Alabama Bests Furman in Exhibition Focus Shifts to North Dakota

Amari Allen Goes For the Layup | Photo Credit Crimson Tide Photos/UA Athletics

Alabama took down Furman by a score of 96-71 after a rocky start and getting down 9-0 early. Oats’ team turned up the intensity on defense and found rhythm on offense in route to a comfortable win in the exhibition on the road. The game was not perfect, as you would expect from a preseason showing, but there were a ton of really good things that Alabama did in this game that I think are worth pointing out.

1. Latrell Wrightsell is Ready - One of the most important players on the team the last couple of seasons has been Trelly. He brings an experience and shooting ability that is just hard to replace. Wrightsell played in this exhibition, marking his first time against another opponent since his Achilles injury in the Oregon game last season. Wrightsell played just 15 minutes and did not have his best shooting performance ever, but what he did do was look comfortable attacking the basket and did not seem to be limited by the prior injury. The most important thing for this game was getting him back on the floor in live action and having him feel comfortable with the flow of the game to be prepared when Alabama takes the floor against North Dakota in a week’s time. Additionally, it felt like Trelly has worked on his handle as it seemed noticeably improved, and adding that to an already elite player will be very big for Alabama's backcourt this season.

2. Davion Hannah and Amari Allen will be very important this season - Hannah and Allen came into this season as modestly ranked recruits and seemed to be potentially more thought of as depth pieces; however, if the exhibitions are any indication, they will play very crucial minutes down the stretch for Alabama this season. What we have seen out of Allen and Hannah, I have been very impressed by. They have both shown flashes on the defensive side of the ball, making very athletic plays both on the ball and at the rim, as well as both looking to be some of the best rebounders on the team. They combined for 13 rebounds in the first one and 14 in this exhibition, which, as a freshman, you have to love to see. Additionally, Amari Allen was just 1 rebound shy of a double-double in just 20 minutes played; having that type of rebounding from the wing/guard position will be huge for the speed that Alabama loves to play at. Davion Hannah, not to be outdone, also had his second show-stopping bit of athleticism with a huge block at the rim following his poster tomahawk attempt last exhibition. Coming into this season, I had modest expectations for both guys but have been very impressed with what I have seen so far.

3. Aden Holloway is taking the next step - Holloway has grown on defense this offseason. We saw much better pressure on the ball, and he just seemed to lose himself in the game. Oats attributed that to how well he shot the ball, especially to start the game with 4-4 from deep and 16 points in the first half. Not only did he shoot the ball well, because of his defense, he also defended and did the blue-collar things well, causing him to win the hard hat award for this game. With Mark Sears no longer on the team and in the lineup, Aden will be asked to do a bit more this season and step into a new role in his second year in the system. I think it’s very promising to see Aden continue to shoot it well, but additionally to add in the play we saw on defense, that makes me very excited for the role he can play on the team this season.

There is plenty more that I think we learned from these two exhibitions, and that’s why I had a live stream on Sunday evening talking about these games and what I thought we learned. Thank you to everyone who joined the live. We will be doing many more of those; probably will become a regular thing to talk about Alabama basketball on Sunday evenings, so be sure to subscribe to the YouTube channel and follow me for more of those. Alabama tips off their first official game in Coleman Coliseum on November 3rd at 7 p.m. versus North Dakota on SECN+. I will be writing a pregame thread to break down North Dakota that will be released here as well as on Twitter that morning. Thank you so much, everyone, for all of the support. It’s TIME for ALABAMA BASKETBALL!