TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Herbert Jones isn’t fazed by the 200-plus-pound bodies charging at him in the lane. He doesn’t flinch at the thought of the lanky knees and boney elbows that might come his way in the process.

Instead, the Alabama forward sees the moment as his chance to make his mark on the team.

“We’ve got a lot of scorers,” Jones explained Tuesday, “and I try to be that guy who does something different so I can bring something else to the game.”

Jones’ blue-collar approach is the epitome of the working-class mentality head coach Nate Oats is trying to instill in his team during his first season in charge of the Crimson Tide. Under Oats, Alabama keeps track of “blue-collar points,” a scoring system where deflections, steals, blocks, rebounds and loose balls all count for one point while offensive rebounds are worth 1.5 points, floor dives are worth two points and drawn charges are worth four points.

Each game, the player with the most points receives the “Hard Hat Award,” an actual hard hat which is worn with pride by its recipient. Jones has donned the headgear after seven of Alabama’s 13 games this season. The 6-foot-7, 205-pound wing leads the team with 248.5 “blue-collar points,” topping Alabama with seven dunks while ranking second on the team in deflections (46), charges taken (8) and floor dives (18).

That all-or-nothing effort has garnered Jones respect amongst his coaches and teammates. It’s also helped the Crimson Tide maintain a full-throttle attack which ranks third in the nation in pace of play, averaging 78.9 possessions per 40 minutes. However, it’s taken a toll on Jones’ body. The junior has dealt with an elbow injury all season and was able to complete a full week of practice last week for the first time all year.

Graduate transfer James “Beetle” Bolden, who leads the team with 10 charges taken over 11 games, has also experienced his fair share of bumps and bruises while dealing with injuries to his hand and wrist. It also worth noting that Alabama’s roster is already thin due to season-ending injuries to forwards Juwan Gary (ACL) and James Rojas (ACL) and the denied hardship waiver to transfer guard Jahvon Quinerly.

So how does Alabama plan to balance its hard-nosed style while navigating through a grueling SEC slate over the next few months?

“That’s a good question,” Oats said last week. “Me and Clark (Holter) our trainer have talked about it. Beetle is Beetle. He’s going to be a kamikaze. He’s like a pinball running around out there, getting bounced off everybody. I don’t think you’re going to change him. That’s kind of made him who he is. He’s a tough kid.

“Herb Jones, I mean Herb played for his father in high school, so he’s a coach's son who knows how hard you have to play and plays that hard every time out. I mean, are you going to tell Herb and Beetle not to play hard? You can’t do that.”

Instead of telling his players to tone it down, Oats said he has managed Jones and Bolden differently during practice, limiting them on certain reps to avoid unnecessary knocks. That has seemed to work as both players are slowly returning to 100 percent as the meat of Alabama’s schedule approaches.

However, wear and tear isn’t the only thing the Crimson Tide need to keep an eye on when practicing its aggressive style. During its SEC-opening loss to Florida over the weekend, Alabama got into serious foul trouble as two of its big men — Galin Smith and Javian Davis — fouled out, leaving Jones to man the post position with forward Alex Reese sick on the bench.

Alabama was made to pay for its lack of discipline as Florida's size advantage allowed the Gators to dominate the rebounding battle over the two extra periods.

“You’ve got to have a balance,” Smith said. “You’ve got to make sure you’ve got your hands out, show your hands on each play but still go hard every time.”

Smith and Davis, Alabama’s two biggest post players, lasted a combined 29 minutes out of the 50 minute game. That will have to improve Wednesday as the duo will be needed against a Mississippi State team that ranks second in the conference and No. 18 nationally averaging 13.46 offensive rebounds per game.

The Bulldogs are led by preseason All-SEC first-teamer Reggie Perry, the only player in the conference who averages a doule-double at 15.9 points and 10.0 rebounds per game. The 6-foot-10 forward leads the league in both rebounds and offensive rebounds per game (3.5) and ranks 10th in scoring average.

Mississippi State also features another towering forward in 6-foot-11 redshirt junior Abdul Ado, who averages 5.7 points and 6.8 rebounds while providing plenty of length on the defensive end.

“Coming into this game, coaches put a lot of emphasis on us boxing out and rebounding,” Smith said. “They are elite rebounders on that team, so we just got to make sure that we’re just team rebounding and go get them.”

The positive news for Alabama is that Wednesday’s game will be held at home. While Crimson Tide players made sure not to blame the outcome of their loss to Florida on officiating, they acknowledged that calls don’t always go their way on the road.

Jones said the big crowds at SEC games often have a way of influencing referees. It’s why the savvy veteran often saves his patented drawn charges for the floor inside Coleman Coliseum.

“I try to kind of fall before (the defender) gets there, so it makes it look a little badder (than) what it was,” Jones admitted with a smirk.

There’s a good chance Jones will hit the hardwood a few times Wednesday as Alabama (7-6, 0-1 in the SEC) takes on Mississippi State (9-4, 0-1) in its conference home opener at 6 p.m. CT. The Crimson Tide’s hope is that grit will help grind out a much-needed victory without coming at to much of a cost to its current roster.

“I’m just doing what I can for the team. Not being selfish, giving up my body for the team,” Jones said. “It’s just playing defense, really. It’s just kind of second nature to me now.”

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