TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Times are good for the Alabama basketball team. The Crimson Tide has reeled off four straight wins, the last two coming without start point guard Collin Sexton who has been out with an abdominal injury.
Keep in mind Alabama didn’t win three consecutive SEC games all of last season. Adding to the feat, Alabama’s last two games have come against No. 17 Auburn and Mississippi State — two teams in the hunt for an NCAA Tournament berth.
Just don’t get too confident. And whatever you do, don’t tell Alabama head coach Avery Johnson his team is “on a roll.”
During Johnson’s Monday news conference, one reporter made the mistake of bringing up the phrase when asking about Alabama’s recent run. The head coach wasted no time shooting down the notion.
“Here we go again,” Johnson said bursting into laughter. “Here we go again, on a roll. How are we on a roll?”
Johnson admits this year’s team offers more quality depth than last year’s and says that's a big reason for much of the Crimson Tide’s success this season. However, he isn’t completely satisfied, pointing out that talent can only take a team so far.
“We are little deeper in terms of talent, but talent shows up when talent does their job,” Johnson said. “If you are a 3-point shooter, it’s not just about taking 3s, it’s making them. If you’re a good rebounder, rebound. If you are supposed to set a screen and you’re talented enough to set a screen as a big guy and run the floor, set screens.”
Despite Alabama’s success, Johnson has called for more consistency and discipline from his team. That was never as clear as in the Crimson Tide’s most recent victory, a 68-62 win over Mississippi State. In that game, Alabama jumped out to a 41-22 lead at the break before squandering that lead late in the second half.
Mississippi State tied the game on three separate occasions, the latest coming with 1:37 remaining. However, the Bulldogs were unable to finish the comeback as Alabama pulled away late. While Alabama’s resiliency to keep its poise under adversity was commended by its head coach the performance as a whole left a lot to desired.
“We had 18 minutes of really good basketball. Good teams on the NCAA level in terms of tournament-type teams, they play 32 minutes of good basketball,” Johnson said. “We just need that next level of maturity of shot selection and discipline and technique and all those things that make you successful.”
For Alabama, that will take time. With junior forward Donta Hall (wrist) playing in a limited role the past two games, the only other active upperclassmen on the Crimson Tide’s roster is junior point guard Avery Johnson Jr.
Alabama has also had to deal with several injuries as it lost senior Riley Norris for the season with a hip injury. Sophomore forward Braxton Key missed the first 10 games with a meniscus injury, and Sexton is currently sidelined with an abdominal injury.
Johnson said Hall was able to return to full-contact practice on Monday and should be ready for Tuesday’s game at Ole Miss. Sexton is still being evaluated by the team and will be a game-time decision. Alabama (13-6, 5-2 in the SEC) will play Ole Miss (10-9, 3-4) at 7:30 p.m. CT on SEC Network.
While Johnson said his team is still “another level or two” from reaching its peak potential, he continues to take a game-by-game approach. That means not overreacting to inexperienced success but also avoiding complacency during recent success.
“I think it takes more patience on my part so that the message is crystal clear,” Johnson said. “Like I told them, I’m not trying to be right, I just need them to respond to what we’re teaching. If they do that with their talent we’ll have a really good basketball team.
“Maybe sometime in the future we can be on a roll.”
