Mr. March: Jahvon Quinerly and Alabama Basketball 'Not Done Yet'
"The job's not finished. We're not done yet."
Two years ago almost to the day, Alabama guard Jahvon Quinerly resoundly stated those words in a near-empty Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn. Blue, yellow and white confetti strewn about at his feet on the basketball court and appropriately socially distanced from PA announcer Marty Smith, Quinerly's words were a sign to all present:
Alabama basketball was back. Not only was it back, but it wasn't going anywhere anytime soon.
On Sunday afternoon on that very same court in Nashville, the Crimson Tide reiterated the truth in Quinerly's words with a statement-making 82-63 win over 2-seed Texas A&M to win Alabama's fourth SEC title in three seasons when also factoring in the team's regular-season titles.
The Crimson Tide might not have gone on to win a national title in the 2020-21 season, with its trip to the Sweet 16 ending the year far earlier than most fans had hoped. This season, though, Alabama isn't just a favorite to go further this year in the NCAA Tournament.
It's the favorite to win the whole thing.
After Alabama's 72-61 SEC Tournament semifinal win on Saturday, the Crimson Tide's locker room was stone-cold serious. Amidst players leaving the locker room in jerseys and returning in street clothes was Quinerly, who casually sat in a chair quiet in his own thoughts.
When Quinerly made his "job's not finished" statement back in 2021, he was just a sophomore. Now a senior and with much more experience under his belt — including an ACL injury in the Crimson Tide's single NCAA Tournament game that kept him sidelined at the beginning of this season — Quinerly's sight is set on much more than just an SEC title as is the rest of the team's.
Despite all of his growth, Quinerly's calm demeanor has never changed. Neither has his mentality.
"This team set goals in June and we got one goal off — regular season [champions]," Quinerly said. "Another goal we set was obviously this tournament championship and then obviously we want to take it all the way and win a national championship."
He then went on to reference his own quote:
"That would be my same quote: job's not finished," Quinerly grinned. "Until we win the national championship, that goal ain't gonna change."
Those words alone should be enough to get every Alabama fan up and ready to run through a brick wall.
This year has been magical for the Crimson Tide, but Quinerly is right in saying that the job is indeed not finished. Not too long after Alabama's SEC Tournament title, the Crimson Tide was announced as the No. 1-overall seed of the 2023 NCAA Tournament — a first in program history. That isn't the only first-time occurrence for Alabama this season.
The win over the Aggies also marked Alabama's 29th win of the season. Having amassed an overall record of 29-6 — including a 16-2 record in the SEC during the regular season — this year's Crimson Tide team has won more games in a single season than any other that came before it.
To put that into perspective, the 2020-21 team that reached the Sweet 16 finished the year at 26-7.
This year's team is built different, as head coach Nate Oats would willingly agree. The 2020-21 team was during Oats' second year in Tuscaloosa, Ala., with a incredible jump from the team the year prior that finished 16-15 and likely would not have reached the NCAA Tournament barring a miracle in Nashville.
Oats was a part of both programs, and so was Quinerly. During his postgame press conference, Oats took a moment to highlight what separates this team and gives it even more potential than his 2020-21 team.
"This group's different," Oats said. "They're both really special in my eyes. That group was a group that decided to buy into the new staff, us playing, recruited by a previous staff. Without that group, we're not where we're at. We were able to turn the whole narrative of Alabama basketball back in a great direction.
"Similar in a lot of ways, but definitely different groups. Love each of 'em. Excited to see what we can do with this group in the NCAA tournament."
This Thursday, Alabama will open up its trip to The Big Dance against either Texas A&M-Corpus Christi or Southeast Missouri State. While the Crimson Tide waits to find out who it will be playing, the preparations for the month of March continue beginning on Monday back in Tuscaloosa — just an hour's drive away from the site that the game will be played, Legacy Arena in downtown Birmingham, Ala.
And for the man who radio announcers Chris Stewart and Bryan Passink have dubbed 'Mr. March', being ready for the next opponent on the schedule is all that matters.
"When March hits, it's a different feeling in the air," Quinerly said on the Crimson Tide postgame radio show. "You can feel the tension when you walk into the practice facility when you're preparing for a game in March. Everything means more."
See Also:
Alabama Basketball Earns First NCAA Tournament 1-Seed in Program History
Alabama Basketball Wins 2023 SEC Tournament
Alabama Players React to Winning SEC Title: 'We Want More'
Hometown Hero: Brandon Miller Shines in SEC Tournament Championship
