Bama Central

Doris Lemngole, Brandon Miller Headline Crimson Tide Athletes of the Week

Recognizing the Crimson Tide athletes who dominated this week from Tuscaloosa to the pros.
Theodore Fernandez|
Doris Lemngole of Alabama won the women's 3000-meter race during the Millrose Games at the Nike Track and Field Center at the Armory in Manhattan Feb. 1, 2026.
Doris Lemngole of Alabama won the women's 3000-meter race during the Millrose Games at the Nike Track and Field Center at the Armory in Manhattan Feb. 1, 2026. | Seth Harrison/The Journal News / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Freshman of the Week: Azaraya Ra-Akbar

Ra-Akbar has emerged as a key piece of a Crimson Tide gymnastics team that looks like a national championship contender, sitting at 3-1 and No. 4 in the country. The freshman recorded a career-high score of 9.925 on the floor exercise in Alabama's 197.450-195.825 win over Oregon State. The team's score of 49.675 marked the fourth-highest in program history and the highest any team has posted this season, and Ra-Akbar tied for the third-highest score on the team, behind only Gabby Gladieux and Jamison Sears.

Athlete of the Week: Doris Lemngole

Lemngole was away from the Alabama track team last weekend, as she competed at the prestigious Millrose Games in New York City on Sunday. Lemngole delivered possibly the best performance of her already-stacked career, winning the 3000-meter in NCAA-record time.

Lemgole's time of 8:31.39 shattered the previous record by a whole four seconds. The Millrose Games are not an NCAA event, meaning the field was full of professionals, headlined by Hannah Nuttall, who finished second at 8:32.94. The Kenyan star was named the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association's National Athlete of the Week on Monday following the performance.

Lemngole already has four NCAA championships and will almost certainly add to that total over the coming months. The junior is on pace to finish her career as one of the most decorated athletes in SEC history, and is already being talked about as a 2028 Olympic favorite.

Pro Athlete of the Week: Brandon Miller

Miller takes the award for the second straight week as he is currently in the midst of the best stretch of his NBA career. The third-year star was recognized as the NBA's Eastern Conference Player of the Week on Monday, the first Crimson Tide alum to win either conference's respective honor since Mo Williams in 2015.

Miller averaged 26.3 points over four games this past week, leading Charlotte to four wins. The Hornets are on a seven-game winning streak, their longest since 2000. Miller has emerged as the star of the young core, averaging 20.6 points per game for a team that is now just one game out of a play-in spot. 

Clutch Athlete of the Week: Zaay Green

After being selected in the third round of the 2025 WNBA Draft, Green did not appear in a game as a rookie. She was briefly with Lithuanian club Kibirkštis Vilnius, but the two sides parted ways in early January. Green appears to have found a home in Europe now as she signed with Asbis AEL Limassol, a top club in Cyprus, two weeks ago, and instantly emerged as the team's best player. She averaged 23.5 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists over her first two games, but delivered her biggest performance last week in the championship game of Cyprus' Allwyn Cup (an event resembling the FA Cup in English soccer).

Green recorded her first career triple-double with 18 points, 10 rebounds, 11 assists and six steals to lead Limassol to a 77-58 win in the title game. While Cyprus, a small island nation off the coast of Greece, certainly does not boast an internationally renowned basketball league, Green's level of play bodes well for her chances to break through in the WNBA this summer.

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Theodore Fernandez
THEODORE FERNANDEZ

Theodore Fernandez is an intern with Alabama Crimson Tide On SI/BamaCentral and combined with his time with The Crimson White and WVUA 23 News has covered every Alabama sport across He also works as the play-by-play broadcaster for Alabama’s ACHA hockey team and has interned for Fox Sports.