Alabama Basketball: Jahvon Quinerly is key to deep tournament run

Alabama Basketball: To win the SEC Tournament and have a deep NCAA Tournament run, Jahvon Quinerly must keep up his recent performance.

In the first months of this Alabama Basketball season, Nate Oats was unsatisfied with Jahvon Quinerly’s play. Oats implored the talented Villanova transfer to give more effort on defense. Additionally drawing Oats’ ire was inconsistent offensive performance marred by too frequent, sloppy turnovers.

Oats kept pushing his talented sophomore. It worked. Quinerly is in the running for the SEC 6th Man, Player of the Year Award. Oats prefers having at least one of his best players boost team performance, coming off the bench. In the nine Crimson Tide games since early February, Jahvon Quinerly has scored in double-figures in every game. In his reserve role, he had 16 points in each of the Tide wins over Georgia. Also coming off the bench, Jahvon had 19 points against Mississippi State.

Quinerly is No. 3 in scoring for the Crimson Tide averaging 12.3 points per game. Even without many starts, Quinerly’s minutes are fourth on the team, at an average of 24.3 minutes per game. Now playing better defense, his remaining weakness is turnovers. Adjusted for minutes played, Quinerly and Herbert Jones turn the ball over the most frequently. That stat is somewhat misleading, given how much time both players have the ball in Crimson Tide possessions. Alabama basketball fans are sometimes frustrated with Quinerly sloppy turnovers and excessive dribbling.

Those frustrations aside, Quinerly deserves credit for making key baskets. In the second half of the season, Herbert Jones and Jaden Shackelford have struggled outside the arc. Herbert was making threes at a 50 percent clip. Since February his average has dipped to 38 percent. In the same time period, Jaden Shackelford’s made threes have dropped to 33.1 percent. Shack has seriously struggled in some games. In six of the Tide’s last nine games, Jaden has hit 25 percent or lower from the perimeter. Quinerly has made up the slack and more. Since February, Jahvon is making threes at a 53 percent average.

Keon Ellis has helped coming off the bench with key baskets and tremendous defense. A couple of other players have made key threes in a couple of games. But the main offensive contribution has come from Quinerly. Jahvon has played so well recently, some Alabama basketball fans think he should start instead of Josh Primo. Primo’s offensive production has faded. Over the last 10 Crimson Tide games, Primo has scored five or fewer points, six times. Nate Oats appears to be counting on Primo coming out of his slump.

Even without starting him, Oats counts on Quinerly. In the loss to Missouri, Oats pointed out Jahvon leading the Tide comeback.

"He was an integral part of that comeback. Aggressiveness, getting in the paint, moving the ball around, it was all key to us making that run. I think he’s one of the best PG in the country"

When the Crimson Tide offense is clicking, coupled with an always tough defense, the Tide is tough to beat. In those games, Alabama Basketball can play with any team in the nation. When the offense becomes too stagnant, with threes not falling, Jahvon Quinerly has shown he can be a catalyst. In tournament season, Quinerly needs to be that “best PG” Oats saw against Missouri.

In most Alabama basketball seasons, the prospect of possibly playing Kentucky, Tennessee and Arkansas in the SEC Tournament – looked gloomy. Not this season. The Crimson Tide is capable of handling the Cats and the Vols again. A rematch with the Hogs would be great fun.