Alabama coach Nick Saban and his famous Noontime Basketball Association will be one of the topics in the latest version of Marty Smith’s America, which debuts Thursday, June 14, on ESPN.



In this episode, which airs at 7 p.m. CT, Smith shares unique experiences with some of college football’s biggest names including Saban, Jim Harbaugh, Scott Frost and Jimbo Fisher.

“Our goal is to show the human element of sport. We all know the ‘what’ – that these are some of the greatest football coaches and leaders of men in the world. We seek the ‘why’ and the ‘how,’” Smith said in a release. “In this episode of Marty Smith’s America, we pushed ourselves to show these coaches in a different manner than what we see on Saturday afternoons on sidelines all across this nation.

“We went from Omaha Beach in Normandy to the mouth of the Colorado River deep within the Grand Canyon to take you inside the minds and lives of the biggest names in the game.”

This is the funniest damn story on Nick Saban ever. I don’t care who you are. https://t.co/j2HSU2rxBs — Marty Smith (@MartySmithESPN) June 13, 2018

The Crimson Tide version of the N.B.A. started when Saban was head coach at LSU. Former assistants Fisher, Adam Gase and Will Muschamp, all now head coaches at Texas A&M, Miami (Dolphins) and South Carolina, each recalled their times in the noontime league.



The rules are simple. It’s a 4-on-4 format and the winner is whichever team first reaches 11 points -- and wins by two. But Saban, the commissioner and point guard, always chooses his teams and rarely loses. In the video, which is embedded above, Smith asked Saban for his philosophy during the pickup basketball games played inside of Coleman Coliseum.

Saban: “It’s got to be somebody that I can have success against. I mean look, when you’re my age, you need to create advantages every way that you can. You had to be able to shoot the mid-range shot.”

Fisher: “He had a great mid-range game.”

Gase: “Even if you had tight defense on him, he usually made his shots.”

Muschamp: “Coach had a great Bob Cousy set shot.”

Saban: “I don’t like being compared to Bob Cousy because none of the young people now, they don’t even know who Bob Cousy is.”

The episode will feature four different coaches segments, including:

Touring France with Jim Harbaugh

-- Smith joins Michigan football coach Jim Harbaugh and the Wolverines on their trip to France to see the sites and to pay homage to the troops that lost their lives at Normandy Beach.

Pickup Basketball with Nick Saban

-- Smith goes one-on-one in a game of hoops with Alabama football coach Nick Saban.

Hiking the Grand Canyon with Scott Frost

-- Smith embarks on a 20-mile hike through the Grand Canyon with Nebraska’s new football coach Scott Frost.

Roping Cattle with Jimbo Fisher

-- Texas A&M football coach Jimbo Fisher discusses his new stop at College Station while working some cattle.

Contact Charlie Potter by 247Sports' personal messaging or on Twitter (@Charlie_Potter).