'Rusty' Anderson Diaz Shows Youth in Alabama Debut

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — In a game where freshmen Tarris Bouie, Jaxon Richardson, and Qayden Samuels all showed out, Anderson Diaz struggled.

The point guard scored four points on 2-for-5 shooting in the Crimson Tide's 96-74 win over Sam Houston State, committing two turnovers while having the worst plus-minus on the team at -11.

"He was rusty," Alabama head coach Oats said. "Made some poor decisions to the rim, I thought, you know, when he got blocked in the first half, ended up with a three on the other end."

Diaz missed a bulk of the offseason with an elbow injury. He was unavailable for all three of Alabama's exhibitions, making this game the first time he took the court in a Crimson Tide uniform.

"It's hard to play well when you haven't been able to practice," Oats said. "You look at him and Cole (Cloer); those are probably the two guys that struggled the most tonight. Well, they're also the two that haven't been able to practice because of injuries."

Diaz showed flashes, displaying his fast twitch to poke a ball loose in the second half for one of Alabama's 17 steals. He struggled leading the Crimson Tide's half-court offense, but the worst moment of his day came in the final seconds, when he drove to the basket and attempted to score with the shot clock off.

"We need our point guards to know how to run the team, time and score. We're not trying to run up the score on anybody," Oats said. "If you're up 25 with no time on the shot clock, you dribble the ball out. Unless the other team starts trapping and pressing, and then you go score, if they're going to continue to do that, which they weren't doing."

Ultimately, Diaz should be a senior in high school right now. He's not supposed to be the most polished player, but being a primary ballhandler in an Oats offense requires a certain level of understanding. Things should only improve from here as Diaz settles in, and they'll need to as he remains the team's only true point guard for the upcoming matchup against Arkansas State with Aden Holloway suspended.

"Like I said, it's extremely hard to play well and be in sync when you haven't been in practice," Oats said. "So I was glad we were able to give him as many minutes as we did tonight because he's going to need to play a lot better for us on Friday night."

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