What Nate Oats Learned from Re-Watching Texas Game

TUSCALOOSA, Ala.— As the 2-seed with a double bye in the SEC tournament, Alabama earns the advantage of sitting back and watching other teams duke it out over the next two days. But it also makes scouting a little harders as there are three possible teams the Crimson Tide could face in its opening game on Friday evening: Ole Miss, Texas and Georgia.

Ole Miss and Texas will play on Wednesday at 6 p.m. with the winner facing Georgia on Thursday. Becuase of this, Alabama head coach Nate Oats and his staff have prepped for all three teams. One player's performance in the Texas loss back on Jan. 10: Taylor Bol Bowen.

"Obviously Texas is a good team, and we didn’t fare well against them, but part of it was good that we got the Texas draw in the sense that it made me go back and watch our Texas game, and he was great," Oats said of Bol Bowen. "Shoot, if you go back and watch our first Texas game, he was flying around, super active, making play, blocked shots, rebounds. I told the team, when you just lose yourself in the game making all the blue collar effort plays like he did that game. He also happened to go 3 for 3 from 3. We’re trying to get him back to the level he was in that area at the beginning of January, end of December before he had the injuries. If we can get him back playing like that, that really helps us out."

In the 92-88 home loss to the Longhorns was Bol Bowen's lone double double of the season. He finished with 11 points and 10 rebounds along with two blocks. In the 12 games he has played since then, Bol Bowen has only reached double figures in scoring one time.

Bol Bowen was one of Alabama's top scorers during non-conference play before a lingering knee issue affected him in SEC playing, causing him to miss time. Between Bol Bowen, London Jemison and Amari Allen, Oats wants more production out of the four spot. Oats said they need more rebounding, playmaking and, "a lot more of everything to be honest with you."

Jemison has had an up-and-down freshman season, but the previous Texas matchup was also one of his best performances of the year. He also was 3 for 3 from beyond the arc finishing with nine points, five rebounds, two assists a steal and a block.

Alabama's frontcourt depth is very thin. Aiden Sherrell has been outstanding at the five this season, but he doesn't have much backing him up with Noah Williamson only averaging one point and 1.6 rebounds per game this season. Bol Bowen and Jemison providing more out of the four spot could spark new levels for the Crimson Tide on offense and defense.

"If we get London and Taylor both playing at their peak performances, this team's going to be a much better team," Oats said.

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