Alabama basketball has one of the best starting fives in college hoops with junior Mark Sears and freshman Jaden Bradley in the backcourt and freshmen forwards Brandon Miller and Noah Clowney flanking sophomore center Charles Bediako in the frontcourt.
Depth is important in college basketball, particularly in the postseason, and the Crimson Tide have plenty of impactful players coming off the bench as well. Bama has won its five conference games by an average margin of 23.2 points, so bench minutes are plentiful. However, Alabama’s backups have shown that they provide much more than garbage time contributions.
The Crimson Tide got 50 bench points, including 10 three-pointers, from its bench in the rout over LSU this past weekend.
Jahvon Quinerly hit four of those threes, finishing with 12 points and four assists. Quinerly has had an up and down season coming off of a torn ACL, but he is still one of the best guards in the SEC at his best.
It is an invaluable luxury for Nate Oats to have a player like Quinerly coming off the bench. Without him, Alabama basketball is still a top-10 team in the nation. He has the ability to step in and make shots at a high clip, and is also an outstanding passer, so his presence exponentially raises the ceiling of the team. Despite playing limited minutes, Quinerly has scored in double figures five times and also recorded five or more assists five times.
Freshman wing Rylan Griffen has also played an important role, adding 12 points and six rebounds against LSU. Injuries have kept players like Nimari Burnett, Dom Welch, and Darius Miles out of the lineup for extended stretches this season.
Griffen has filled in admirably, averaging 5.8 points and scoring in double figures three times. He is only shooting the three at a 26 percent clip, but he is a confident shooter whose percentage should rise with time. Griffen has made at least one three-pointer in 11 of his 17 appearances this season.
Noah Gurley and Nick Pringle provide a huge boost to the Alabama frontcourt. Bama already has an imposing starting front line, with Charles Bediako and Noah Clowney manning the glass and protecting the rim. Gurley and Pringle give Coach Oats the option to rest his starters without much of a drop-off down low.
Gurley is a fifth-year senior with lots of playing experience. The former Furman transfer has started 98 college basketball games in his career. An undersized big that can occasionally stretch the floor, most of Gurley’s value lies in doing the little things on the floor. He has scored in double figures three times this season.
Junior Nick Pringle is a JUCO transfer that adds some vertical pop to the Alabama frontcourt. Pringle plays just eight minutes per game and rarely posts impressive numbers, but his physicality and athleticism jump off the screen when he is on the floor.
Pringle also knows himself very well. The 6’9” forward rarely takes shots away from the basket, which has resulted in him shooting an absurd 94.4 percent (17-18) from the field. Nick Pringle is a fan favorite who is always good for a highlight-reel dunk, and he has upped his game in recent weeks. In the last six games, Pringle has gone 13-13 from the field and scored in double figures three times.
Alabama basketball has surpassed expectations all year, causing the fan base to constantly recalibrate its outlook. At the current moment, Bama looks like it could possibly be a national championship caliber team. If it goes that far, the bench will have played a massive role.