Braxton Key coming on strong for Crimson Tide basketball team
The University of Alabama men's basketball team is heading into the pressurized part of its season, including a Thursday night home game against Georgia. With NCAA Tournament hopes faint - but existent - the Crimson Tide is relying on several players that haven't faced such crucial situations at the major college level before, including guards Dazon Ingram and ArMond Davis and, especially, the team's leading scorer and No. 2 rebounder, freshman Braxton Key.
A 6-foot-8 forward who is versatile enough to bring the ball up under pressure for the Crimson Tide, Key has been a crucial addition for UA. This won't be his first time to face pressure, either. In 2016, Key led his prep school, mighty Oak Hill Academy, to the National High School Championship and hit the two free throws that lifted Oak Hill over La Lumiere Prep in the title game. Before that, Key was a two-time state of Tennessee Mr. Basketball at Christ Presbyterian Academy in Nashville, where he played for former Vanderbilt star Drew Maddux. But as prolific as Key was on the court, it was his off-the-court demeanor that impressed Maddux the most.
"Braxton (then known as Braxton Blackwell) came to us when his family moved from Atlanta in his eighth-grade year," Maddux recalled in a telephone interview. "We obviously knew we were getting a young man with a ton of potential. But as gifted as he was as a basketball player, he was also an incredible young man. He was polite, articulate and respectful."
Maddux cited one incident to illustrate Key's poise.
"The way things work in Tennessee, they introduce the finalists for Mr. Basketball at the state tournament in Murfreesboro," Maddux said. "The three finalists get called onto the floor after the game.
"Now, we (Christ Presbyterian) are probably the most hated team in Tennessee because we've been blessed to have success over the past several years. So when Braxton was announced, the other fans started to boo - loudly. But I saw one of the most amazing things I've ever seen from a 16-year old young man. He walked out, shook hands with the other players, shook hands with the lady awarding the trophies and walked off the court as if nothing had happened.
"Everyone here, from the headmaster down, was affected by it. So a few days later, we had a surprise pep rally and the entire student body was there to give him the ovation he deserved."
Key was being recruited by Alabama's previous staff under Anthony Grant and also by assistant coach Bob Simon, who was at Providence but had recruited another CPA player to the Friars.
"When Coach Simon went to Alabama, that sort of meshed and then, after Braxton had signed, Alabama added John Pelphrey, who had recruited Braxton for Florida. So that all came together.
"He's a great teammate and I'm sure he's a delight for Coach Avery (Johnson) just like he was here."
Key generally defers praise to his teammate and focuses conversation about himself on areas where he could improve, like rebounding or free throw shooting. But Johnson said on Wednesday that Key - and his other newcomers - were responding well.
"I really look at how they are processing information," Johnson said. "How are they handling the things we work on in practice? For instance, Dazon is handling the ball much better recently.
"Braxton has come a long way since December, like all of our young guys. We aren't perfect but I like where he is, where we all are, physically and mentally."
Alabama will be facing Georgia for the second time this season after posting an 80-60 win in Jan. 25 in Athens, a game in which Key poured in 26 points.
The Bulldogs will also be without their top inside player, center Yante Maten, who sprained a knee in last Saturday's game with Tennessee.
The ever-cautious Avery Johnson said he would "believe it when I see it" regarding Maten's absence, not to contradict Georgia coach Mark Fox but because, Johnson said, "you have to prepare for that 10 or 20 percent chance of a recovery." He also noted that Georgia was "still a very dangerous team" behind the scoring prowess of guard J.J. Frazier, who scored 36 points in the Bulldogs' five-point loss to Kentucky last Saturday.
Reach Cecil Hurt at cecil@tidesports.com or 205-722-0225.
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