The most divisive addition for Alabama basketball this season was Kentucky transfer Brandon Garrison. The senior big man frustrated Wildcats fans for two seasons with a hot-and-cold motor, leading to inconsistent play.
One night, Garrison would look like one of the league's best bigs. The next, he would be unplayable.
Alabama got a taste of that with his up-and-down play during the Tide's three exhibition games.
But in Tuesday night's season-opener - a 96-74 win over Sam Houston - Alabama got the version of Garrison it needs every single night to be a real threat in the SEC race and with bigger goals in mind for March Madness.
A quick look at the box score, and you might think I'm crazy. Garrison scored just 9 points on 3-of-7 shooting with 4 rebounds in 17 minutes. But he added 5 stocks (steals + blocks) and led Alabama with 10 deflections, racking up the blue-collar points and earning the first hard hat of the season for the Crimson Tide:
Tonight’s Hard Hat Award Winner presented by @mcabeeinc: Brandon Garrison #RollTide | #BlueCollarBasketball pic.twitter.com/SxdUHW7uUk
— Alabama Men’s Basketball (@AlabamaMBB) November 4, 2026
Nate Oats raves about Brandon Garrison's performance in Alabama's win over Sam Houston
A hot shooting night by Sam Houston (15-of-33 from three) will mask that Alabama's defense was everything it was advertised to be in the preseason. The length and versatility were obvious, and Sam Houston struggled to get anything easy at the rim, finishing the game 10-of-32 from inside the three-point line.
Alabama's ball pressure and ability to get their hands into passing lanes flustered the Bearkats, who turned the ball over 23 times. That was via 17 Crimson Tide steals. Alabama also blocked 10 shots.
The 23 turnovers are the most forced by an Oats-coached team in Tuscaloosa, and the most for the program since 2012.
Nate Oats believed that Garrison was the head of the snake on Tuesday night:
“I thought it was led by Brandon Garrison’s pressure on their bigs, the kind of way they play through the bigs at the top," Oats said regarding Alabama forcing so many turnovers. "And Brandon’s athleticism, defensive intensity, and effort really, to me, led the way. He got us going. You look, we’ve got the analytics box score. They give me an offensive-defensive leverage. Like, are we better when you’re in the game on offense or defense. There’s three guys that were positive on both sides of the ball. And Brandon was one of them. Brandon, Drew, and then Amari."
Forcing turnovers has not been something Alabama has been good at in recent seasons. Alabama ranked 248th in steal percentage last season and 317th the year before. It's a big reason for the defensive struggles. Alabama hasn't put enough pressure on ball handlers and gotten takeaways.
That can also lead to easy offense. That was needed on a night the Tide shot just 32% from three. Alabama did most of its damage in transition, scoring an obscene 41 fast-break points. With how athletic this team is, getting out in transition has to be a priority because they can do some serious damage in the open floor.
One game is a small sample size and often produces flukes. But if Alabama's defense is real, and Garrison can give the kind of consistent effort we saw last night, then the ceiling for this team is incredibly high.
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