Alabama Guard Rylan Griffen Focused on Right Things

Alabama head coach Nate Oats praised sophomore Rylan Griffen's mindset over the past month.

TUSCALOOSA, Ala.— It's no secret that Alabama head coach Nate Oats still isn't quite pleased with the progression of his team's defense. He said as much on Monday after the No. 23 Crimson Tide (5-1) dropped its first game of the season last Friday in the Emerald Coast Classic against Ohio State. However, he had good things to say about the continued development of sophomore guard Rylan Griffen, one of the team's returners who put up 17 points on offense in the team's rebound win against Oregon last weekend.

"I think he's really locked in to the right stuff," Oats said. "We really kinda challenged him after that TCU scrimmage [on Oct. 22]. He wasn't very good on defense at all that game." For the past month, Griffen has been locked in, despite Oats saying he didn't think Griffen's head was in the right place defensively in the scrimmage against the Horned Frogs. "I was really happy to see him play well on offense. You like for the guys that are about the right stuff to get rewarded."

The team focused extensively on the defensive side of the ball during Monday's practice. Where Griffen is concerned, Oats said he expects him to continue to put in the work at practice and play well in games as long as he stays focused on defense. 

Griffen is averaging 8.3 points per game in six contests. His most extensive playing time in 2023 came in the second game of the Emerald Coast Classic against the Ducks, where he recorded 31 minutes. His 12 rebounds so far this season amount to an average of two a game. Apart from the 17 points last Saturday that represent his season-high total, he has put up nine twice. 

Ahead of the first ACC-SEC Challenge game on Tuesday night against Clemson, Oats said it'll take a mindset shift for his squad to improve defensively. Even in games where the offense was scoring in the triple digits (in every win, the Crimson Tide has scored 98 or more), he felt defense was a concern.

"Sometimes, guys [have to] determine that they're gonna take the defensive end seriously, that it's a big deal to them, that it's important for us to win," he said. "As soon as we get about eight or nine guys with that mindset, I think we'll be pretty good. I thought we had a good practice today."

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