Jahvon Quinerly's 'Swagger' Coming at Right Time for Alabama Basketball

Quinerly recorded 16 points, seven assists and three rebounds in the Crimson Tide's 86-83 win over the Razorbacks.

Joey Blackwell | Feb 25, 2023

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Alabama Crimson Tide

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — It's been awhile since Alabama senior guard Jahvon Quinerly recorded a double-digit scoring game. A long time, that is, prior to Saturday afternoon.

Inside Coleman Coliseum against the Arkansas Razorbacks, Quinerly scored 16 points — 12 of which were in the second half — along with three rebounds and seven assists. In the second half. Despite a paltry four points over the first 20 minutes of the game, head coach Nate Oats opted to start him in the second half.

Coming out of the locker room, the scoreboard read 37-28 in favor of the Razorbacks. However, the Crimson Tide scored 11 of the first 16 points of the second half, including five points from Quinerly.

"Quinerly was able to get into the paint and create offense for us," Oats said. "I thought he played really well. It's nice to have depth that you can go to different options. We've needed different guys to step up different games — I thought he was a big one in this game."

Prior to Saturday's game, Quinerly hadn't recorded a double-digit game since Feb. 8 against Florida. In fact, he had failed to score more than four points in six of Alabama's last last seven games.

Quinerly surging in late February-early March is hardly a new thing for Alabama basketball. Back during the 2021 SEC Tournament, Quinerly was named the tournament's MVP due to his play in the Crimson Tide's three wins in Bridgestone Arena that earned them the conference title.

Oats hasn't forgotten the impact that Quinerly can have late in the season.

"Jahvon's been in big games," Oats said. "He was the SEC Tournament MVP two years ago. He's proven he can play at a high level. We've been trying to get him to get his defense better. His offense has been getting better and better as the weeks go on in practice.

"I thought he was much more engaged on the defensive end this game."

Depth has been a key strength for Alabama basketball this season. Should Quinerly's contributions against Arkansas prove to not be a one-off but instead the beginning of what Crimson Tide fans have come to expect from him late in the season, then his addition would increase that depth even more so.

Alabama would likely not have been able to defeat Arkansas had Quinerly not performed in the game's final 20 minutes. And now with the Crimson Tide just one win away from clinching the SEC regular-season title, Oats knows just how much his team needs him — regardless of how many games are left in Alabama's season.

"It's big," Oats said. "I'm looking right now: we were 48 points per 100 possessions better with him on the floor than when he was off the floor tonight, so offensively we were obviously a lot better with him on the floor — a lot better. [...] Shoot, we don't win the game if he doesn't play the way he does in the second half. We don't even have a chance.

"We needed him tonight, we're going to need him moving forward. It's great to see him getting his swagger back."

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