Nimari Burnett continues to embrace role as Alabama plays into March

After spinning his first season at Texas Tech, Nimari Burnett transferred to Alabama in search of a bigger opportunity. And he has found that, despite having to share the floor with arguably the best player in college basketball right now, Brandon Miller. Burnett is still getting used to his role at Alabama even as the Crimson Tide continued to push through this year’s men’s championship tournament.

And after Alabama defeated Texas A&M Corpus Christi in their first-round matchup, the sophomore guard explained how he has learned to embrace his role.

“Like I said, honestly, always being ready, staying positive and knowing that it’s one goal in mind, which is winning,” said Burnett. “And knowing what you produce to the team. I have this specific role in this team. And that’s to make shots and defend at a high level. Go in there with a clear mindset and just doing that every single time I get a chance, that’s really what it is.”

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In just 18 minutes of play off the bench in Alabama’s first-round contest against the Islanders, Burnett was on fire from long range. The six-foot-four combo guard went 3-6 from downtown, scoring 11 points in the game. He also added three rebounds and one assist for good measure.

Oats breaks down how Alabama will prepare for Round of 32

Alabama head coach Nate Oats also spoke to the media after the win. In his post-game conversation with the media, the Crimson Tide headman took some time and broke down how his team is preparing for the Round of 32.

“We do things a little bit different. We don’t divvy up the scouts between assistants,” said Oats. “Charlie has always got our defensive scout, and Pettway always has the offensive scout. And they have their small army of people that help them. So we got Maryland ready to roll. Charlie is probably looking at it right now. They will get me the edits right away. I will look at the edits they have already got done. And I will get to the games. I will look at the edits first. Get a pretty good idea of what’s going on. I will watch as many games as I can.”

Alabama touchdown Texas A&M Corpus Christi by a final score of 96-75. The Crimson Tide’s defense wasn’t at their best game against the Islanders as they committed 18 fouls on the night. That led to 16 made free throws on 18 attempts. But offensively, Alabama could not miss, shooting 47.1 percent from the floor and 45.5 from the three.