Alabama's Bench Play Could Be the Difference-Maker for a Deep Run

The reserves were a big reason the Crimson Tide succeeded before the tournament, and strong bench play will be more important for success in the big dance.

Alabama Athletics

BIRMINGHAM, Ala.— Less than 24 hours remain until Alabama basketball takes the court to begin its NCAA Tournament run. 

The Crimson Tide is projected as one of the favorites to win the tournament, and among the reasons that explain the ceiling of the team is how much depth Alabama has.

Nate Oats' rotation this season has always been deep, spearheaded by Jahvon Quinerly as the co-Sixth Man of the Year and Noah Gurley as one of the team's most respected members. But rotations traditionally get shorter in postseason play, putting a lot more pressure on the top six or seven players to carry the team.

Likely, the success of the team falls heavily on the likes of Brandon Miller and Mark Sears, but Alabama's title hopes weigh just as much on the supporting cast and maintaining a high level of play.

"That's very important for us to accomplish the goals that we want to accomplish," Quinerly said in the locker room. "I think everybody knows their role at this point in the season and guys are ready to step up when their number gets called."

Quinerly specifically praised Gurley, who saw his playing time evaporate at the end of the regular season, but then played 20 minutes against Missouri and 22 minutes against Texas A&M in the SEC Tournament.

Gurley has always been a team player and is a guy that also understands the importance of the reserves in a potential title run.

"With every championship team, role players stepped up," Gurley said. "We're really deep this year, that's one of our strengths. To be honest, we've been doing it all year, so it isn't different now. We just have to keep playing hard."

Gurley's role as a reserve has been more consistent than that of other players on Alabama's Bench. Nick Pringle only has a handful of games playing double-digit minutes, but is the most athletic big man and has a great showing when he plays well; Dom Welch missed a lot of time due to injury but has slowly gotten his rhythm back each game. Nimari Burnett was a starter, but a wrist injury forced him to miss a month and now he's a top reserve.

The biggest change, however, has to involve Jaden Bradley. The All-Freshman guard became the starter after Burnett went down, putting his name on the map as one of the stellar first-year players. But after a rough stretch to end the year, the decision was made to put Quinerly back in the starting lineup and make Bradley the reserve.

"Everybody got a role to play and I'm just happy to be on the team and contribute the way I do," Bradley said.

Quinerly applauded how Bradley handled himself, stating that it was Bradley's idea to have him start.

"He's handled it really well, like a professional," Quinerly said. "I think he's ready to have a good NCAA Tournament."

Bradley, along with the rest of the reserves, will be an integral part of Alabama's tournament run, and it could be the difference between Alabama winning it all or coming up short.

See also: Nimari Burnett, Dom Welch '100 Percent Healthy' Per Nate Oats

Everything Nate Oats Said Ahead of the NCAA Tournament

Everything Brandon Miller, Mark Sears Said Ahead of the NCAA Tournament