How to watch: Alabama basketball vs. Mississippi State

Could Alabama win titles in both football and basketball this year?

There were times last season when Jahvon Quinerly was Alabama basketball’s top performer during practice. The former McDonald’s All-American was forced to sit out a season after transferring from Villanova, but that didn’t stop him from stealing the spotlight during team workouts. Using his smooth dribbling and distributing, the point guard carved through his teammates, even outshining NBA draft lottery pick Kira Lewis Jr. on occasion.

Quinerly has shown flashes of his five-star talent this season. The redshirt sophomore leads the Crimson Tide with 3.2 assists per game and is second on the team averaging 13.3 points. Tuesday night, he drained a career-high six 3s while helping Alabama to a 105-75 victory over LSU.

However, when starting lineups are announced for Alabama’s game against Mississippi State on Saturday, Quinerly’s name won’t echo out over the loudspeakers inside Coleman Coliseum.

That’s something he’s totally fine with.

“I never really cared about starting,” Quinerly said Friday during a Zoom call with reporters. “I know I’m a 22-year-old redshirt sophomore, but like coming off the bench, I’ve kind of embraced that role.”

Quinerly has made seven starts over 12 appearances this season but has come off the bench during his last seven games. Some of that has to do with a medical condition that kept him out of three games earlier this month. Quinerly also pointed out that his defensive intensity has to improve and that he’s been working on that during practice.

Either way, the shift has been working. Quinerly recorded 22 points against LSU while shooting 6 of 7 from beyond the arc. During Alabama’s SEC opener against Ole Miss, he scored a career-high 24 points off the bench while leading the Tide to an 82-64 victory. In fact, Quinerly is averaging 14.8 points off the bench compared to 12.1 points as a starter.

"He came in and played well off the bench,” Alabama head coach Nate Oats said during his Friday Zoom call. “He shot it well. He came in and gave great energy. A kid as talented as him could choose to have a poor attitude and kind of ruin the chemistry and comradery and really the culture that we built. He hasn’t done that. I think that speaks a lot to his character.”

It’s not like Quinerly’s minutes have been affected either. While blowouts have limited his time on the floor during his last two games, he saw 27 minutes off the bench against Tennessee and 32 minutes off the bench against Ole Miss.

Friday, Oats said playing the five-star talent as a reserve oftentimes gives his team an added boost in the middle of games.

“It’s great to have a guy of his caliber coming off the bench, and he’s played starter’s minutes,” Oats said. “When he gets in, he’s either going against a tired first unit or a second unit. I don’t think either of those are good to stay in front of him off the dribble. He’s taking advantage of all the opportunities he’s getting, and he’s doing great with them.”

Quinelry’s numbers should only continue to increase moving forward. Friday, the point guard was asked about his health status following his recent medical condition, stating that he was “pretty close” to 100 percent.

“I do feel like I’m getting back to playing at a high level again,” Quinerly said. “After the Tennessee game, I was feeling real comfortable, and things were just coming a lot easier for me. Then I got hit with the medical condition, and I had to sit out three games. It’s just like Coach said, trying to get my legs out under me and letting things come to me again.”

If Tuesday night’s performance against LSU is any indication, things are coming back to Quinerly just fine. His big night from beyond the arc is a particularly promising sign. Heading into the game against LSU, Quinerly was a combined 0-for-6 in his two previous games against Tennessee and Arkansas. The star point guard said he didn’t let the small slump affect his confidence while stating that his six 3-pointers against LSU could serve as a spark moving forward.

“Honestly man, I’ve worked on my jump shot so much since I transferred from Villanova,” he said. “I made a lot of shots over the summer, whether we were practicing or shooting. … Like I was telling the guys, ‘Shooters are going to shoot at the end of the day.’ It definitely felt good to hit 6 of 7. That’s how I’ve been shooting over the summer, so I’m kind of used to making shots.”

Alabama (12-3, 7-0) will look to remain undefeated in conference play while extending its winning streak to nine games as it hosts Mississippi State on Saturday at 5 p.m. CT inside Coleman Coliseum. While Quinerly’s name likely won’t be included in the starting lineup, his presence figures to be felt whenever he steps onto the floor.

"He is taking advantage of every opportunity he gets and doing great with them,” Oats said. “He might be a guy that can close tight games for us because he's certainly proved he can by playing so well recently."