Shortly after the first loss of the University of Alabama men’s basketball team at the Southeast Conference of the season to tenth place in Missouri, three new posters were placed in Tuscaloosa.
“Protect the painting”, “Ricochet!” and “Rebounding = Final Four” is what everyone read. All three are located on University Blvd. upon entering the Crimson Tide campus.
The fan who bought them was clearly upset by the team’s effort on the glass against the Tigers, where Alabama was defeated by 45-43 and outperformed in the painted area by 46-22.
However, in an 81-78 victory on Tuesday night in Columbia inside the Colonial Life Arena against South Carolina, 11th-placed Crimson Tide responded to the challenge and won the rebound battle 41-39 and had more eight second chance points, 19-11, than Gamecocks.
Alabama coach Nate Oats saw the billboards on social media and was delighted with the effort of the fan who decided to make the purchase.
“I love it,” said Oats after the game. “Wow, they obviously like basketball if someone is paying to put up posters telling us to recover. They are on the same page as the coaching staff. I love that the fans in Tuscaloosa care so much.
“We have some basketball fans and I love it.”
What helped Crimson Tide get back on track against South Carolina was that one of its main leaders, point guard John Petty Jr., came and went with a score of 20 points.
It was their first 20-point game since January 19 and led the team on the rebound with eight. The Huntsville, Alabama native also hit 46.6 percent of the field and added two blocks and a steal.
Petty says Alabama’s poor record in February was what boosted its performance.
Before winning the Gamecocks, Crimson Tide’s senior class was 12-15 in the second month of the year during their time at Capstone.
“I would do whatever was necessary to win,” said Petty. “One thing that we kind of went over as a team and with our leaders is our track record in February. It has always been very bad. As a senior and leader of this team, I am not going to let that go this way this year.
“Whatever it takes to win, I have to do it.”
However, Petty told the media after he didn’t see the billboards, but he believes Alabama’s physicality is one of the most underrated aspects of the current Crimson Tide team.
“It was definitely physical and we like it,” said Petty. “People may not think that our team is not uncompromising or physical, but that is not true. That is what we insist on and we will continue to improve on it. If every game is like that, we love it. We love staying physical.”
With only six games remaining in the regular season and an advantage of 3.5 games in the SEC standings, Petty and company are looking for a new winning streak to bring the conference title back to Tuscaloosa.
“We are really determined,” said Petty. “Our February record is always bad, but we have a good thing going on this year. We have a special thing going on. Our veterans are trying to get off with a good senior year, so let’s push the guys and do whatever it takes to win.
“We are very motivated to maintain this streak.”