Nate Oats explains value of Noah Clowney as screen setter

The Alabama basketball team has gotten out to a terrific start to the 2022-23 season and is vying for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. One huge part of that? Freshman Noah Clowney.

The talented big man has offered the Crimson Tide a major weapon, especially on the offensive end. He’s one of the most skilled bigs in the country already.

“Yeah, I told him when he got here that I think the hardest bigs to guard in pick-and-roll are the ones that can roll, finish at the rim, pop, make a three, play the short-roll and handle the ball,” coach Nate Oats said. “I think he does all of those very well, especially now that he’s making threes.”

Through his first 22 games in college, Noah Clowney is averaging 10.0 points, 8.3 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game.

He’s been a monster on the offensive end thanks to his ability to do several different things off of screens he sets.

“When you don’t know when he’s going to pop or roll, it’s a lot harder to guard. We had him on the one lob that he finished, he hit two threes. He can pop, get into a toss game, pop again. Pop, get into a toss game, roll on the second one. He puts a lot of pressure on a defense.”

In Alabama’s most recent game, Noah Clowney absolutely stuffed the stat sheet. In a 79-69 win over LSU he recorded 14 points, six rebounds, three blocks, an assist and a steal.

“He’s been great for us,” Oats said. “I thought he was really good defensively, but he was good for us on offense for stretch there, too, tonight.”

Alabama will be back in action tonight against Florida in a game that tips off at 9 p.m. ET on ESPN2.