Florida State transfer Taylor Bol Bowen has endured a lot of criticism in his first season with Alabama basketball. A lot of that has come from his head coach, who was not shy about calling him out publicly early in the season, and a lot more from the Tide's fanbase.
But while the criticism from the fans hasn't tailed off, it has from Nate Oats. In fact, Oats has been consistently complimentary about Bol Bowen recently, and that's in spite of some rough offensive outings.
Bol Bowen is just 7-of-28 (25%) from the floor during SEC play and just 4-of-18 (22%) from three. And yet, he's been having an impact for the Crimson Tide in spite of his scoring struggles, thanks to his effort on the glass and on the defensive end.
All you can control in basketball is the effort you bring to the table. And Bol Bowen has consistently been bringing a lot of energy, and that's in spite of playing with an injured hand.
"He's really been playing well for about a month -- over a month," Oats said about Bol Bowen. "His hand, he went through the injury and was a warrior and just played through it. Only missed one game.
"Taylor's gonna come out and have one of those offensive games where he just lights it up. It's coming."
Nate Oats predicts a big offensive game on the horizon for Taylor Bol Bowen
Bol Bowen's rebounding has been key for Alabama recently. After not getting double-digit boards in any of his first 13 games this season, the FSU transfer has corralled 10 rebounds in two of the last four games. That included a team-leading 10 in Tuesday night's win over Missouri.
The hand injury has undoubtedly had an impact on his shooting. He hit 41% from his three-pointers a year ago in Tallahassee. He's only at 29% so far this season. He was at a more respectable 33% in non-conference play. That's still shy of the mark he was at last year for the Seminoles, but it's on much higher volume, too.
With Charles Bediako's addition to the frontcourt, there's less pressure on Bol Bowen on the interior. He's more of a perimeter player anyway, a 3-4 hybrid. He's spent all of his minutes until recently in the paint, even playing up as the five-man in a lot of rotations, thanks to Noah Williamson's struggles and Alabama's lack of frontcourt depth.
If his overall effort can remain the same, and he can break out of his shooting funk, then he'll start looking a lot more like the player Alabama fans thought he was going to be when the Tide landed him in the Transfer Portal.