Alabama guard and former Baker star Labaron Philon signs an autograph for a young fan following the Tide’s 107-79 romp over Oklahoma Saturday at Coleman Coliseum. Philon scored 16 points in his SEC debut. (Jimmy Wigfield/Call News)
Alabama guard Labaron Philon drives to the basket against Oklahoma Saturday night. The former Baker star, who has emerged as one of the nation’s top freshmen, helped break down the Sooners’ defense in the 107-79 rout. (UA Athletics)
Alabama All-America guard Mark Sears had a double-double of 22 points and 10 assists against Oklahoma. Sears is the key to the Tide contending for the national championship. (UA Athletics)
Alabama coach Nate Oats is leading the Tide into a new era of sustained excellence not seen since the Wimp Sanderson years. (UA Athletics)
TUSCALOOSA — The man who once said of himself that he had a face best suited for a hemorrhoid commercial was a pain in the butt for many opponents in the years he pushed and shoved and hoisted Alabama basketball from good to great. As for the fans, they just wanted the charmingly irascible Wimp Sanderson to smile a little more.
Perhaps it was because Sanderson, now 87 and with flowing white hair, was back in Coleman Coliseum Saturday evening that one had the sensation the Crimson Tide has restored the feel of its glory years under the Man from Plaid. The sellout crowds at Coleman Coliseum have returned. The belief that Alabama can and should win every time the ball is tossed into the air is back. Why, even the somber debriefings Sanderson often gave after a huge victory have been duplicated by current coach Nate Oats.
The smiling Wimp Sanderson was honored at Saturday’s game for his contributions to the 1974, 1975 and 1976 Alabama teams. (Jimmy Wigfield/Call News)
Ol’ Wimp might not like it that the Tide attempted 29 three-pointers while Oats didn’t like the fact his team made only nine of them; such is the difference in their eras. But Oats showed he can sure fret just as much as Sanderson used to after No. 5-ranked Alabama just barely squeaked past previously unbeaten and No. 12 Oklahoma 107-79 to open SEC play.
It was the largest margin of victory over a top 25 team in Oats’ six seasons and the most gargantuan since the 2004-05 season.
While Sanderson set the standard for Alabama basketball excellence with 10 NCAA tournament appearances and five SEC tournament championships, Oats is on a mission to redefine it. OK, the Tide didn’t make every shot Saturday. It didn’t get every rebound. It played defense like a sieve in the second half (“Man, we gave up some wide-open layups,” Oats said). It didn’t draw any charging fouls. It had one shot-clock violation. It missed a dunk (never mind it had nine others). It missed four layups (never mind it had 11 others).
It’s a curious thing for a coach to say when his team wins by 28 points and leads for all but 16 seconds against one of the better teams in the most brutal basketball conference in the land but Oats found plenty to be critical of in the aftermath, which speaks to how good this team is and can be.
Of course, Oats is going to be picky when only a second straight trip to the Final Four and the school’s first national championship in basketball will suffice for the season to be judged a success.
“Hopefully, our shooting will come around,” said Oats, who looked past the fact that Alabama shot 50% from the field and focused instead on the three-point shooting which has become its trademark during its resurrection into a national championship contender.
Oats figured his team played well for about a half Saturday, when it amassed a 48-29 lead at intermission.
“I thought the first 20 minutes was exactly what we need to see out of these guys on a nightly basis,” he said. “Now, can we do it consistently? And honestly, can we do it for 40 minutes? We didn’t do it for 40 tonight. We did it for maybe 20 or 30.”
Oats felt his team coasted in the second half — “Human nature,” he said — but, by then, the 13,474 fans who thundered their approval of the nation’s newest football-turned-basketball school were hanging around only to see if the Tide reached 100 points — it did 10 times last year, has done it four times already this season and 25 times in all under Oats.
“We want to score just pretty much every possession,” said 6-11 senior forward Grant Nelson, who had a double-double of 12 points and 11 rebounds. “I mean, 100 points isn’t really our goal but we’re definitely happy to hit that. I think last year we hit it like more than anybody in the country.”
Alabama (12-2) didn’t make as many threes as Oats wants but it wasn’t necessary as it put on its hard hats and won with a lot of dirty work — defense (at least in the first half), rebounding, scoring inside (56 points in the paint) and hustle. Most notably, the Tide outrebounded the Sooners 51-26 (22-8 on the offensive boards), leading to a 25-4 advantage on second-chance points.
“They’re very hard to guard but you’re not going to win against an elite team giving up 20-some offensive rebounds,” Oklahoma coach Porter Moser said. “Then, we were trying to shoot floaters over their seven-footers and those aren’t great shots.”
Alabama also showed its quality depth by getting 74 minutes from its bench, which outscored the Sooners 38-5.
“The first 20 minutes was as good as we’ve played,” Oats said. “A team like Oklahoma, top 12 in the country, I think it showed what we’re capable of. … I talked to our guys that we need to dominate and win, coming out, setting the tone if we’re trying to win this thing, and I think the guys answered that. …. But the second half wasn’t very good.”
What is very good — and what all championship teams have — is an excellent backcourt of consensus All-American point guard Mark Sears and Mobile’s freshman two guard Labaron Philon, who is playing like he is far more experienced at this level than he actually is.
On Saturday, Sears had a double-double of 22 points and 10 assists. Philon added 16 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds and 2 steals. He made two 3-pointers after the Sooners backed off him. He penetrated. He dished. He made those around him better. He also clamped down on OU freshman star Jeremiah Fears, the Sooners’ leading scorer, and was mainly responsible for holding him to 1 point in the first half.
“I think the fact that Fears was so high up on some of these (NBA) draft boards, that motivated Labaron a little bit,” Oats said.
Oats pointed out something even more impressive about his guards, whom he switched out without any noticeable drop-off — neither had any turnovers.
“Your backcourt gets 15 assists, no turnovers, that’s the kind of play you’re looking for,” Oats said, “and for one of them to be a freshman is pretty impressive.”
Philon covers a lot of ground on the court but he is accustomed to it. He transferred from Baker High School to Link Academy in Missouri for his senior year. He committed to Auburn, then to Kansas, then signed with the Tide. He also draws some intriguing parallels with Alabama star receiver Ryan Williams. Both are from south Alabama; both have made dramatic impacts as freshmen in their respective sports; Philon was the state’s Mr. Basketball; Williams was Mr. Football.
Oats said Philon came to his program with a reputation as an offensive player but quickly won over his coach and teammates with his attitude.
“He’s been great,” Oats said. “He’s proven himself since he got here. He walked in in the summer with an edge about him. He competed in practice. He wanted to guard Sears, who is maybe the best guard in the country, and Labaron did a great job. He’s got a mature side about him in his preparation and his competitiveness on both sides of the floor. We knew he was a talented offensive player but it’s hard to sometimes know how competitive they’re going to be on both ends of the floor and he’s got that. And he makes good reads. He gets downhill. He’s got great touch. He can finish at the rim. He’s really athletic. He shoots it pretty well. I’m a huge fan of Labaron’s.”
So is Sears.
“Every game, he gets better and better,” Sears said. “He definitely doesn’t play like a freshman. He definitely plays like he has a lot of experience under his belt. He’s a really big-time guard.”
If Sears, Nelson and Philon continue to play at a high level and the depth tells at tournament time, Alabama has as good a chance as any of the other SEC powers to reach and win the Final Four. Going into Saturday, four of the top six teams in the AP poll are from the SEC: No. 1 Tennessee, No. 2 Auburn, the Tide and No. 6 Florida. The NCAA’s power (NET) rankings are similar, with Auburn No. 1, Tennessee No. 2, Florida No. 4 and Alabama No. 10.
Moser saw no weaknesses from the Tide to speak of.
“With the length, the athleticism, I thought they just got downhill at will. Downhill,” he emphasized. “And they’ve got shooters everywhere. And if you’re not going to guard the ball, that domino starts. They were constantly getting into the paint. And no matter what ball-screen coverage we did, they exposed it. Even at the end, when we switched it, Sears right away hit it over the top. And you saw how excited he got. That’s just a veteran guard recognizing whatever ball screen there was. I think he’s elite. When the ball gets to the paint as fast as it did tonight, the domino starts.”
But as deep and talented as Alabama is, Oats knows a national championships rests in Sears’ hands.
“Mark is so aggressive downhill,” Oats said. “You have to help on him because it’s hard for a lot of guys in this league to guard him one-on-one without fouling. So, then you bring the help and when he keeps moving the ball like he did tonight. I think it’s gonna make it a lot easier on some of our other guys to get some easy buckets. … You could see his energy when his teammates were scoring, which is great. We need that out of him. He was more excited about getting 10 assists.”
Saturday was a day to rekindle some wonderful memories and look to what could be an even more enjoyable future. Sanderson, the winningest coach in school history, and the legendary Wendell Hudson, the first Black to get an athletic scholarship at Alabama and the only player to have his jersey number retired and hanging in the rafters, were both at the game to be honored as members of the 1974, 1975 and 1976 teams. That 1976 Tide team was good enough to win the Final Four but got stopped short by Bob Knight and eventual national champion Indiana 74-69 in the NCAA tournament regional semifinals.
But this season could be like no other in the state. Sanderson never had a 28-point margin of victory in an SEC opener. Alabama and Auburn are among the top five teams in the nation and are looking forward to a pair of regular-season games that might rival the most intense and consequential Iron Bowls ever played. Dare they dream of playing each other after that with a certain trophy at stake? That would be the ultimate March Madness.
