Senior Night Reflects Culture Change of Alabama Basketball

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Saturday night inside Coleman Coliseum was a unique Senior Night for Alabama basketball. It wasn't the last home game. The players were recognized after the game instead of before, and one of those players isn't even listed as a senior on the official roster.

But it was somewhat fitting for this unique group of seniors. All three of the scholarship players that were honored (Keon Ellis, James Rojas and Jahvon Quinerly) have only played at Alabama for the last two season, and the other two in the starting lineup (walk-ons Britton Johnson and Tyler Barnes) were honored during last season's senior night before deciding to return for a final year. And technically with the NCAA's COVID waiver, Ellis, Rojas and Quinerly still have eligibility left.

"Great win for Senior Night," Alabama head coach Nate Oats said after the 90-71 win over South Carolina. "I’m really happy for the five guys we started. You look at the three guys we honored after the game with Quinerly and Keon Ellis and Rojas and what they’ve accomplished in the two years they’ve played here, it’s arguably the best two-year span we’ve had here in close to 30 years.

"If we continue to win here, close out and get a 5-seed – I think the last time they’ve gone to back-to-back NCAA Tournaments with 5-seed or higher was 30 years ago and it’d be only the third time in school history, I think. They’ve taken this program to new heights from where it was when they got here. I couldn’t be more happy for them, more thankful for their help getting it here."

It was a very different journey for all three players to get "here." Quinerly was a McDonald's All-American coming out of high school and was originally committed to Arizona, but ended up going to Villanova after Arizona was involved in an NCAA scandal. Villanova ended up not being the best fit for the point guard, and he decided to transfer to Alabama prior to the 2019-20 season.

Unfortunately for Quinerly, the NCAA denied his transfer waiver, and he had to sit out for the entire season Oats' first year in Tuscaloosa. He finally got to see the court in 2020 and found a role as the sixth man off the bench. The point guard really started to come into his own late in the season, ending the year with double-digit scoring in the final 15 games of the season as part of Alabama's SEC and NCAA Tournament runs. Quinerly was named the 2021 SEC Tournament MVP.

When asked how he would rate his decision to come to Alabama, Quinerly gave it a "10."

"With the journey I’ve been through and just finding the right program that values me for what I bring to the table, it’s been a great, great run," Quinerly said. "I’m excited to see how far we can go this year, and I’m always going to remember what I did at Alabama."

Ellis and Rojas both came to Alabama prior to the 2020 season via the junior college route. Originally from Florida, Ellis played for two years at Florida Southwestern State, but as someone who grew up a Crimson Tide fan, Alabama was always his dream.

"I think I made the right decision coming here," Ellis said. "I never really had any expectations of what my years would be like here. I grew up an Alabama fan, so just wanted to come here because of that, and it turned out good. Really that’s all I could ask for, just to play here because like I said I grew up an Alabama fan, so just playing here is an honor."

Oats has consistently called Ellis one of the best two-way players in the country, and his offense has really started to flourish recently. After goingi 0-8 from the floor against Mississippi State on Feb. 16, Ellis is averaging 18.3 points per game over the last three games. Overall, he's third on the team in scoring at 11.9 PPG and leads the team in rebounding, steals and free throw percentage.

Rojas is another junior college transfer by way of Hutchinson Community College. Rojas was originally committed to Oats and his staff at Buffalo, but made the decision to follow him to Alabama. He joined the Tide prior to the 2019-20 season, but suffered an offseason ACL injury that caused him to miss that entire season.

The forward played a rotational role for Alabama last season, but is perhaps most remembered for hitting the game-clinching corner three against Mississippi State in Starkville to win the SEC regular season title. Then Rojas suffered another ACL injury prior to this season, and did not play until Alabama returned to Starkville on Jan. 15 of this year.

Alabama guard Jaden Shackelford called Rojas a big brother of the locker room. Ellis called him one of the toughest people he knows, battling through two separate ACL injuries. His teammates and coaches have repeatedly referred to him as a player that does all the blue collar things Oats is looking for.

"He may be undersized sometimes, but not in his heart," Ellis said about Rojas. "He has more heart than anybody. He just showed me what it means to be tough.”

Even though they weren't honored again on Saturday, the walk-ons Barnes and Johnson have played a special role with this team. Unlike the previous players mentioned, both Barnes and Johnson have been a part of the program since they were freshman. They came in as part of the Avery Johnson tenure and stuck around to be a part of what Oats was building.

The Alabama coach brought Johnson off the bench about halfway through SEC play this season when he was looking for anyone on his team that he knew would bring effort and intensity on the defensive end. In three minutes against Missouri on Jan. 22, Johnson scored two points and grabbed three rebounds.

On senior night, when they got the start and played until the first media timeout, Alabama built up a 12-5 lead against South Carolina's starting lineup.

"They’re just kind of glue guys," Oats said about Barnes and Johnson. "They’re about the right stuff. Those three guys that we honored tonight have been a big part of this turnover, but those two guys have been a big part, too, and we talk about it a lot—what they bring to our scout team, the leadership they bring within the team, what their talk is, they’re a big part of what we did.”

The nice thing for all these players after enjoying a big win on Senior Night is that the journey is not quite finished yet. There have been plenty of disappointments this season, but also multiple big wins. And now the Crimson Tide has won five of its last six and is 19-10 overall (9-7 SEC) with two games left in the regular season and the postseason still ahead. The regular season title has been out of reach for a few weeks now, but all their other goals are still ahead of them.

“It’s hard to put into words how much they’ve meant to this program, this culture," Shackelford said.

As the calendar flips to March, they have the chance to make a little more magic. Regardless of what happens next month, these players will leave Alabama with a regular season SEC championship, SEC Tournament championship, Sweet 16 run in the NCAA tournament and multiple degrees that can take them far in life beyond the game of basketball.

They've all been part of changing the culture for Alabama basketball. Crimson Tide fans haven't had to endure yet another February collapse or repeatedly check Bracketology sites to see which side of the bubble Alabama sits on because this team hasn't been anywhere near the bubble all season. A lot of the credit is due to Oats and his coaching staff, but also a lot of recognition is due to these players who he brought in that bought into his system.

"Each one of them, Jahvon, Keon and Rojas, have all contributed in different ways, but been a big part of what we’re doing, what we’ve done, where we’ve brought this program since we’ve gotten here," Oats said.