Alabama Basketball Got the Grant Nelson It Was Promised Against North Carolina

After a season full of ups, downs, and flashes of greatness, Grant Nelson delivered his best performance to send Alabama to the Elite Eight.

Mar 28, 2024; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide forward Grant Nelson (2) reacts in the / Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

LOS ANGELES — Grant Nelson committed to Alabama basketball back in June, and as the season grew closer, the 6-foot-11 forward garnered more and more hype thanks to his unique blend of size and skill.

“He’s gonna have a little bit different role than probably anybody we’ve had so far. He’s not a guard like, but he’s certainly not a typical big," Oats said in the preseason. "He’s gonna play with the ball in his hands a lot more than what a typical big would. But he’s gonna set pick and rolls, he’s gonna roll, he’s gonna pop, he’s gonna handle in pick and rolls, he’s gonna play on the perimeter, gonna post him against mismatches some. We’re gonna put him all over the floor, to be honest with you.”

That's some high praise before a transfer from North Dakota State in the Summit League plays a singular game of basketball for a high-major school, but Oats was bullish. His praise resulted in high expectations from fans, who were treated to a show against Morehead State as Nelson dropped 20 points with some highlight reel-worthy plays in his Crimson Tide debut.

But after dropping 20 in three of his first five Alabama games, Nelson hit a bit of a wall. The wall intensified once he got to SEC play, with Nelson struggling more than a few times against top-tier opponents throughout the league schedule.

Nelson even struggled in Alabama's first two games of the NCAA Tournament. But none of that mattered in the Sweet 16, where Nelson posted 24 points and 12 rebounds in Alabama's win to advance to the program's second-ever Elite Eight.

"There’s a lot of confidence swings throughout the season," Alabama forward Nick Pringle said of Nelson. "That’s a guy that stayed in the lab, stayed working. We talk to each other a lot, we try to build each other in confidence. Make sure we stay together, help each other. Tonight was just his night."

The confidence pendulum swung fully in the positive direction in the second half against North Carolina. He scored 19 of his 24 points in the half, including a personal 7-0 run that started with about five minutes to go in the game that took Alabama from down two points to up five.

“Grant Nelson, man he took over that second half. He was the best player on the floor, easy," guard Aaron Estrada said.

Alabama's teammates said that the team made an on-the-fly adjustment offensively towards the end of the game, opting to either let Nelson bring the ball up the floor or getting him the ball early in the possession. Alabama ran a ton of ball screens for him, reconizing that North Carolina was switching everything defensively.

"They had a couple dudes that we thought Grant could take one-on-one, so we made sure they were guarding him," guard Rylan Griffen said. "He was huge for us. Best game in this jersey, and I hope he has another one Saturday.”

But while putting him in advantageous spots was a huge factor, Nelson believes his teammates' encouragement was the biggest factor in his success.

"Just all the confidence in the world," Nelson said. "These guys coming up to me, telling me great things. I didn't start this tournament with the best two games. These guys are saying, go out there, go get a bucket, really. That gives me a lot of confidence and I give them a lot of credit. I couldn't have done it without them."

While discussing Nelson's play, Estrada made a bold claim: “If Grant plays like that every game, we’re never going to lose a game.”

He may very well be right, as this is the Grant Nelson that Alabama fans hoped for.