Sometime between last night’s skill session and this morning’s medical evaluation, Nate Oats likely turned to Herbert Jones and asked a familiar question. By now the head coach knows his forward’s answer when the topic of availability arises. Jones has gritted through all 20 of No. 11 Alabama basketball’s games this season despite dealing with several bumps and bruises.
Last month, the senior dislocated his finger to the point that it broke skin. More recently Jones has been dealing with a lingering back/hip injury he suffered during a nasty fall against Mississippi State. Still, the 6-foot-8, 210-pound forward is a constant in Oats’ starting five.
“If Herb’s breathing then he’s capable of playing,” Oats said with a laugh following Alabama’s win against Arkansas last month — a game where Jones recorded 13 points, four rebounds and two steals four days after suffering his aforementioned dislocated finger.
After all, this is the same player who played the final eight games of last season with a cast on his shooting arm after suffering a fractured wrist.
Oats has pointed out several times this season that Jones is generally one of the best players on the court, even when he isn’t at 100 percent. Through 20 games, the do-it-all forward leads the team in rebounds (6.0 per game), steals (1.8 per game), blocks (1.0 per game) and 3-point percentage (48.4). He also ranks third on the team averaging 11.9 points per game.
However, lately, Alabama’s iron man is beginning to creak.
After starting the calendar year by recording double-digit points in seven of eight games, Jones hasn’t scored more than 7 points in any of his last three outings. During the Tide’s 68-65 loss at Missouri over the weekend, he logged just 22 minutes, putting up 7 points and five rebounds, playing his way into early foul trouble.
The recent struggles have led Oats to contemplate whether or not it would be better to give his star forward a mandated night off in order to possibly accelerate his recovery and recharge him for a late-season run.
“We’ve had that discussion for a week and a half now, but it keeps getting better,” Oats explained Monday. “He keeps feeling like he wants to play, and it’s hard to tell a kid he’s not going to play when the injury is definitely getting better. There’s no guarantee that it will get better sitting, it’s just you avoid him getting hit if he doesn’t play.”
If Oats is looking to give his star a breather, there might not be a better time than the present. After facing 12 straight teams ranked inside the KenPom top 65, Alabama is set to face four straight opponents ranked outside the top 80. Despite suffering its first SEC loss over the weekend, the Tide still has a comfortable three-game lead in the conference standings.
It’s also worth noting that Alabama has several bench options who appear to be peaking at opportune times.
Keon Ellis has helped fill Jones’ role lately, reaching double-digit points in each of the last three games. The 6-foot-6, 170-pound junior college transfer also offers plenty of defensive intensity and is the closest thing the Tide has to a like-for-like replacement for Jones’ blue-collar role.
“For the most part, he attacks the rim, he moves the ball, he plays unselfish and he makes the team better when he’s on the floor,” Oats said of Ellis. “We’ve gotta get more guys that the team is better when you’re on the floor. If the team’s better when you’re on the floor then you probably need to be playing more, and he’s at the top of that list right now.”
Meanwhile, Jahvon Quinerly looks to have finally shed his mid-season slump. The redshirt sophomore was instrumental in Alabama’s comeback bid over the weekend, scoring 10 second-half points while not committing a turnover after the break.
Quinerly has tallied seven starts this season but has come off the bench since the beginning of SEC play. Monday, Oats said the former McDonald’s All-American is “one of the better point guards in the country” when he plays in the manner he did late against Missouri.
If Quinerly is able to maintain that poise and intensity over a full 40 minutes, he could easily be reinserted into the Tide’s starting five where he could run the offense in place of a rested Jones.
“He’s more than capable,” Oats said. “He’s super talented. You talk about pass, dribble and shoot, you know maybe the most skilled kid on the team. We’ve just got to get him to play both sides of the ball locked down and focused on every, every possession on both sides of the ball for every time he’s in the game.”
Still, whether Alabama could survive spelling Jones on the bench and whether it will are two separate answers. During his weekly radio show Monday night, Oats said the starting forward was progressing enough that he should be available to play at South Carolina on Tuesday night if he feels up to it.
If that’s the case, there’s little doubt what Jones’ answer will be.
Alabama (15-5, 10-1 in the SEC) and South Carolina (5-7, 3-5) are set to tipoff at 5:30 p.m. CT inside Colonial Life Arena.
Last month, the senior dislocated his finger to the point that it broke skin. More recently Jones has been dealing with a lingering back/hip injury he suffered during a nasty fall against Mississippi State. Still, the 6-foot-8, 210-pound forward is a constant in Oats’ starting five.
“If Herb’s breathing then he’s capable of playing,” Oats said with a laugh following Alabama’s win against Arkansas last month — a game where Jones recorded 13 points, four rebounds and two steals four days after suffering his aforementioned dislocated finger.
After all, this is the same player who played the final eight games of last season with a cast on his shooting arm after suffering a fractured wrist.
Oats has pointed out several times this season that Jones is generally one of the best players on the court, even when he isn’t at 100 percent. Through 20 games, the do-it-all forward leads the team in rebounds (6.0 per game), steals (1.8 per game), blocks (1.0 per game) and 3-point percentage (48.4). He also ranks third on the team averaging 11.9 points per game.
However, lately, Alabama’s iron man is beginning to creak.
After starting the calendar year by recording double-digit points in seven of eight games, Jones hasn’t scored more than 7 points in any of his last three outings. During the Tide’s 68-65 loss at Missouri over the weekend, he logged just 22 minutes, putting up 7 points and five rebounds, playing his way into early foul trouble.
The recent struggles have led Oats to contemplate whether or not it would be better to give his star forward a mandated night off in order to possibly accelerate his recovery and recharge him for a late-season run.
“We’ve had that discussion for a week and a half now, but it keeps getting better,” Oats explained Monday. “He keeps feeling like he wants to play, and it’s hard to tell a kid he’s not going to play when the injury is definitely getting better. There’s no guarantee that it will get better sitting, it’s just you avoid him getting hit if he doesn’t play.”
If Oats is looking to give his star a breather, there might not be a better time than the present. After facing 12 straight teams ranked inside the KenPom top 65, Alabama is set to face four straight opponents ranked outside the top 80. Despite suffering its first SEC loss over the weekend, the Tide still has a comfortable three-game lead in the conference standings.
It’s also worth noting that Alabama has several bench options who appear to be peaking at opportune times.
Keon Ellis has helped fill Jones’ role lately, reaching double-digit points in each of the last three games. The 6-foot-6, 170-pound junior college transfer also offers plenty of defensive intensity and is the closest thing the Tide has to a like-for-like replacement for Jones’ blue-collar role.
“For the most part, he attacks the rim, he moves the ball, he plays unselfish and he makes the team better when he’s on the floor,” Oats said of Ellis. “We’ve gotta get more guys that the team is better when you’re on the floor. If the team’s better when you’re on the floor then you probably need to be playing more, and he’s at the top of that list right now.”
Meanwhile, Jahvon Quinerly looks to have finally shed his mid-season slump. The redshirt sophomore was instrumental in Alabama’s comeback bid over the weekend, scoring 10 second-half points while not committing a turnover after the break.
Quinerly has tallied seven starts this season but has come off the bench since the beginning of SEC play. Monday, Oats said the former McDonald’s All-American is “one of the better point guards in the country” when he plays in the manner he did late against Missouri.
If Quinerly is able to maintain that poise and intensity over a full 40 minutes, he could easily be reinserted into the Tide’s starting five where he could run the offense in place of a rested Jones.
“He’s more than capable,” Oats said. “He’s super talented. You talk about pass, dribble and shoot, you know maybe the most skilled kid on the team. We’ve just got to get him to play both sides of the ball locked down and focused on every, every possession on both sides of the ball for every time he’s in the game.”
Still, whether Alabama could survive spelling Jones on the bench and whether it will are two separate answers. During his weekly radio show Monday night, Oats said the starting forward was progressing enough that he should be available to play at South Carolina on Tuesday night if he feels up to it.
If that’s the case, there’s little doubt what Jones’ answer will be.
Alabama (15-5, 10-1 in the SEC) and South Carolina (5-7, 3-5) are set to tipoff at 5:30 p.m. CT inside Colonial Life Arena.
