10 things we learned from Alabama basketball's first practice

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — The Alabama basketball team held its first official practice of the 2019-20 season Tuesday. The media was able to watch roughly 30 minutes of the workout. Here are 10 things we learned.

Following Tuesday’s workout, Nate Oats vowed he’d have his team in shape by the season-opener against Penn on Nov. 5. Judging by practice No. 1, it's a safe bet the head coach will stay true to his word.

“It’s way more active,” junior guard John Petty Jr. said. “Like every drill. The drills don’t be that long, it’s just there are a lot of them and they’re back-to-back-to-back. (Oats) just keeps a buzz going. He keeps you loose, he keeps you moving. So it’s hard to just stand around out here.”

Oats’ practices feature a series of quick games to create competitiveness. Players on the losing team have to run a sprint or do pushups while the winning team earns a rare break.

“We play games to eight or whatever, two stops or however it is,” Oats said. “If you win, you go to the free-throw line, shoot a free throw. If you make the free throw it goes on the board for a win for the day. If you miss the free throw, you’ve got to do 10 pushups. If you lose the game, you have to sprint down and back.”

Alabama’s assistants have also got in on the action, voluntarily joining players during pushups.

“The coaches, if the kid misses the free throw they’ve been doing 10 with the team. If the kid hits the free throw they’ve been doing five,” Oats said. “We’re trying to keep practice fast-paced. I’m going to have to tell them they have to get their pushups done a little bit faster. We’ve got to get on to the next drill.”

All four of Alabama’s true freshmen were in action Tuesday. Following practice, Oats provided a breakdown for each of them.

Jaylen Forbes, guard: “He’s a little sluggish. I’ve talked to him about getting better rest, getting better treatment from (team trainer) Clarke (Holter)… Forbes will get there. He took a big charge in a defensive drill earlier.”

Jaden Shackelford, guard: “Shack’s been really good. His body was ready for college. His stamina was ready. We did a VO2 max testing with (team strength and conditioning) coach (Mike) Snowden and he was at the top. He’s in great shape and goes really hard. His deal is he’s used to being by far and away the best player on his team. So now he’s just going to learn to play with four other really good players. Sometimes in high school, him shooting a bad shot was the best shot his team was gonna get in high school. That’s not the case here. But his attitude has been great. He’s learning how to make the reads and stuff.

Juwan Gary, forward: Juwan is playing really hard. I think you guys were in here, he had a couple blocks in transition. He’s just so athletic and his physicality gives him something.

Raymond Hawkins, forward/center: Ray has got big upside. He’s behind Galin, behind Javian (Davis). We could even play (Alex) Reese some at the five. So he’s kind of behind all those guys, but he’s got upside. He makes plays here and there that show you how good he could be when he puts it all together.”

Alabama is still waiting for the NCAA to pass a ruling on Villanova transfer Jahvon Quinerly’s eligibility. The five-star sophomore point guard joined the Crimson Tide this summer and has submitted a waiver to play immediately this season.

“Everything’s submitted,” Oats said. “We’re just waiting on the NCAA. Hopefully, we hear something sooner rather than later, but no update as of now.”

Quinerly practiced with the team Tuesday, running the point opposite of starting point guard Kira Lewis Jr.

“We really don’t look into (the eligibility),” Lewis said. “We just take it one day at a time. Come in get better, play basketball, hang with each other off the court. When the time comes for his eligibility, we’ll see then.”

Graduate transfer James ‘Beetle’ Bolden was at practice Tuesday but has yet to be cleared to work with the team. Following the workout, Oats said the former West Virginia point guard got his shoulder cleaned up a little bit over the summer” and should be cleared in a “couple weeks.”

Bolden was West Virginia’s second-highest scorer last season, averaging 12.2 points per game. He led the Mountaineers averaging 1.1 steals and was tied for the team lead with 2.5 assists per game. Bolden is the only senior on Alabama’s roster.

James Rojas, Alabama’s other incoming transfer, was present during practice despite suffering a torn ACL which will keep him out for the season. Rojas, a 6-foot-8, 215-pound forward, was a two-time National Junior College Athletic Association All-American at Hutchinson (Kan.) Community College. During his sophomore season last year, he averaged 18.8 points and 6.8 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game while shooting 50.4 percent from the floor and 38.4 percent from beyond the arc.

Following Tuesday’s practice, Oats said he had planned on using Rojas at the four position. However, the head coach is confident he will still have plenty of pieces to work with moving forward.

“Reese is already kind of our perfect four because he can shoot it and space the floor, Oats said. “He’s playing really well. So Reese is gonna play minutes there. We played smaller in Buffalo where we bumped out. If you looked at the teams we started the last two years there, we either started two point guards and a combo guard, or a point guard and two combo guards… Herb Jones can play the four. Petty’s got size and can bump down. Those guys can bump down when we play small.

“But we can also go big and put Javian (Davis) a little bit at the four. Because Rojas was really gonna play, like, the four for us because we really wanted to play more skill. Javian’s gonna be a skilled player on the perimeter a little bit."

Speaking of Javian Davis, the redshirt freshman continued to receive praise Tuesday. The 6-foot-9 forward sat out last season with a knee injury but made significant strides this offseason, dropping 26 pounds down to 242 pounds to better contribute in Oats’ fast-paced system. This season, he will be relied on to provide size off the bench.

“He’s been tremendous,” Petty said. “From the first day he got here all the way to now, it’s like a whole different person. He’s slimmed up. He’s gotten stronger. His footwork’s getting better. He’s working on his shot. We’re looking to see something special from him this year.”

Alabama was without two of its veteran players Tuesday as Herbert Jones (shoulder) and Galin Smith (ankle) were both withheld from action. Oats gave an update on both players, calling them “day-to-day.”

On Smith: “Galin was good. But then he rolled his ankle, tweaked it a little bit early, before you guys got to practice… He’s day-to-day. He may be back tomorrow from what Clarke said.”

On Jones: “Herb practiced yesterday in our skills workout but he bruised his shoulder. Kind of a nagging injury he’s got. So Clarke held him out today just to give him a day recovery. He’s day-to-day and I anticipate he’ll be back tomorrow. If not tomorrow, he’ll be back the following day.”

Alabama has taped out a “4-point line” on its practice court as Oats looks to get his team more comfortable with perimeter shooting while also creating space on the floor. Several Alabama players pulled up from deep during the workout.

So who’s the best from way out?

“We have a lot of good shooters,” Lewis said, “but I’d have to say Jaylen Forbes or Jaden Shakelford."

Lewis, who turned 18 in April, was the youngest active player in Division I basketball last season. This year, the sophomore is looking to draw on that experience in order to help his freshman teammates.

“I just feel like my experience from last year will help the new guys coming in,” he said. “Coach wants me to be more of a leader than I was last year, so I feel like I take more responsibility in helping guys out for this coming season."

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