Noah Gurley Explodes When Alabama Needed Him Most

The former second-team All-SoCon performer had his best game at the Capstone at the perfect time.

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Head coach Nate Oats hinted at what fans could see from graduate transfer forward Noah Gurley in Tuesday's press conference. 

“He’s been one of our guys that’s spent a ton of time in the gym over the last month. All his work is not going to go unrewarded," Oats said. “I see him making a breakthrough in conference play.” 

That breakthrough may have began tonight.

Gurley posted a double-double in Alabama's 73-68 win over No. 14 Tennessee, scoring 20 points and grabbing 10 rebounds, both highs for Gurley in a Crimson Tide uniform.

"It was great to see [the work pay off,]" Gurley said. "Staying down, staying humble. Stay down 'till you come up, that's the motto. Just keep working."

"That's the best game he's played since he's been here," Oats said. "He's been in the gym working. He's one of our hardest workers and that work doesn't go unrewarded. He's got a lot of confidence and he stepped up in a big way when we needed him."

In a game where Alabama lacked scoring from the majority of its key contributors, Gurley was the spark that pushed Alabama over the top in a critical game to open SEC play. Alabama's guard trio of Jaden Shackelford, Jahvon Quinerly, and JD Davison were a combined 3-19 from beyond the arc and Alabama as a team shot a mere 23% from three-point range.

The offense had to come from somewhere, and Gurley was able to use his size to his advantage scoring in the paint in a variety of ways, from backing down undersized opponents, to offensive rebounds and putbacks, to hitting two of his four three points attempts. 

Those two three point misses were Gurley's only misses from the field as well, as he shot 80% on 8-10 shots from the floor.

"It was really big," Quinerly said of Gurley's performance. "I'm really happy for him, he's been putting the most work in on the team and I knew it was only a matter of time for it to pay off. I told him as soon as the game was over that we need him for the rest of the year."

Alabama has a difficult challenge ahead of it with a rigorous SEC schedule. Gurley will surely be a huge piece as Alabama looks to repeat as SEC Champions.

Alabama will be off until a trip to Gainesville to take on Florida next Wednesday, Jan. 5.