It wasn’t always pretty, but Alabama took care of business in the season opener, besting Sam Houston St. by a score of 96-74.
The first half was as sloppy as you’d expect for a team playing without a point guard. Alabama turned the basketball over seven times and shot rather poorly, mostly because the offense wasn’t in any kind of rhythm. The good news is that the length on defense was evident, harassing the Bearkats into 11 turnovers and holding them to 30% from the field while blocking seven shots.
As a result, the Tide took a 40-29 lead into the locker room.
London Jemison led the way with 11 points on perfect 4-4 shooting, Tarris Bouie added seven points and four boards, and Drew Fielder contributed six and four. Amari Allen and Cole Cloer both had first halves to forget, particularly Cloer who missed all four of his three point attempts, including an airball. Sam Houston St. made a concerted effort to stay in Cole’s hip pocket at all times.
Jaxon Richardson provided the highlight of the half.
Alabama came out of the locker room with the same energy on the defensive end, and was able to turn it into some transition points. A few shots started falling, and the Tide had stretched it out beyond 20 in short order. Watching these guys compete on the defensive end is exciting, and the offense looked quite a bit smoother when Anderson Diaz was in the game.
Jemison led the way tonight, but the freshmen continue to impress. Richardson, Bouie, Diaz, and Qayden Samuels all played with high effort and look like ideal scheme fits. Brandon Garrison has a little bit of offensive game in the post that we haven’t seen in recent years. Drew Fielder knocked down a couple of threes and was active on the glass. Allen didn’t have his best night shooting the ball, but he got to the rack several times. Jamarion Davis-Fleming and Keitenn Bristow were both seen collecting blue collar points.
Allen tried to do a bit too much at times, and needs to trust his very capable teammates more. Cole Cloer just had a terrible time after two stellar showings in the preseason, and should bounce back.
Watching this team play, knowing that Aden Holloway will soon be added to the mix, should be quite exciting for Alabama fans. The rotation probably won’t continue to go as deep as it did tonight, but Nate is able to throw athletes on the floor in waves. So far, so good.
Next up is Arkansas State on Friday night.
Roll Tide.
