper flowing from the stands to the huddle raised eyebrows among media members and prompted some confusion for event staffers, NCAA rules only prohibit electronic communications to the bench during games.
Sign stealing by players, coaches and staff members is common practice during college basketball and NBA games, though Alabama was afforded an unusual advantage Thursday. The Los Angeles venue hosted a doubleheader — Clemson beat Arizona before Alabama upset North Carolina — and the arena’s lower bowl was divided into four fan sections, one for each school. The higher-seeded teams, No. 1 North Carolina and No. 2 Arizona, had their fan sections directly behind their team benches. The lower-seeded teams, No. 4 Alabama and No. 6 Clemson, were pushed across the court to the opposite side.
As such, the Alabama graduate assistants, forced into the overflow section, enjoyed an unobstructed view of North Carolina’s bench from across the court. Once Tar Heels Coach Hubert Davis signaled to his team, the Crimson Tide’s graduate assistants set about deciphering the call. When that was complete, often within a second or two, they loudly shouted out the play in unison — “Floppy,” “Rebel,” or “Double” — to notify Alabama’s defense...
...... the graduate assistants also painstakingly charted the game action. During timeouts, their notes were shuttled from their location in the fan section to Oats by player development coordinator Christian Pino. Though the unusual sight of paper flowing from the stands to the huddle raised eyebrows among media members and prompted some confusion for event staffers, NCAA rules only prohibit electronic communications to the bench during games.