Alabama Basketball's Roster Is Not Only Deep, But Reliable
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Nate Oats has said since the beginning of the season that this team is deep. Between the talented freshmen class led by Brandon Miller, a handful of transfers led by Mark Sears, and the few rotation players that returned, namely Jahvon Quinerly and Charles Bediako, it was a lot to be excited about.
On paper, this roster was lightyears better than last season's, and the 2022-23 edition of Alabama basketball had high expectations.
By Christmas, the team not only met expectations, but exceeded them in a lot of respects. The Crimson Tide had defeated two No. 1-ranked programs in North Carolina and Houston, along with tough wins against Michigan State and Memphis. The only losses were to UConn, who just lost its first game to Xavier after a 14-0 start, and Drew Timme's Gonzaga.
Fast forward to now, Alabama is 2-0 in SEC play after defeating Mississippi State and Ole Miss. And among the multitude of reasons for Alabama's success is, once again, its depth.
But it's not just having more able-bodied and competent players that makes the depth so impactful, it's the fact that Oats has a roster of about 10-11 guys who have the talent to play in tough games and have proven it so far this season.
"We've got options at every position from point guard to center," Oats said after the Ole Miss game. "We've had games where we had different guys in foul trouble, other guys have stepped up. We've had guys out with injury and we've been able to withstand it a little bit more with the depth we have."
The top of the rotation isn't the main focus. Miller has long since proven himself worthy of a lottery projection; Sears is second on the team in scoring and three-point percentage; Noah Clowney leads the team in rebounding; Nimari Burnett was a solid two-way player before the wrist injury, and Jaden Bradley has filled in nicely at the other starting guard position; and Bediako is one of only 32 Division I players averaging at least two blocks per game, and he's had three in back-to-back performances.
It's the 7-11 part of the rotation that has come along nicely this season, and each of those guys are really good in their role:
- It was only a matter of time that Quinerly would round back into form after coming back from an ACL injury, but an 11-point, 3-assist game against the Rebels with zero turnovers (only the second time this season) and three 3-pointers is a good indication that the veteran of this team is rounding into true form.
- Rylan Griffen's minutes have been inconsistent - Oats himself said so - but the freshman guard continues to compete on defense while finding his shooting rhythm from deep. In the last few games, Griffen has been the first guard off the bench, in some cases over Quinerly, and seems to look more comfortable in his minutes.
- Noah Gurley has been nothing if not consistent for the Crimson Tide. He's grabbed at least five rebounds off the bench in eight of 14 games, and if you remove the Houston game where he went 0-for-3 from the free-throw line, he's perfect from the stripe.
- Nick Pringle only played more than eight minutes twice by mid-December, but he had his breakout game against Jackson State where his name was all over the stat sheet (14 points, nine rebounds, two steals and a block). Then, when Bediako got into foul trouble in the SEC opener, Pringle stepped up with 10 points and four rebounds in a season-high 20 minutes.
- Dom Welch was the last person to make his debut this season, and while he's yet to score a point or make any significant marks on the board, he's showing his worth as a defender, guarding the perimeter and even drawing a charge.
"When it's not somebody's night, we got a deep roster, so we have a 'next man up' mentality," Bradley said after the Ole Miss game.
Miller shared similar thoughts about the depth of the team, saying "Oats did a good job building this team," and that the effort to make blue collar plays goes back to the summer.
Should the expectation be that the rotation will be 10-11 deep every game? No. But Oats now can use lineups that create the most effective matchup, whether that means getting more shooting, size or speed on the court at any time.
For Oats, the biggest factor is that he can use the depth of the roster to hold players more accountable.
"We weren't this deep last year," Oats said. "This year, if you're not playing hard, you're not playing well, we got plenty of options. Last year, we were kinda stuck with guys that weren't playing hard.
"This year we got ten guys strong in the rotation that are all playing."
Alabama has SEC Championship aspirations, and based off its play so far, it wouldn't be extreme to see this team make a deep run in the NCAA tournament. A championship team. however, needs more than its top six or seven guys to be reliable in big games. Like Oats said, this roster goes 10 strong, and could easily be 11 or 12 at its full potential. That will be and advantage through conference play and when it's time to dance.
See also: No. 7 Alabama Basketball Blows Out Ole Miss to Open Home SEC Slate with Win
