Alabama basketball hard hat: How blue-collar points work, who wins it

The ritual usually plays out the exact same way in the postgame meeting room after each Alabama basketball win.

In front of the team, Crimson Tide coach Nate Oats announces who tallied the most blue-collar points among the players, then Oats tosses him the white hard hat. The room erupts with applause and support, the player puts the hat on his head, and his teammates tap the helmet again and again.

If the player takes part in postgame interviews with reporters, he usually wears the hard hat in front of the cameras, too.

It's a physical representation and reward for many of the attributes Oats and his staff covet in the program such as toughness and hustle.

Ahead of the SEC Tournament and March Madness, here's a closer look at the team's postgame award, how the winner is determined and what blue-collar points mean.

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What is the Alabama basketball hard hat?

It's a white hard hat with a script A on the side that is given to the player who tallies the most blue-collar points over the course of a single game. The point totals reset each game, and a player is selected after each matchup. This ritual dates back to Oats' time at Buffalo, where he coached before he arrived in Tuscaloosa.

The blue-collar points are based on a specific point system.

How is the winner of the hard hat selected each game?

Oats has a blue-collar point system that is tallied by staffers over the course of the game.

Some of the statistics that incur blue-collar points are traditional and can be found in a box score. Others aren't as common.

Here's an example of some of the stats:

1 point each: Deflections, steals, blocks, rebounds and loose balls secured

1.5 points: Offensive rebounds

2 points: Floor dives

4 points: Charges

Whoever tallies the most of these points by the end of the game wins the hard hat postgame. A team score is also recorded for Oats and his staff to assess how "blue collar" the team's performance was. Alabama's highest this season was 123.5 blue-collar points against North Carolina in four overtimes. In regulation, the most was 112.5 against Longwood in the season opener. Sophomore center Charles Bediako won the hard hat in both of those games.

Who has won the Alabama basketball hard hat the most this season?

Freshman forward Noah Clowney has led the way with the most blue-collar points and hard-hat wins in the regular season. He has worn the hard hat after 11 games this season.

Brandon Miller is second on the team behind him with nine hard-hat wins. Bediako rounds out the top three with five.

Hard-hat wins

Noah Clowney: 11

Brandon Miller: 9

Charles Bediako: 5

Nick Pringle: 3

Nimari Burnett: 1

Rylan Griffen: 1

Mark Sears: 1

This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Alabama basketball hard hat: How blue-collar points work, who wins it