Alabama Players React to Winning SEC Title: 'We Want More'
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — After Alabama beat Missouri to advance to the SEC Tournament finals, senior guard Jahvon Quinerly said he wanted to get the rest of his teammates a ring.
His wish was granted Sunday afternoon as the Crimson Tide rolled over the Aggies 82-63 inside Bridgestone Arena to win the program's second tournament title in the last three seasons.
One of the players Quinerly specifically mentioned wanting to help get a ring was fellow upperclassmen Noah Gurley. The Furman transfer has been on a college basketball team for six years between Furman and Alabama, and for the first time, he's experiencing a tournament championship.
"It feels amazing," Gurley said in the locker room after the game. "It feels like all my dreams are coming true. It also makes me want more. We want to go get this national championship now.”
That was a common refrain among Crimson Tide players after the game. Winning the tournament title met one of their goals, but they still have more they want to do as March is just halfway through.
"We set goals over the summer— regular season, tournament, obviously a national championship," Quinerly said. "It's March. Any team can win on any given day. I'm going to make sure our guys are ready to go no matter who we match up with.”
The only players on Alabama's current roster that were on the championship team two years ago are Quinerly, his younger brother walk-on Jaden Quinerly and walk-ons Adam Cottrell and Delaney Heard.
The walk-ons got in the game over the final minutes with the Crimson Tide holding such a large lead. Heard said it was a special experience compared to two years being able to have an arena full of Alabama fans.
Charles Bediako, a member of the all-tournament team, called winning the SEC Tournament one of the best feelings ever.
"My first year last year guys were telling me how great the feeling they had [was] when they won the SEC Championship over LSU, and they weren’t lying," Bediako said.
In the postgame press conference, Nate Oats said it was the best games Bediako had played in an Alabama uniform. He finished with 12 points, 13 rebounds, 5 blocks and 2 assists.
Alabama's success this season has been led in large part by the freshmen Brandon Miller, Noah Clowney, Jaden Bradley and Rylan Griffen. Bradley said he was at a loss for words after the game about what winning the title meant to him, but talked about how special this freshman group has been.
The turnover on the team isn't just from freshmen, but transfers like Gurley, Mark Sears, Nick Pringle, Nimari Burnett and Dom Welch. Pringle started out at Wofford before spending last season at Dodge City Community College. He said he knew how talented Alabama was, and he just wanted to come in a challenge himself to grow as a player and person.
"Way better than being a JUCO champ, I’ll tell you that," Pringle said when asked how it feels being an SEC champion. "It feels great, especially sharing it with these guys. We’ve just been through a lot together. We just bought in and handled business.”
Now, all eyes turn to the NCAA Tournament, and as one of the team's leaders, Gurley said the guys are really locked in.
"Especially now that we’ve got two of the three of our goals," Gurley said. "The third one is so close. I think everyone’s going to lock in now more than ever."
See also:
Alabama Basketball Wins 2023 SEC Tournament
Hometown Hero: Brandon Miller Shines in SEC Tournament Championship
