Alabama Basketball: Jahvon Quinerly providing veteran leadership from Memphis

The Alabama Basketball team picked up a massive win both in the conference and nationally Wednesday night against Auburn. The team got a massive contribution from Rylan Griffin who came off the bench for the team yet, scored 17 points with seven rebounds, a block, and an assist. Griffin helped give the Crimson Tide a massive lead in the first half with his 14 points on four of five shooting from three helping the Alabama Basketball team a 44-30 lead at the half.

After the game, Griffen gave his perspective on coming off of the bench saying the following:

"I got a better feel for the game coming off the bench. I saw where we needed improvement."

- Rylan Griffen

Nate Oats shared an interesting tidbit about Griffen after the game as well, noting that Griffen spoke with former Alabama Basketball guard Jahvon Quinerly about what it was like for Quinerly transitioning to a sixth-man role. The move worked for Quinerly last season with the guard averaging 8.7 points per game and 3.6 assists per game resulting in Quinerly winning the SEC's sixth man of the year award.

Griffen transitioning to the sixth man role full-time could help elevate the Alabama Basketball team to a National Championship contender. The team has desperately needed a consistent scorer off of the bench to help spell Mark Sears who's been forced to carry the scoring load so far. The move should also help Griffen and his career as it allows for Griffen to become the first option scoring while players like Estrada and Sears are off the court.

Alabama Basketball: Tide answered the bell

Heading into the Iron Bowl of Basketball, Nate Oats publicly challenged his team using the media to send a message to his players on what he thought about their effort and toughness. The tactic seemingly worked for Oats as his team overcame adversity with the lighting outage at Coleman Coliseum, building a first-half lead that all but secured the game. Now the Alabama Basketball team will need to keep the high intensity heading into the weekend matchup with LSU who'll be looking to send a message of their own.

Note: Stats via ESPN