21-11; 13-5, tied for second in the Southeastern Conference
Nate Oats has been the head coach at Alabama for five years, and for the last couple of seasons, the Crimson Tide has been an elite defensive unit. This year hasn’t been quite up to that standard…instead, Bama has become an extraordinary offensive crew.
Though the Tide has slid towards becoming a middling defensive outfit, Bama booms when they’ve got the ball. Alabama ranks top 30 nationally in offensive rebounding rate, adjusted tempo (per Bart Torvik), two-point, three-point, and free throw percentage, effective field goal percentage, and overall offensive efficiency. Not bad.
Though their metrics have been very impressive all year, it took awhile for the Tide to really break through against the best teams on their schedule. Not only does Bama play in the strong-on-strong SEC, they faced Morehead State, Indiana State, Ohio State, Oregon, Clemson, Creighton, and Arizona during the opening portion of their schedule – and suffered a bit for the challenge. After opening up with a 6-5 record, though, Bama has rattled off a 15-5 stretch over their last 20 contests. It’s beginning to look more and more like the Tide have another very good team, and they’re poised to prove it.
Muscle Shoals, AL, native Mark Sears has seized the most noticeable role for this ensemble cast, and the former All-MAC standout at Ohio has proven himself as a genuine SEC star. He finished barely off of Dalton Knecht’s pace for the league scoring crown, and has been the Tide’s focal point all winter. Sears has failed to score in double figures precisely once this season: in a win against Missouri on January 16, he only scored nine points while dishing out six assists. Overall, Sears finished sixth in the league in assists while ranking fifth in steals and made 3FG’s – and leading the SEC in free throw attempts, free throws made, and effective field goal rate at 59.9%.
With Sears taking care of the primary scoring, two more – newer – transfers have provided excellent support. Former Hofstra star and two-time CAA Player of the Year Aaron Estrada has proven to be a great compliment alongside Sears as a bigger guard who can be just as effective initiating Alabama’s attack and getting his new friends into quality shot attempts. While he was with the Pride, Estrada acquired the nickname ‘Mr. Mid-Range’; and yet, this spring, he chose to sign with Oats, a coach who exhorts his guys to play a ‘no mid-range’ offense. Thus, though Estrada is still a terrific shooter, he has largely eschewed such attempts – though he did attempt nearly three times as many in-between shots as the next-most-prolific Alabama shooter. Rather, Estrada has focused more than ever on getting to the rim or bombing away from deep – and all the while, Estrada has continued to make plenty of plays for his new teammates. Despite rarely seeing the floor as a sophomore while at Oregon, Estrada is fast approaching 2,000 career points and 500 career assists.
Former North Dakota State star Nelson has settled in nicely as Bama’s top post scorer. He’s not quite as extraordinary an outside shooter as some forwards that have played in Tuscaloosa over the past few years, but Nelson is a modern big man who can step out to splash a triple when the defense gets a little too rambunctious towards him inside. Foul trouble has been arguably Nelson’s most consistent foe this year. He’s not an exceptional defender, and Bama’s opponents have taken Nelson to task this year, pounding the rock inside and disqualifying him via fouls from six of the Tide’s last 14 games. As a result, Oats has utilized his few other big men – and at times, played an increasingly small lineup.
As a freshman, Rylan Griffen was a fairly inefficient long-range bomber. In his second season, though, Griffen has emerged as a reliable secondary scorer, and he has combined with veteran transfer Latrell Wrightsell to give the Tide plenty of shooting beyond the marksmanship of Sears. Both guards have made more than 60 triples this year, helping Alabama to lead the SEC in three-point shooting again, and they’ve combined to hit 41.2% of their deep heaves. An athletic, slashing type who will use the threat of his jumper to set up runs to the rim, Griffen shot an excellent 69.2% on tries close to the basket, per Bart Torvik. Wrightsell, who broke out last winter at Cal State-Fullerton, has established himself as a more of a pure deep threat in Tuscaloosa. Though he’s a shooter first and foremost, Wrightsell is also a talented passer, and has well earned the confidence of his coach in just a few months. Unfortunately, both Wrightsell and Griffen have been dealing with injuries as Bama looks to the Big Dance; Griffen a tweaked calf, and Wtightsell a head issue. “We would have a league championship if he hadn’t gone down,” Oats said of being forced to play without Wrightsell over the final couple weeks of the regular season.
Oats plays a deep rotation, which means that his top bench guys were contributors even before backcourt injuries struck. The Tide will occasionally go 11 deep, and Oats knows that anyone in his rotation has the talent to help out. An occasional starter and important presence on the offensive glass and as a rim protector, Nick Pringle is Bama’s #2 post player. He has largely occupied the screener and dunker’s role for Oats, and Pringle has flushed a team-high 30 dunks while shooting almost 65% from the floor this year. Jarin Stevenson, an elite freshman prospect who reclassified to this season and has managed to contribute quality minutes, gives the Tide some perimeter shooting up front to pair with Nelson’s range. Oats also added Mohamed Wague from West Virginia During the summer. Though not a natural offensive player, Wague is long and mobile defensively, and provides good defensive depth to a Tide roster which lacks a traditional wide-body in the lane.
Another freshman who is more of a wing, Sam Walters has proven his chops as a dangerous deep threat. Though his minutes have been inconsistent as his defense and strength come up to an SEC level, Walters offers great size, a nearly unblockable release, and has hit double figures six times this year in reserve. Davin Cosby, Jr, and Mouhamed Dioubate round out the rotation. Cosby is a guard who almost exclusively tosses three-balls, while Dioubate has proven to be a tough customer around the lane who can also knock down a jumper.
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