TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Over the last two weeks, Alabama basketball has been in somewhat of a slump due to injuries that have hampered its face pace of play.
It’s something that Crimson Tide fans are all too used to in the month of February.
This time, however, it’s different. While the games have been closer, Alabama has managed to escape with a 3-1 record over its last four games, with its only loss being at Oklahoma this past Saturday in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge.
While the Crimson Tide is still seeing success, its deeper injury issues are beginning to become troubling for both the team and its fans. Chiefly among those injuries is senior wing Herb Jones, who suffered a dislocated finger back on Jan. 12 against Alabama’s first matchup at Kentucky.
While Jones has still been playing his hardest, he has been consistently withheld from practices in order to avoid contact and re-aggravate the injury. At a time when the Crimson Tide need him most, Jones has stayed the course, fighting through the injury and making the most of his minutes on the hardwood.
This Wednesday, Alabama will need him more than ever as LSU pays a visit to Tuscaloosa. The Tigers are currently tied for second in the conference — three games behind the SEC-leading Crimson Tide. With Alabama having already beaten LSU by a hefty margin back on Jan. 19 in Baton Rouge, the Tigers are expected to be better prepared than they were for their last matchup.
On Tuesday morning, Crimson Tide coach Nate Oats said that despite Jones having to play through the injury, he is expected to play on Wednesday night in Coleman Coliseum.
“That’s the plan,” Oats said. “I mean, he hasn’t practiced but he doesn’t like to sit too many games out. In talking to the trainers, doctors, therapists and everything it’s not setting him back any further by him playing. The only thing would be if he got hit in that one spot again which he hasn’t for the last couple of games. It actually does him good to get it loosened up. We’ve been holding him out of practice so he doesn’t take a hit or fall on that but I anticipate he’ll go. Probably won’t be 100 percent again but he’ll still be a lot better than most other guys out there.”
Fighting through injuries is something that this Alabama squad has been forced to become used to this season. It started back on Jan. 12 when grad-student forward Jordan Bruner went down with a torn meniscus, forcing him to stand on the side of the court ever since. Combine that injury will illnesses suffered by sophomore guard Jahvon Quinerly and junior forward James Rojas, and this Alabama team has been pretty banged up over the last couple of weeks.
Senior forward Alex Reese has had to fight through an injury of his own lately, having tweaked his leg and causing him pain while he is on the court. However, Reese says that it is the determination of Jones that keeps him in the fight.
“Obviously y’all know what Herb does for us,” Reese said. “Y’all know how important he is for us defensively and taking care of the ball on offense and to run offense for us — making all the loose ball plays, the hard hat plays — all that type of stuff so y’all know how he is for that. To see him battle through that is inspiring. It makes me go, it makes me keep playing because none of my injuries have been that significant, so it really just pushes me — it pushes us — to play harder for him and for the team.”
Last week, freshman guard Josh Primo referred to Jones as a “soldier.” The term is most fitting for Jones, who fights through pain for the betterment of his squad. Combine that with his leadership among his teammates, and there’s no one on this Crimson Tide team that deserves the nickname more.
On Tuesday, Jones’ teammate in sophomore guard Jaden Shackelford also called him a soldier, echoing Reese and calling his acts on the court an inspiration.
“It’s inspiration to see somebody fight through stuff like that for the betterment of the team,” Shackelford said. “It makes everybody want to go harder. It makes guys fight through other stuff just like Herb does.
“He’s a leader on this team so he leads and we follow. He sets the example so he’s a fighter. He’s a soldier.”
Alabama basketball still has a long way to go before March, but with the effort on the court from its injured players, the Crimson Tide are poised to make a historic run for the program should they return to full health in the coming weeks.
Oats made the point that while his team is struggling with injuries, it’s nothing new to his team or college basketball as a whole.
“It’s February,” Oats said. “[In] February, no one’s 100-percent healthy. You gotta play through that stuff. You gotta figure out ways to win. We gotta do a better job. We really haven’t played well in a couple of weeks to be honest with you so we gotta get back to where the ball’s moving a little bit better.”
The Link LonkFebruary 03, 2021 at 01:43AM
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Herb Jones' Fight Through Injuries Serves as Inspiration to Alabama Basketball - Bama Maven
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