The Tide Rolls in Season Debut: Key Takeaways

The Crimson Tide rolled in a 93-64 victory over Louisiana Tech and showed potential to be a Final Four team. Everything clicked. The shooting, the defense, the guard play, and the athleticism all checked the box in this dominating performance. Here are some takeaways from the first win of the season to look at as the Tide looks to make a deep tournament run.

The New Pick and Roll Offense 

The pick and roll serves as a two-edged sword in the Alabama offense. It keeps the ball in our best playmaker’s hands and creates easy shots for the less skilled bigs. Though no one guard had a significant assists night outside of Davison, the high screen and roll unlocked excellent ball movement and quality shots. All the guards showed the ability to make plays for themselves and others in these actions. This adds another dimension to the offense that must be accounted for when game planning against the Tide. It also takes the load off of our iso scorers (Shackelford and Quinerly) to have to get open off the dribble entirely on their own.

The Evolution of Jahvon Quinerly 

Last year Quinerly served as the spark plug off the bench while using his shifty handle and deceptive speed to create dribble penetration and easy opportunities at the basket. This score-first mentality was much needed due to the lack of iso scoring capability in last year’s roster. But in this first game, Quinerly showed an ability to operate as a pure point.

He created accessible opportunities for bigs in pick-and-roll situations, controlled the game’s pace, and made better decisions with the ball. Though the assist numbers won’t show it, Quinerly created good looks from initial passes, resulting in chain reactions and hockey assists.

Defensive Versatility 

Bama’s calling card was the 3, Key, and Speed offense that took the SEC by storm last year. While ranking near the top of the country in pace, 3 point makes, and attempts, many slept on the defensive prowess Nate Oats instilled in the Tide. This game was a great example of how Oat’s constructed a fluid roster that can switch on every screen and keep the ball in front. The swarming defense stifled guards and disrupted the timing of the Louisiana Tech offense. This constant disruption would be continued in both the passing and driving lanes resulting in 9 steals for the Tide. Holding the Bulldogs to 64 points on 38% from the field and 23% from deep is a great start and hopefully can carry on throughout the season.

As seen in last year’s Sweet 16, you can’t dictate if shoots go in, but you can always control effort defensively and put yourself in positions to win by making life harder on the opposing offense and gaining extra possessions from turnovers. If Alabama can continue with this defensive intensity, they’ll be nearly unstoppable.

The Ellis Effect 

Keon Ellis was the leading man in this win. His ability to affect all facets of the game makes him an essential two-way player for Alabama. Ellis is the ideal player to step into a Herb Jones-Esque role as the glue guy for the Crimson Tide. He has the quickness, strength, and versatility to guard 1-3 and occasionally small 4s. Ellis willingly contributed on both the defensive and offensive glass. In addition to being a vital 3&D wing, he contributed as a secondary ball-handler with three assists. Ellis has also Improved his ability to make plays off the dribble while getting to the line 7 times.

Size Could Be an Issue

If there were any chinks in the armor of the Crimson Tide, it would be interior size. This glaring weakness is exacerbated with James Rojas’ torn ACL. Bediako seems susceptible to getting into foul trouble as he adjusts to the athletes’ speed at this level, and Ambrose- Hylton’s inexperience can only be cured with time. The 16 offensive rebounds the Tide gave up will be an issue when playing bigger teams. In addition to that, two out of three players who scored double digits for the Bulldogs were front-court players (Kenny Lofton Jr. and Isiah Crawford).

The Tide has to find a way to get stops on the interior consistently. Going small does create opportunities for trey balls, transition baskets, and offensive fluidity, but Oats will have to circumvent the depth issue in the Front Court.

Future Freshman Phenom 

JD Davison showed flashes of brilliance coming off the bench in the season opener. With 12 points, six rebounds, and six assists, Davison looks to be the next in line at Alabama, aka PGU (Point Guard University), to go in the lottery. Davison showed his extreme athleticism on the break, consistently pushing the tempo to get easy buckets in transition. In the half-court, Davison showed a very high IQ. He operated off the ball with smart relocation and timely cuts. The freshman star was also locked in defensively and proved why he was a top ten recruit in his class.

Next up for the Crimson Tide is a Friday night contest with South Dakota State in Tuscaloosa.