Taylor Bol Bowen Responds in Tremendous Fashion in Win Over St. John's

The Alabama forward struggled in the season opener, but some tough love from head coach Nate Oats unleashed his potential in Madison Square Garden.

Alabama forward Taylor Bol Bowen vs. St. John's | Obtained from Alabama Basketball's X/Twitter

Alabama men's basketball guard Taylor Bol Bowen had some pressure on him before the Crimson Tide's 103-96 win over St. John's on Saturday in Madison Square Garden.

In the season opener against North Dakota, the Florida State transfer scored eight points, while adding an assist and a block, but head coach Oats was disappointed with the fact that the junior could've had much more than three rebounds.

"Taylor had zero [offensive rebounds]," Oats said after the North Dakota game. "He had zero in the exhibition. He doesn’t get offensive rebounds ever."

Bol Bowen played 18 minutes against North Dakota. Oats took him out multiple times following mistakes and missed rebounding opportunities. He had the chance to redeem himself against the Red Storm, and he did that...and then some.

Bol Bowen finished with 17 points on 6 of 7 from the field, while collecting nine total rebounds (four offensive), two blocks, two steals and an assist. Alabama needed to start hot on both ends in the "World's Most Famous Arena," and his aggression showed early with all four offensive rebounds coming in the first half.

"[He was] huge. He was 100 percent the X-factor in this game," Oats said during the postgame press conference. "The plays he made, the blocks he made, even the ones that he didn't block, he challenged shots. I mean, rebounds, he had seven at the half. If Taylor doesn't bring it like he brought it, we have no chance of winning this game, especially with the rest of the guys being in foul trouble in the front court.

"We played him as a small-ball five and I thought he was great on [St. John's forward Zuby] Ejiofor. When we played him at the four, I thought he was great coming over challenging shots on the weak side. Shoot, sometimes he was at the four and we cross-matched him on Ejiofor.

"I couldn't be more proud of his effort, his toughness and that's what we're going to need out of him moving forward. He brought it. We chart those blue-collar points and give them a Hard Hat in the end, and he won it."

Bol Bowen averaged 8.0 points, 5.2 rebounds (1.2 offensive) and an impressive 1.5 blocks per game for the Seminoles last season. The 6-foot-10, 202-pounder has shown that he could be a bit of a playmaker with the Crimson Tide, but Oats also wants more of a presence inside as a rebounder on both ends of the floor.

Oats clearly saw the potential in Bol Bowen when the Crimson Tide pursued him in the transfer portal. It didn't show up in the season opener and it's part of why Oats was so tough on him. But the potential was unleashed on Saturday.