Although Avery Johnson will not take any moral victories, Alabama showed a lot in Tucson on Saturday night.
Still without their top returner from a season ago in Braxton Key, the Tide fought tooth and nail against a preseason Top 5 team in Arizona. Alabama’s ability to answer everything that Arizona threw at them until the final moments showed that this team has something different than in years past.
Collin Sexton is obviously the difference maker and if he plays like he has against elite competition such as Arizona and Minnesota, he’ll give his team a chance every night.
However, what was apparent last night is that the supporting cast can help carry the load. Junior Donta Hall had one of his most important games in a Crimson Tide uniform last night matching up against the possible No. 1 pick in this year’s NBA Draft, DeAndre Ayton. Hall answered the call by recording his second straight double-double and being a shot-blocking presence at the rim.
Ohio St transfer Daniel Giddens had one of his most productive games this season and tried to make it tough for Ayton. Hall and Giddens will not see another big like Ayton for the rest of this season, so this experience should help them in the long run.
Sexton was able to get his fellow guards involved all night and John Petty seemed to finally snap out of the recent rut he had found himself in. He was able to cut down on turnovers and although he mostly disappeared towards the end of the game, he made some big buckets in the first half to slow down some dangerous Wildcat runs.
If Petty plays up to his potential night in and night out, the offense should be able to put up more numbers like we were seeing earlier in the season.
Going forward, the nearing return of sensational Sophomore forward Braxton Key will give this team a whole new dimension.
Besides the loss to UCF, this highly anticipated Alabama team has performed up to expectations without Key. Sexton has been just as good as advertised and the improvement of players such as Hall has been eye opening.
Alabama has a good little break before they head off to face Mercer on Dec. 19 and this should give Johnson and his staff time to acclimate Key to his new teammates and prepare for the impending conference slate.
Alabama’s final two non-conference opponents are currently in the NCAA Tournament picture like so many teams they have faced up to this point.
If the Tide can find a way to win in Huntsville and then in Birmingham against Texas, this team will find itself back in the rankings heading into a conference that is stronger than it has been in a long time.