Noah Williamson Reaches New Level of Play Against Kentucky in SEC Opener

TUSCALOOSA, Ala.— Center Noah Williamson might well have been the player with the most to prove for the Alabama men's basketball team going into SEC play. His performance in Saturday's 89-74 win against Kentucky (9-5, 0-1 SEC) at home was indicative of someone who'd been putting in the work to turn a corner. It was his best individual game since coming to Tuscaloosa.

The reigning Patriot League Player of the Year did not get off to a good start in a Crimson Tide uniform during the nonconference season. Until Saturday, he had zero games with multiple made field goals. In 13 prior appearances, he also had multiple assists only twice and his scoring high was four.

Williamson scored 10 points while going 5-for-7 on field-goal attempts, snagged four rebounds, collected two steals and topped it off with two assists in the SEC opener. He looked like the player the No. 14 Crimson Tide (11-3, 1-0 SEC) brought in from the transfer portal in the offseason. There was also a personal element to Saturday's matchup. Bucknell lost to Kentucky last season. Williamson was ready to go in his chance at a measure of redemption after a seven-point showing in 24 minutes in that November 2024 game.

"It helps me out a lot, but I would say not much changes. I appreciate my teammates and coach for sticking with me. I obviously had a really slow start [to] the year, but we still got a lot of games to go for a national championship," Williamson said. "I really wanted to beat Kentucky... This was probably my last opportunity to play them."

Head coach Nate Oats said postgame that the staff has been working to build Williamson's confidence. Williamson also got extended looks in an 18-minute showing because forward Aiden Sherrell left the game after a knee injury; he played nine minutes, and some of the leftover workload was picked up by Williamson.

"I think when he knew Aiden was out, that in itself gives a little more confidence. Like, 'You're gonna be in. We need you.' He's a great kid. His teammates have been really hyping him up. He's been playing better in practice," Oats said. "He made a statement to me a few days [ago]. He's dunking everything in our pre-practice kinda drills. [I'm like], 'Man, you got some athleticism now.' He goes, 'SEC, coach!'"

Oats pointed to a first-half offensive rebound on a missed free throw by guard Aden Holloway as the turning point for Williamson. Two of his four rebounds were on the offensive glass. The sequence mentioned by Oats led to a three-pointer from guard Houston Mallette. The crowd was fired up, as were Williamson's teammates and coaches. Those are the moments Alabama's coach has been angling to see more of from all the players.

"We're obviously real proud of him, but he works hard in practice," freshman swingman Amari Allen said. "Hasn't started the season how he's wanted to, or what he's capable of, but we all see now what his potential is and how he can play. The last two weeks, he's been really working in practice. For him to come out and have a game like this, he really deserves it."

Upon winning the Hard Hat for blue-collar effort, Allen immediately gave it to Williamson, resulting in ecstatic cheers from Crimson Tide players. Eight of Williamson's points were in the second half. He kept his

Throughout the day, Williamson consistently put his teammates in a position to capitalize on open shots. While his impact on the game did raise the energy level inside Coleman Coliseum, it was more than purely symbolic. A player turning a new leaf at a key position just in time for the increase in size, strength and athletic ability of the SEC is a tremendously consequential development.

"The whole energy of the team just shifts. I feel like that gets us going as much as a crazy dunk or something," Holloway, who tied a career high with 26 points, said. "He got us so many wide-open threes, so many big rebounds. Tough defensive plays. He had a crazy [layup]... The team loves it. We need it."

"He's talented. We gotta get his confidence going. He needed this game in a big way," Oats said. "Huge for him. He did it against, maybe, the most athletic, biggest, toughest, for sure the most hyped in the preseason frontcourt in our league... If you can do this against Kentucky, you can do this in the SEC."

Alabama's next game will be on Wednesday night at undefeated, No. 11 Vanderbilt. If Saturday's version of Williamson shows up in that game and across the rest of league play, the Crimson Tide will be an even better team than what it put on display through 13 nonconference outings.

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