NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Alabama basketball is one step closer to an SEC tournament title.
With its 73-68 victory over Tennessee in Bridgestone Arena on Saturday afternoon, the Crimson Tide now advances to the tournament’s championship game against the winner of the other semifinal game: Arkansas or LSU.
For the players of Alabama, this moment has been a long time in the making. This rings especially true for the team’s seniors, John Petty Jr., Herb Jones and Alex Reese. The game on Sunday will be the first time that all three of the players have participated in the conference title game despite each playing in two tournaments prior to this one.
To Reese, the opportunity to win the Crimson Tide’s first SEC tournament title since 1991 means that the hard work he and his teammates have put into the program is showing.
“It would mean everything to me,” Reese said. “That’s what we came here to do — me, Herb and J.P. We came in here to change the culture and get us in a winning direction so it would mean a lot. It’s what we’ve been working for. It’s been our goal since we got back to campus.
“With the whole coronavirus thing we sat out a little longer but ever since we got back we’ve been working for it and the work is starting to show and we’ve been playing pretty well so we got to keep it rolling.”
Alabama hasn’t even appeared in the SEC Championship Game since 2002, where it finished as runner-up to Mississippi State in a 61-58 loss. That same season was also the last time that the Crimson Tide had won an SEC regular-season title until the 2020-2021 season.
Jones reiterated Reese’s sentiment, saying that the seniors took it upon themselves to rebuild the culture at Alabama and a tournament championship would go a long way to solidify that work.
“It would mean a lot,” Jones said. “That was part of the reason I came to school here: to try to turn it into a basketball school. I think we’re doing that right now. We just gotta be sure to bring the energy that we brought in the second half for 40 minutes tomorrow.”
Alabama’s three seniors aren’t the only players that are wanting to see the Crimson Tide’s first SEC title in 30 years, though.
Sophomore guard Jahvon Quinerly was one of head coach Nate Oats’ first signees after the coach joined Alabama in 2019. After the NCAA deemed him ineligible to play in his first season after transferring from Villanova, Quinerly sat on the side of the court for the entirety of the 2019-2020 season.
While this is technically Quinerly’s second season with the team, it’s his first year that he has been able to participate in games for the Crimson Tide. Even though he hasn’t been with the team for as long of a time as Reese or Jones, Quinerly still realizes the importance that a win on Sunday (Noon CT, ESPN) would mean to him and the team.
Quinerly noted after Saturday’s win over Mississippi State that his team’s trip to the final game of the tournament is a prime example of the work they’ve put into the program showing.
“It means a lot,” Quinerly said. “I remember after my sit-out year coming into this season speaking with the coaching staff and that was a goal of ours. To be able to have a chance to compete for it is so big-time and I’m just so proud of my team and all the work that we put in. I always say to all the guys ‘The work will show,’ and I’m just humbled and I’m proud of my teammates and my coaching staff.”
The Link LonkMarch 14, 2021 at 05:02AM
https://www.si.com/college/alabama/bamacentral/alabama-basketball-players-sec-title-game-appearance-shows-that-the-hard-work-is-showing-blackwell
Alabama Basketball Players: SEC Title Game Appearance Proves that the Hard Work is Showing - Bama Maven
https://news.google.com/search?q=hard&hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US:en
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