Alabama Basketball: Avery has plenty of options but maybe not all the pieces

Avery Johnson has plenty of options in the 2018-19 Alabama basketball roster. The question is does he have all the necessary pieces.

There are more questions than answers when considering the 2018-19 Alabama basketball roster. There is talent. There is toughness. There is plenty of athletic ability. But Avery has no player with the combination of physical tools and mental toughness to replicate Collin Sexton.

Sexton was more a dynamic player than a true point guard. Even so, he led last season’s team in assists. More important was his fearless disposition. Without Collin Sexton, there would have been no NCAA for Alabama basketball last season.

Player leadership can be shared within a group. But there can be no shortage of ‘take-charge and deliver’ guys on the court. Who becomes those guys for the Tide will not be revealed until games begin.

Some fans think Alabama basketball will be better without Sexton. That argument is based upon Collin’s biggest weakness in not getting his teammates involved. There were multiple times last season when player and ball movement was more crisp with Collin on the bench. He was a great basketball player but was evolving as a point guard.

The 2018-19 Tide needs more than a point guard

When considering a point guard for next season, the loss of Sexton is less of an issue than some may think. Basketball has become more or less a position-less game. Teams have bigs who have skills to play on the wing, at the 4 or as a true center. The less bigs are combo players that can play guard or forward. No one player is regularly responsible for setting and running offensive sets.

For all the new flash and style, some fundamentals remain unchanged. A team must be able to shoot, particularly off the dribble; defend, particularly outside the arc; rebound; make free throws and protect the basketball. Players put those ingredients together, not positions.

Player cohesion is important, maybe even as important as player leadership. Avery is content rotating through 10 or 11 players in a game. Achieving cohesion with such a rotation can be a challenge. Avery views keeping more players involved is valuable enough to risk some inconsistency.

The first inclination for Alabama basketball fans is to wonder does the Tide have a point guard. To the extent it needs one, Avery Johnson Jr. and true freshman Jared Butler, are the most suited to the traditional role. But that is too simplistic an issue.  A better approach is to review last season’s weaknesses and assess how the new roster can improve on last season’s performance.

2017-18 Team Strengths and Weaknesses

Alabama basketball was in the top 100  in Division 1 basketball teams in only six team stats. Two of them (ranked at No. 11 and No. 12) were total shot blocks and average shot blocks per game. The highest ranking for last year’s Tide was No. 11 in free throw attempts. Over thirty percent of the Tide’s foul shots came from Collin Sexton driving to the basket.

The next best stat from last season was No. 51 in field goal defense. The Tide was also No. 62 in three-point defense. The Tide was No. 90 in total team steals,

Now the flip side and remember there were 351, Division 1 teams last season. The worst Tide team stats were No. 290 in assist-to-turnover ratio; No. 298 in turnovers per game; No. 301 in three-point shooting percentage; No. 310 in free-throw percentage; No. 311 in fewest fouls and No. 346 in fewest turnovers.

Can last season’s record be improved?

Improving on last season’s 20-16 record will require marked progress in turnovers, three-point shooting, foul shooting and defensive mistakes leading to fouls.

Avery has a lot of roster talent to use. He also has many team weaknesses to overcome. Transfer Tevin Mack is expected to bring offensive punch, both from perimeter shooting and attacking the basket. John Petty can add plenty of offense if he can play as well on the road as he did at home last season. Riley Norris will inject toughness and composure. Donta Hall will again be an explosive factor inside. Herbert Jones, Alex Reese and Galin Smith should be improved players. Dazon Ingram will continue to present matchup problems for opponents.

Here is the complete 2018-19 basketball roster.

Next: The opposite of rat poison

The record can improve on 20-16 if Avery consistently makes the right decisions in player rotation. He has a lot of pieces to work with, even if no one of those pieces equals what Collin Sexton brought to the team last season.