Unlike at Alabama, the SEC doesn’t have a hard-hat award. If it did, Herbert Jones would have to clear yet another spot on his increasingly crowded trophy case.
Jones was named the SEC’s player of the year and defensive player of the year Tuesday, becoming just the third player to earn both honors in the same season. The Crimson Tide forward is also one of just two players in the nation to be named as a semifinalist for the Naismith player of the year and defensive player of the year awards.
Despite the recognition Jones has received recently, you won’t find the senior’s name on many NBA mock drafts. He’s not necessarily the first one to jump out on a box score either.
Jones has recorded 20 points just once in his 123-game career at Alabama. His 10.9 points per game rank fourth on the team and 33rd in the SEC heading into Wednesday.
In fact, Jones’ scoring average is tied for the lowest among SEC player of the year winners since the award was first handed out in 1965. Vanderbilt’s Jan Van Breda Kolff also averaged 10.9 points during the 1973-74 season while Florida’s Chandler Parsons is the next lowest averaging 11.3 points during the 2010-11 season.
Still, when it comes to determining the conference’s most complete player, Jones is an easy answer.
While the 6-foot-8, 210-pound wing isn’t Alabama’s go-to scorer, he does just about everything else for the Tide. Jones leads Alabama in rebounds (6.1 per game), assists (3.1 per game), steals (1.7 per game) and blocks (1.0 per game). He also boasts the Tide’s best 3-point percentage (45.5), a drastic improvement from last year where he shot a lowly 7.1 percent from beyond the arc.
During a Wednesday Zoom call with reporters, Alabama head coach Nate Oats called Jones “the quintessential blue-collar glue guy,” stating that he uses the senior as a role model of the type of player he’s trying to build in his program.
“He was our fourth-leading scorer, and he had enough respect from coaches and media people in the league to be the fourth-leading scorer and still get voted player of the year in the conference,” Oats said. “That shows you everything else he does to impact a game which is what we’ve really been trying to preach since we’ve got here.”
During his Zoom call with reporters Wednesday, Jones said that he “had no idea” he was even in the running for player of the year, stating instead that he was focused more on earning defensive honors. When asked what helped shaped this year’s improvements, he pointed to the motivation he received from critics who doubted whether he would ever be able to contribute on the offensive end.
“I just kept working,” Jones said. “My teammates and the coaches, they kept pouring a ton of confidence in me when I didn’t even have confidence in myself. It paid off this year.”
Jones yeoman’s work on the court this season has come despite suffering a series of knocks. He dislocated his finger to the point that it broke skin against Kentucky on Jan. 12 before injuring his lower back during a nasty fall against Mississippi State on Jan. 23. However, that hasn’t stopped the gritty forward from starting in all 27 of Alabama’s games this season.
Fortunately for Alabama, Jones claims he’s finally back to full strength as the Tide begins postseason play in the SEC tournament on Friday.
“I feel like I’m back to playing at about 100 percent,” Jones said. “My body feels great now, so I’m ready to play some games.”
No. 6 Alabama (21-6, 16-2 in the SEC) has already locked up a spot in the NCAA tournament where it is heavily projected to be a No. 2 seed. However, the Tide doesn’t plan to rest on its laurels this week as it looks to earn its first SEC tournament title since 1991.
“I’ve never made it a point ever in coaching to say our goal this year is to win this number of games, win this,” Oats said. “No, our goal is to be playing as close as we can to our full potential come the end of the season. So our goal right now is to be playing the best basketball we’ve ever played all year. If we’re playing the best basketball we’ve played all year, we’re winning those games.”
Added Jones: “I also think a lot of the motivation is that a lot of people didn’t expect us to do what we have done this year. I think as long as we keep that chip on our shoulder, I think we’ll be OK.”
Alabama is the top seed in this week’s SEC tournament and will begin play on Friday at 11 a.m. CT against the winner of Thursday’s game between No. 8 seed Kentucky and No. 9 seed Mississippi State. Oats said the team will travel to Nashville, Tenn. on Wednesday night and will hold a practice Thursday before Friday’s game.
Jones was named the SEC’s player of the year and defensive player of the year Tuesday, becoming just the third player to earn both honors in the same season. The Crimson Tide forward is also one of just two players in the nation to be named as a semifinalist for the Naismith player of the year and defensive player of the year awards.
Despite the recognition Jones has received recently, you won’t find the senior’s name on many NBA mock drafts. He’s not necessarily the first one to jump out on a box score either.
Jones has recorded 20 points just once in his 123-game career at Alabama. His 10.9 points per game rank fourth on the team and 33rd in the SEC heading into Wednesday.
In fact, Jones’ scoring average is tied for the lowest among SEC player of the year winners since the award was first handed out in 1965. Vanderbilt’s Jan Van Breda Kolff also averaged 10.9 points during the 1973-74 season while Florida’s Chandler Parsons is the next lowest averaging 11.3 points during the 2010-11 season.
Still, when it comes to determining the conference’s most complete player, Jones is an easy answer.
While the 6-foot-8, 210-pound wing isn’t Alabama’s go-to scorer, he does just about everything else for the Tide. Jones leads Alabama in rebounds (6.1 per game), assists (3.1 per game), steals (1.7 per game) and blocks (1.0 per game). He also boasts the Tide’s best 3-point percentage (45.5), a drastic improvement from last year where he shot a lowly 7.1 percent from beyond the arc.
During a Wednesday Zoom call with reporters, Alabama head coach Nate Oats called Jones “the quintessential blue-collar glue guy,” stating that he uses the senior as a role model of the type of player he’s trying to build in his program.
“He was our fourth-leading scorer, and he had enough respect from coaches and media people in the league to be the fourth-leading scorer and still get voted player of the year in the conference,” Oats said. “That shows you everything else he does to impact a game which is what we’ve really been trying to preach since we’ve got here.”
During his Zoom call with reporters Wednesday, Jones said that he “had no idea” he was even in the running for player of the year, stating instead that he was focused more on earning defensive honors. When asked what helped shaped this year’s improvements, he pointed to the motivation he received from critics who doubted whether he would ever be able to contribute on the offensive end.
“I just kept working,” Jones said. “My teammates and the coaches, they kept pouring a ton of confidence in me when I didn’t even have confidence in myself. It paid off this year.”
Jones yeoman’s work on the court this season has come despite suffering a series of knocks. He dislocated his finger to the point that it broke skin against Kentucky on Jan. 12 before injuring his lower back during a nasty fall against Mississippi State on Jan. 23. However, that hasn’t stopped the gritty forward from starting in all 27 of Alabama’s games this season.
Fortunately for Alabama, Jones claims he’s finally back to full strength as the Tide begins postseason play in the SEC tournament on Friday.
“I feel like I’m back to playing at about 100 percent,” Jones said. “My body feels great now, so I’m ready to play some games.”
No. 6 Alabama (21-6, 16-2 in the SEC) has already locked up a spot in the NCAA tournament where it is heavily projected to be a No. 2 seed. However, the Tide doesn’t plan to rest on its laurels this week as it looks to earn its first SEC tournament title since 1991.
“I’ve never made it a point ever in coaching to say our goal this year is to win this number of games, win this,” Oats said. “No, our goal is to be playing as close as we can to our full potential come the end of the season. So our goal right now is to be playing the best basketball we’ve ever played all year. If we’re playing the best basketball we’ve played all year, we’re winning those games.”
Added Jones: “I also think a lot of the motivation is that a lot of people didn’t expect us to do what we have done this year. I think as long as we keep that chip on our shoulder, I think we’ll be OK.”
Alabama is the top seed in this week’s SEC tournament and will begin play on Friday at 11 a.m. CT against the winner of Thursday’s game between No. 8 seed Kentucky and No. 9 seed Mississippi State. Oats said the team will travel to Nashville, Tenn. on Wednesday night and will hold a practice Thursday before Friday’s game.
