Britton Johnson's First Half Minutes Displayed Needed Effort Level for Alabama

Nate Oats made an unusual substitution early in the first half, as the walk-on gave Alabama a spark.

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - As a head coach, sometimes you have to take a risk that outsiders may not understand. For Alabama basketball's Nate Oats against Missouri, that risk came with 16:30 in the first half of the Crimson Tide victory. 

Walk-on forward Britton Johnson checked into the game as the Crimson Tide was down 14-3 through the game's first three and a half minutes. 

"The one thing you're going to get out of BJ is he's going to play hard, he's going to do exactly what you tell him to do," Oats said. 

"Obviously, it was less than ideal because we were in a hole," Johnson said postgame. "It was really, really cool in that I have a coach that trusts me enough to come in and try to help the team, and I have teammates that trust me enough to have me in that situation and not think I'm not prepared for it." 

Johnson did not simply get playing time. He came to play. The Mountain Brook, Alabama native had an immediate impact on the boards for the Crimson Tide. 

In three minutes of play, Johnson snatched three offensive rebounds and scored off a Jahvon Quinerly assist despite being fouled. Those three rebounds were a career high for the senior, who has been with the program since 2018. 

"He played less than three minutes and had three offensive boards," Oats said. "Put BJ in to show everybody there's another level to how hard we need to play. I think BJ showed them. 

"We had an effort issue and I know he's going to give us effort, so I had no problem putting him in." 

It was Johnson's first minutes since the Crimson Tide routed Miami in late November, and it came off the heels of a meeting that the trusted walk-on had with his head coach. Both parties recalled how that conversation led to Saturday night's play time for Johnson in the postgame press conference. 

"Coach and I met, talked a little bit, and really my thing was what can I do to help this team be the best version of itself," Johnson said. "I would have been perfectly content if his answer was, 'You're not going to play a minute, but just be a great scout player for us and do this stuff really well, and we'll be the best team we can be.' 

"He just told me you never know when your opportunity will come so be ready." 

"He came to me and said, 'This is my last year, what have I got to do to help us win,'" Oats recalled. "I told him I'd keep him in mind, I know he's going to play hard. I told him to just stay in and work on his game." 

Johnson heeded his head coach's advice, and he was able to contribute to his team's win over Missouri. 

"I'd like to think I was kind of prepared for that," Johnson said. "Luckily, because I have such great players around me, I don't have to go dribble the ball up the court and iso. I just stand in the corner, try to shoot open threes, and try to crash and play defense. I try to keep it pretty simple." 

"BJ is always ready when his number is called," Alabama guard Jaden Shackelford said. "He's the most blue-collar guy we have, especially in practice, so when he's called he's going to go out there and do what he's supposed to do. Obviously, that gave us a spark." 

Alabama's next matchup is with Georgia on Tuesday night in Athens, tipping off at 5:30 p.m. CT.