TUSCALOOSA, Ala.— On Saturday, Alabama’s No. 4 basketball team faces a unique challenge in Georgia’s standout freshman Asa Newell, and Crimson Tide coach Nate Oats is fully aware of it. He emphasizes the need for his players to step up when defending top scorers from opposing teams.
Newell, a key player for the Bulldogs (15-6, 3-5 SEC), excels as a dominant force in the paint and leads his team in scoring. His presence has significantly boosted Mike White’s squad, which recently entered the AP Top 25 for the first time in many years, as Oats pointed out.
“In preparing for Georgia, our post defense needs to be top-notch, which has been exposed in various games this season,” Oats said. “Rutgers’ Dylan Harper dropped 37 points, Mississippi State’s Josh Hubbard scored 38, and Treysen Eaglestaff had 40 at North Dakota. I’ve challenged the team, asking, ‘Who’s going to step up and take responsibility?'”
Oats highlighted guard Chris Youngblood, who has started in Alabama’s past two games and scored 23 points against Mississippi State on Wednesday, as someone taking steps toward becoming a defensive leader. However, Oats is looking for more players to rise to the challenge.
Newell averages 15.2 points per game, which would rank second on the Crimson Tide (18-3, 7-1 SEC), behind point guard Mark Sears, who averages 18 points per game. Sears delivered a solid performance in Starkville following his second-half benching against LSU last weekend and scored in double figures. Newell also leads Georgia in rebounds with seven per game and recorded a double-double (16 points, 10 rebounds) against top-ranked Auburn on January 18.
“It would be great if some guys displayed the intensity and pride to say, ‘Coach, I got this guy. Just put me on him, and it’s done,'” Oats said. “We’ve seen that in the past, but currently, we don’t have it. We need someone to get really fired up and capable of guarding the opponent’s best players.”
This high-stakes matchup against Georgia will test Alabama’s ability to defend against one of the SEC’s rising stars, and Oats is calling on his players to meet the challenge head-on.
