Why Jalil Bethea Didn't Play Until Final Minutes of Blowout Win Over Missouri

The Alabama guard has seen a decrease in time spent on the floor over the past few weeks, and Nate Oats shared a couple of reasons why.

Dec 29, 2025; Tuscaloosa, AL, USA; Alabama guard Jalil Bethea (1) gets a breakaway dunk against Yale at Coleman Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Gary Cosby Jr.-Tuscaloosa News | Gary Cosby Jr.-Tuscaloosa News / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — One of the best parts of a blowout is seeing the walk-ons come into the game, knowing the result is already set in stone.

They sit on the bench all night until their number is called, as it would almost never happen in a close battle. Alabama sent the walk-ons into its 90-64 home win over Missouri on Tuesday night, but joining them was Jalil Bethea, a scholarship player who never checked into the game up until there was roughly four minutes remaining in regulation.

The offseason Miami transfer addition has three games of at least 15 minutes on the floor this season, and he's tallied double-digit points in each of them. But Bethea's minutes have decreased over the past couple of weeks due to him not excelling in one of head coach Nate Oats' top priorities.

“So, going into the game, we really just preached defense," Oats said during the postgame press conference. "I just wanted everybody to focus on defense, and I played the guys at the beginning of the game until we built the lead up.

"And part of your defense is also making sure that you take care of the ball. Turnovers have been down. Live ball turnovers don’t really give your defense a chance to even set up.

"So, we looked at defensive leverage numbers — who’s better with them on the floor on the defense and then we count on the guys that have the highest defensive leverage numbers. And that’s what we decided to do tonight.”

Bethea's best game in an Alabama uniform came against UTSA, as finished the game with a team-high 21 points on 6 of 12 from the field, including 5 of 10 from deep. He also grabbed six rebounds, dished two assists and snagged two steals.

It was game that the Crimson Tide had been waiting for from Bethea, but for a different reason than a typical one. Bethes missed the first seven games of the season after suffering a foot injury during a practice in mid-September.

Oats had gushed about Bethea's abilities before the injury, but a heavy majority of his compliments were related to the sophomore's offensive prowess. Fast forward to the day before the Missouri game, Oats discussed the decrease in minutes, and it seems like personal confidence plays a role.

"He's a talented scorer. He needs to stay locked into the defensive end on every possession much better," Oats said. "Then on offense, he's kind of got it take care of the ball. I'd honestly be happier if he shot it more.

"When he turns down shots, it happened [on Tuesday] in practice too, he turned down three open shots, nothing good happens when shooters turn down open shots. Then he takes open shots and he looks pretty good. So he's got to make the right decisions on whether to shoot, pass, drive. He's a great shooter. He needs to shoot every time he's open.

"But really, the bigger issue is he needs to stay locked in on the defensive end for us. He's talented, we know that. When we were at Mississippi State, our numbers were down. We basically had eight guys that could play, we needed him to step up, he stepped up and played pretty well."

You could have all of the offensive talent in the world, but in Nate Oats' system, you better bring it on defense and be consistent on both ends of the floor. Of course, Bethea still have several weeks to improve in these areas.

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