TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Jahvon Quinerly’s recent shooting woes are a bit of a head-scratcher.
Literally.
Following a miss on an open 3-point attempt during the second half of No. 4 Alabama basketball’s 91-88 victory over Memphis on Tuesday night, the point guard put both hands behind his head and let out a sigh of despair.
Entering his fifth and final season, Quinerly hasn’t gotten off to the start he was hoping for when he returned from an ACL injury against South Alabama on Nov. 5.
Through eight games, he’s averaging 6.4 points while shooting 28.1% from the floor, the lowest percentage among Alabama’s scholarship players. That’s a far cry from the production he provided when he earned MVP honors during the 2021 SEC Tournament or even last season when he finished second on the team averaging 13.8 points while making 41.1% of his shots.
Quinerly’s early struggles could become even more of an issue moving forward as Alabama announced Tuesday that it will be without starting guard Nimari Burnett for the next six to eight weeks due to a broken wrist. Still, the Crimson Tide isn’t panicking over the senior’s slow start just yet.
“He’s got to get some reps in and get his confidence back,” said Alabama head coach Nate Oats, who noted that Quinerly has only been able to practice for the past month after tearing his ACL last March. “We’re going to keep working with him, helping him. Maybe we’ll get some highlights of him playing really well from a couple of years ago.”
Tuesday night’s game against Memphis was supposed to be an opportunity for Quinerly to break out of his funk. Oats said he thought the way the Tigers open the floor would allow his struggling point guard to get back to his downhill style of play.
Quinerly had moments where that was the case as he provided a few nice passes in the win while finishing tied for the team lead with five assists. However, he still shot 2 of 9 from the floor en route to a 7-point night.
Fortunately for Alabama, it’s still in a position to be patient with its star guard. The Crimson Tide ranks second in the SEC averaging 83.0 points, an impressive clip considering two of its 10 games have come against top-15 defenses.
Even with a struggling Quinerly, Alabama still has a pair of freshman phenoms in forwards Brandon Miller and Noah Clowney as well as a dependable veteran guard in Mark Sears. The Crimson Tide is also starting to get more production from freshman guard Jaden Bradley, who recorded 10 points and five assists in his first career start Tuesday night.
Quinerly is aware of that help, and unlike earlier in his career, he isn’t shy to turn to it on the court. Earlier this week, Oats said he got goosebumps following Alabama’s win at previously top-ranked Houston over the weekend as Quinerly embraced him, gushing over the team’s upset despite scoring just 4 points on 1 of 6 shooting against the Cougars. Tuesday, the two spoke again with Quinerly expressing even more confidence in his teammates.
“He knows we’ve got maybe the most talented offensive team around him that he’s ever been played with. He made the statement to me,” Oats said following the game. “So he knows he has shooters. From what I’ve heard from him, I don’t think he feels the pressure like he did last year.”
That faith goes both ways.
“Just keep shooting,” Sears said of his message to the Quinerly. “We all preach keep shooting. If you’re open, keep shooting. It doesn’t matter if you miss three in a row, just keep shooting. That’s how much confidence we’ve got in each other.”
Quinerly’s next opportunity to shake his slow start will come Saturday when Alabama takes on Gonzaga inside Birmingham’s Legacy Arena. Quinerly recorded 17 points and a team-high six assists during the Crimson Tide’s 91-82 victory over the Bulldogs in Seattle last season.
“He’s just got to get his confidence back,” Oats said. “We need him to have one really good game here and get him rolling again.”
