Jahvon Quinerly Adapting to New Role with Alabama Basketball
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — In the world of sports, intangibles often matter just as much — if not more — than athletic prowess on the field or court.
According to members of Alabama basketball, that especially applies to senior guard Jahvon Quinerly.
In the Crimson Tide's first — and last — game of the 2022 NCAA Tournament, Quinerly suffered a torn ACL that sent him to the locker room in the first half. Alabama ultimately lost the game to Notre Dame, ending the team's season. While it had been speculate prior to the game that Quinerly would be heading to the NBA Draft, he instead opted to return for his senior season with Alabama.
Quinerly's rehab proceeded much quicker than projected, and the senior has now seen action on the court in 14 of Alabama's 16 games. While he hasn't been lighting up the stats sheet, he has been a heavy contributor in a different way for the Crimson Tide this season: leadership.
It's no secret that Alabama has a very young team. In fact, three of the team's regular starters have been freshmen in Brandon Miller, Noah Clowney and Jaden Bradley. With five freshman on the team and with each contributing on the court, Quinerly's leadership has gone a long way in preparing the young players for games at the college level.
Freshman guard Rylan Griffen spoke about Quinerly's leadership, saying that in addition to the duo becoming fast friends, the older player has done a lot to help him develop.
"Yeah he is like a mentor," Griffen said. "He's one of the best players to have ever played here. Me and him got a lot of chemistry on the court and off the court. He's become one of my closest friends. We talk every day pretty much. We laugh with each other, talk to each other — just seeing him and how he kinda took me under his wing and wanted me to be great is just, like, a blessing to be honest.
"He's one of these guys that are special and they don't come around often. You know, most older kids — they don't really do with that with young kids, but he did that with me. So I'm really thankful for him and I know we're both going to go out there and be great together."
Through Alabama's first 6 games of the season, the Crimson Tide has amassed a 14-2 record and is tied for the lead in the Southeastern Conference with a perfect 4-0 record. In terms of stats, Quinerly is averaging 6.7 points and 1.6 rebounds per game while averaging 17.4 minutes on the court.
The numbers aside, Quinerly's largest contribution has been that of helping younger players develop.
"He's come a long ways with that," Alabama head coach Nate Oats said. "I mean, he really talks to the young guys, talks to the team as a whole. Really values the input he can give to them — and he's played a lot of games. You can talk to Jaden Bradley. Jaden Bradley is a freshman [who] talks about learning from Quinerly, learning from [Mark] Sears who have played a lot of college games already.
"J.Q.'s a guy that really wants his teammates to do well and he's kinda got a bonus year in college with the injury and he's been able to come back and recover as well as he has. I think he's enjoying his time here. He's enjoying being a leader, he's using all of his experience in helping us be the best we can be and I think he's enjoying winning again."
In the 2020-21 season, Alabama basketball won both the SEC regular-season and tournament titles, with Quinerly playing a key bench role and elevating the team's success. In fact, Quinerly was named the MVP of the SEC Tournament and provided key minutes for the Crimson Tide team that made it all the way to the Sweet 16 in March Madness that season.
Now, according to Oats, Quinerly is happy to be back and contributing in a different way.
"His second year with us we won the SEC regular-season and the tournament both," Oats said. "We did it during COVID when there wasn't that many people in the stands — it was a little bit different feel that year. Now we're starting to win, he's a big part of it — doing it back in a normal environment — so I think he's been big.
"We need him to continue to lead. Even when he doesn't play great himself, he can still be a great leader. [...] You have to play hard, you gotta play the right way, you gotta be a great teammate — you can still lead if you're not playing great. It took him a little bit to get back in the mix, which it takes anybody coming back from injury a little while to get back their confidence and everything. I couldn't be happier for him and his leadership and what he's been doing for our young guys."
While there is still a long way to go in the season before the projected 1-seed Alabama will head to Nashville for the SEC Tournament, its success will be highly dependent on the team's leadership guiding the young players forward. And for the Crimson Tide, it will be experienced leaders like Quinerly that ensure that development continues.
