The Alabama Newcomer Who Could Be 'That Blue-Collar Guy' This Season

Tarleton State transfer forward Keitenn Bristow scored 13 points with six rebounds, including three offensive, in just 19 minutes against Florida State.

Alabama Basketball Forward Keitenn Bristow vs. Florida State | Obtained from Alabama Men's Basketball's X/Twitter

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — No. 15 Alabama men's basketball outlasted Florida State 109-105 on Thursday night in the "Ballin in Boutwell" exhibition.

This preseason bout allowed fans not only to see its returners from last year in action, but also to catch a glimpse of how the numerous newcomers meshed with Crimson Tide head coach Nate Oats' play style.

Oats introduced a scoring system known as blue-collar points during his second season at Buffalo in 2016-17, which measures the team's hustle. Players are given a certain amount of non-scoreboard points for deflections, steals, blocks, rebounds, loose balls, offensive rebounds, diving on the floor and drawing fouls.

Alabama returning guard Houston Mallette won the Hard Hat after earning the most blue-collar points, but Oats was very impressed with the efforts in these stat categories from Tarleton State transfer forward Keitenn Bristow.

“He’s going to be that blue-collar guy," Oats said after the game. "Comes in, gets O-boards, makes big plays on defense. Shoot, he was big when we needed to win the game. He was our best big defensively, rebounding-wise, tonight. We’re going to need him to play some small-ball five at times like he did tonight.”

The sophomore finished the game with 13 points on 6 of 10 from the field, while also contributing six rebounds (three offensive) and two assists in just 19 minutes on the floor. His three offensive rebounds were the most on the team.

Designated centers Noah Williamson (7-foot) and Collins Onyejiaka (6-foot-11) are the two tallest players on the team, but forwards Aiden Sherrell, Taylor Bol Bowen and Bristow are each 6-foot-10. As the quote above suggests, Oats seems to trust that Bristow could use his length to act as a center when Alabama runs three guards and a small forward or four guards on the floor.

Bristow's length was also very apparent during Oct. 6's brief media practice viewing period. He showed that his size and athleticism could be utilized on both sides of the floor that day, and it was on display against the Seminoles.

While at Tarleton State last season, Bristow was named the WAC Freshman of the Year after averaging 11.3 points and 4.3 rebounds per game. He has three years of eligibility remaining. Bristow shot 32.8 percent from behind the arc and 46.1 percent from the floor. He also led all WAC freshmen with 1.1 steals per game.

Alabama will face Furman on the road on Oct. 26 in another exhibition. Keep an eye out for Bristow as a Hard Hat candidate.