TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Alabama basketball will square off against another familiar face on Wednesday as it travels to take on Nick Pringle and South Carolina.
Pringle, who spent two years in Tuscaloosa and started for the Crimson Tide’s Final Four team last year, is off to a solid start for the Gamecocks. The Seabrook, South Carolina native has started all 14 games this season and is averaging a career-best 10.4 points and 6.4 rebounds while shooting 66.7% from the floor.
“They obviously play different from us. They play through the post more,” Alabama head coach Nate Oats said Tuesday when asked what he’s seen from Pringle this season. “He gets more post touches, and he’s been pretty good with them. I see some stuff he did for us that he’s doing for them, probably helping their offense a little bit.”
Pringle’s success comes after a late-season resurgence last year, as he recorded double-digit scoring in eight of nine appearances leading up to the NCAA Tournament. From there he helped the Tide punch its first-ever ticket to the Final Four by putting up 16 points and 11 rebounds during a win over Clemson.
“He was great for us in the Final Four run. He had really great games for us here over his two years here," Oats said. "It'll be good to see him. He's playing well for them as the second-leading scorer in the frontcourt.”
Wednesday will mark the third time Alabama will face a member of last season’s Final Four team. The Tide recorded a 98-77 preseason win over Davin Cosby and Wake Forest back in October before blowing out Mo Wague and Oklahoma, 107-79, to open SEC play over the weekend. Cosby recorded 12 points and a pair of rebounds over 18 minutes, while Wague had 2 points and a rebound over five minutes.
So far going up against former players hasn’t been an issue for Alabama. While the former players might have an insight into the Tide’s scheme, the scouting advantage goes both ways when it comes to matchups on the floor.
“Nick's a smart player, he's going to know our play calls," Oats said of Pringle. “We've got some new stuff, but probably 80 percent of it is what we were doing last year. ..I'm sure he's going to alert them to it and they're going to be a little more prepared than some other teams may be. But we've got new personnel. We play so much in the flow anyway. We're not calling a set unless there's a dead ball typically. It does present a few challenges.
“I've talked to our team and said 'I don't care whether the other team knows what we're going to run, we have to run it correctly.' So, if they know what we're doing, that's great. We know how to attack every different type of coverage, so if they're going to cover one way we're gonna attack it, and the guys have got to make the right read.”
While Pringle is off to a nice start, his replacement at Alabama is also beginning to hit his stride. Cliff Omoruyi is coming off arguably his best performance of the season, recording 10 points and seven rebounds on 5 of 5 shooting during the Tide’s win over Oklahoma. The Rutgers transfer has started all 14 games for Alabama, averaging 7.2 points and 6.2 rebounds.
Oats said he’s still looking for Omoruyi to improve his defense protecting the lane on ball screens and pick and rolls to avoid easy buckets at the rim. That will be especially crucial against South Carolina who boasts a formidable frontcourt of Pringle and projected NBA lottery pick Collin Murray-Boyles.
“He’s been good, but there’s a lot of room for improvement,” Oats said of Omoruyi. “And he can help us get a lot better as a team moving forward.”
Alabama (12-2, 1-0 in the SEC) and South Carolina (10-4, 0-1) are set to tip off at 6 p.m. CT on Wednesday inside Colonial Life Arena. The game will be televised on SEC Network.
