The Soldier: Alabama Basketball's Herb Jones Continues to Fight
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — On Tuesday night in Rupp Arena against Kentucky, Alabama fans went quiet when senior wing Herb Jones went down with what looked to be a hand or wrist injury.
With Jones having a history of injuries during his time with the Crimson Tide — mostly due to his tenacious effort on the court catching up with him — the phrase muttered quietly under the mouths of the Crimson Tide faithful was ‘Well, here we go again.’
Since head coach Nate Oats’ arrival in Tuscaloosa in early 2019, Jones has separated himself as one of the grittiest players on the Alabama roster. Always willing to dive for a loose ball or leap up to attempt a block or square up to take a charge, Jones’ toughness has often led him to get in injury trouble — something that has become all too familiar.
But not this time.
Prior to Saturday afternoon’s game against Arkansas in Coleman Coliseum, Jones was still questionable to see any kind of minutes in the game. While it had been revealed that he had suffered a dislocated finger — a bullet dodged considering how much worse it could have been.
“Avoided one for him,” Oats said. “Through his career he hasn’t been able to catch a break it seems and now kinda dodged a bullet there so hopefully he can stay healthy the rest of the year so he’s super valuable to what we’re doing.”
However, an hour before the opening tip on Saturday, Jones was seen dressed out and on the court, sporting what looked to be two wrapped fingers on his left hand.When Jones’ name lit up on the scoreboard as one of the Crimson Tide’s starting five, the crowd went berserk.
After the game — which saw Alabama decimate Arkansas 90-59 — Oats detailed the decision to start Jones.
“Herb came out and his finger was huge Thursday,” Oats said. “Didn’t practice Thursday. I think he tried to do a little bit of skill maybe and then Friday he came in and said he was gonna try and give it a go so he played a little bit Friday [and] looked good enough in practice where I said ‘Look, if you feel good tomorrow morning we’ll go ahead and play you.’”
Play him Oats did, and as always, Jones contributed. Contributing 22 minutes in the game, Jones accounted for 13 points — including seven-of-eight from the free-throw line — and four rebounds. On defense, Jones tallied one block and two steals. He also led the team in +/- with 32.
Freshman guard Josh Primo said after the game that when Jones went down against Kentucky, they knew he was going to be back soon just because of his mentality.
“I think we all know with Herb, he’s just a soldier,” Primo said. “When we found out that he had dislocated it, we knew that [athletic trainer] Clarke [Holter] was going to do his thing with the treatment and we just know that he’s a soldier and he’s gonna do what he can to play and help us win at all times.”
Last season, Jones suffered a fractured wrist that kept him out for multiple games. However, he returned to play against a crucial game against LSU, sporting a cast on his wrist that dramatically limited his shooting. It didn’t matter to Jones, though, who knocked down two free throws late in the game — one-handed — to secure the Crimson Tide upset of the Tigers.
This year, it seems that Jones hasn’t lost one bit of that tenacity.
“If Herb’s breathing then he’s capable of playing,” Oats chuckled. “He’s probably going to play. He didn’t have a cast on his hand like he did last year so I wasn’t shocked at all. I mean, he played pretty well.”
Jones has served as a poster child of sorts for Oats’ blue-collar style of basketball. His grit on the court has proven invaluable for the Crimson Tide as it still adjusts to Oats’ new mentality.
This coming Tuesday, Alabama faces off against the team that put Jones’ dedication to the team on the map last season — LSU. While the game is taking place in Baton Rouge rather than Tuscaloosa, it marks the first time that the two teams have squared off since Jones’ phenomenal display.
And on Tuesday, Jones has the opportunity to prove once again his role for the Crimson Tide — the soldier.
