Alabama Basketball's Bench Continues to Inspire Offensive Production

In the Crimson Tide's 79-69 win at LSU, the bench — particularly Rylan Griffen and Nimari Burnett — provided much-needed points in the first half while the team's usual shooters were cold.

Joey Blackwell | Feb 5, 2023

In this story:

Alabama Crimson Tide

On an afternoon where its leading scorers were cold in the first half, No. 4 Alabama basketball proved once again that it can still get the job done despite the missing production.

On Saturday at LSU, the Crimson Tide's two leading scorers in Brandon Miller and Mark Sears combined for a total of seven points in the first half. Miller was 2-for-8 from the field with just a 3-pointer and a jumper to his name, while Sears didn't attempt a single shot — his two points came from his two attempts at the free-throw line.

When a team's top scorer is cold from the floor, that spells trouble for most. When its top two scorers are shooting poorly, well, that typically means disaster.

For Alabama, though, the clutch play of Rylan Griffen and Nimari Burnett pulled it through.

"We needed scoring,” Alabama head coach Nate Oats said after the game. "Teams are gonna try to take Brandon and Mark out. They’ve been our leading scorers on the year — and we need somebody else to make some shots — and those two guys are proven shot-makers that are stepping up and making shots in games now.

"I’m super happy for both of them. They’re great kids — both of them just want the team to do well."

In the first half, Burnett had arguably his best 20 minutes of basketball so far this season. His 13 points led the team in scoring at halftime, with him shooting 4-for-6 from the floor with three 3-pointers. All of that was done in 11 minutes on the court.

Back on Dec. 10 at Houston, Burnett suffered a wrist injury that required surgery. His recovery kept him on the bench until Jan. 21 at Missouri, where he returned sooner than most expected — even Oats. While he started the first nine games of the season, Burnett has now shifted to a bench role, giving up his starting spot to Jaden Bradley while he continues to work his way back.

Now, Burnett has recorded double-digit points in back-to-back games — all while coming off of the bench in a support role.

"Just work — work and preparation," Burnett said regarding his improvement. "Constantly learning, getting better in areas that I need to improve and just doing everything it takes to help the team win.

"That’s the main goal."

For Griffen, it was a similar story. While he scored just 5 points in the first half, his points came at the perfect time to give Alabama a little bit of breathing room over an LSU Tigers team that refused to be put away. Midway through the first half, a 3-pointer followed quickly by a fast break dunk expanded the Crimson Tide's lead from 4 to 9 in under 30 seconds.

The clutch points helped Alabama maintain the lead heading into halftime, then gave the Crimson Tide a foundation to build upon once the typical leading scorers warmed up in the second half.

"Freshman year I had to get used to it, but I feel like I’m used to it now and I can contribute a little bit more to the team after settling in with shooting," Griffen said. "I feel like I can contribute that to the team — I’m getting a lot more comfortable."

Miller and Sears returned to their usual selves in the second half, with Miller finishing with 11 points and Sears with 13. Griffen scored 9 more points in the game's final 20 minutes, giving him 14 for the game and tying Noah Clowney for the team lead.

While the production is certainly important, the attitude of the team's bench players is even more important. After the game, Oats explained a quick moment in the game that showed the selflessness of Griffen and his desire to put the team first.

"We’re making a sub, we needed to get somebody in and I wasn’t quite sure who to put him in for," Oats recalled. "I put him in for [Jahvon] Quinerly, and Rylan said, ‘No, no, no, no. Coach — we’ve gotta leave J.Q. in. He’s creating offense for everybody. Take me out, leave JQ in.’ And sure enough, J.Q. comes downhill off the next ball screen, sprays it out, Sears hit a three and Rylan said, ‘I told you, Coach,' — he’s over there on the bench.

"I think Rylan just cares about the team. Nimari’s got that same kind of mindset. It’s good for guys like that that can make shots that are making shots to also just be big team guys."

And if the 'team guys' mentality extends to the rest of the team — both in the starting lineup and on the bench — that's a good sign for the Crimson Tide as it enters the final eight games of the regular season.

See Also: