Of the many concerning things we saw Tuesday night in Athens, the most concerning is Amari Allen not showing up for a second straight game.
For a majority of this season, he has been a stat stuffer across the board, but the last two games have been rather disappointing. It may have been lost in the shuffle last Saturday in Knoxville after the big comeback win, but Allen was one of seven from the field, only had one rebound, and one assist. Fast forward to Tuesday night against Georgia, and he was again one of seven from the field with only one rebound and one assist. Before this two-game struggle, he put up 23 points, 16 points, and 19 points in the previous three games.
I am not sure if he has hit a late-season freshman wall, but Alabama will need more from him in the season finale against Auburn and, more importantly, the two upcoming tournaments if this team is going to make deep runs in either. He does not have to be the leading scorer, but Alabama is much better when Amari scores in double digits and has a solid number of rebounds and assists. He has had a very solid freshman campaign, but we need him more than ever as we get to the most important parts of the season.
I am not sure if Nate Oats and the coaching staff have to sit down with him, but obviously, something has been amiss as of late, and that has to be figured out, or there will be early disappointing ends in both the conference and NCAA tournament. Legacies are defined by what someone does in March, and Amari Allen can start to set his tournament legacy in the last home game against arch-rival Auburn. On the Plains, he had a 17-point, six-rebound, and four-assist performance. Hopefully, a similar stat line at home against this same team will help him get his swagger back before Alabama heads to Nashville.