On Tuesday night, Avery Johnson and the Alabama men’s basketball team hosted their version of Midnight Madness, the SUPE Store Tide Tipoff, at Coleman Coliseum.
The Tide expect to field one of their stronger squads in years with the addition of five-star guards Collin Sexton and John Petty, as well as returning starters Dazon Ingram, Braxton Key, Riley Norris, and Donta Hall.
The team also looks to be one of the deepest in years, with a potential 11-man rotation.
At the event, both the women’s and men’s teams were featured, with the women’s team holding a three-point contest and the men’s team held a full scrimmage and ended off the night with a slam dunk contest that rocked the crowd in attendance.
Here are some observations from the 20-minute-long scrimmage:
– The “White” squad was comprised of Avery Johnson Jr., Riley Norris (who was out with a hip injury), Braxton Key, John Petty, Dazon Ingram, Daniel Giddens, and Lawson Schaffer.
– The “Crimson” squad was comprised of Collin Sexton, Alex Reese, Herb Jones, Tevin Mack, Donta Hall, Galin Smith, and Landon Fuller.
– The squads were set out in more of a split squad format, rather than a starters-versus-backups style of split.
– Not dressed out was Ar’Mond Davis, who was out with an undisclosed injury.
– To fill out the squads, the Crimson squad also had Cam Smith, a freshman walk-on from Tuscaloosa, and the White team had Tyler Barnes, a freshman from Xavier, KY.
– The starting lineups for the Crimson team were Reese, Sexton, Mack, Hall, and Jones, while the White team started Giddens, Petty, Key, Johnson Jr., and Ingram.
– The scrimmage started at a frantic pace, with both teams playing optional defense.
– Tevin Mack started out hot, making his first two 3’s, but proceeded to cool off from outside. He looked very solid offensively, and looks to be a key contributor in the 2018-19 season after his transfer year.
– The first sub from the White bench was Schaffer, who looks to make an impact as a shooting point guard off the bench.
– Galin Smith showed some very impressive lateral quickness keeping up with an Ingram drive, earning a block on an attempted reverse layup.
– Herb Jones also showed some very impressive creation off the dribble, hitting Smith for an easy dunk.
– Braxton Key was very adept at getting to the rim after a closeout from the defensive rotation, catching the kickout pass while moving down the lane with momentum. That forward momentum forces the defense to make quick decisions, and with Braxton’s good passing ability from the forward spot, he was able to make the slip pass to Daniel Giddens as well as the pass to the short corner for an open 3.
– The White squad showed a 2-2-1 press look after the second timeout, with Petty and Schaffer playing the guard spots, Ingram and Key playing the forward spots, and Giddens playing the center safety man. Expect this look from the Tide at times this upcoming season, with Sexton playing the guard spot across from Petty instead of Schaffer. The length in that lineup is ideal for that type of press look.
– Petty began to heat up about halfway through the scrimmage, hitting two tough looks before taking an almost impossible look that rimmed out.
– Galin Smith looks very potent as a pick and roll dive man. He had multiple possessions where he caught and finished on a short roll. He was also very active on the offensive glass, fighting for rebounds and even finishing a dunk over Ingram off of a missed shot.
– Alex Reese was shooting 3’s at a very high pace, and looked very confident in taking them. He was not necessarily the most efficient on those attempts, but his confidence is not necessarily a bad thing. A lot of his attempts were in rhythm, but not necessarily open. In the flow of the offense, Reese should get more open looks from the corners at a relatively high rate.
– John Petty showed off his shooting ability, hitting multiple 3’s with a hand in his face. His shot creation is one of the more impressive traits.
All in all, there was a lot of positives from the scrimmage for the team.
The offense was free-flowing and loose, which is consistent with the “Buckle Up” philosophy that Avery Johnson has built his administration upon.
The defense still needs work, as Johnson was quick to point out, but the scrimmage wasn’t necessarily intended to demonstrate the ability of the team to play defense at a high level.
Given Johnson’s track record, worrying about the Alabama defense isn’t necessarily smart, as they should get back to where they have been in years past.
All in all, Alabama fans should be very excited about the prospects of the 2017-18 version of the Bama hoops squad.