Alabama freshman Aiden Sherrell flashes potential in career night

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Of Alabama’s 10 available rotation players on this year’s team, freshman center Aiden Sherrell has been the one that’s played the least throughout the season.

Still being a raw talent that needs some development to reach his full potential, Sherrell has averaged just 7.7 minutes per game this season, averaging 2.6 points and 2.8 rebounds.

During the Crimson Tide’s 21-point win against Georgia on Saturday, Sherrell played the best game of his young career, setting career-highs in minutes with 20, and points with 12, all while shooting 3-of-5 from the field and 4-of-4 from the free throw line.

Alabama head coach Nate Oats said Sherrell has been excellent in practice recently, and ‘deserved’ to play as well as he did against the Bulldogs.

“I think he’s typically practiced – we’ve never had an issue with him as far as effort in practice goes,” Oats said. “But he played well. I kind of told you we do this poll where I have the guys grade the team as a whole on five categories and vote for practice MVP. Well, he had the most votes, I believe, on the last practice. So he’s played well, deserved to play some minutes, knew that they played two bigs the entire game, so there’d be an opportunity for us to get our frontcourt some more minutes. And he took advantage of them.”

Sherrell didn’t score all of his points in garbage time once the game was out of hand, either. He was instrumental in building Alabama’s initial lead in this game, starting with a personal 8-0 run embedded in a larger 14-0 run early in the first half, as the Tide pushed the game from a 10-10 tie to a 14-point lead.

In that run, Sherrell knocked down two 3-pointers, having come into the game shooting just 4-for-24 (17 percent) from beyond the arc.

Despite his poor outside shooting numbers this season, Oats is confident in Sherrell’s ability as a shooter and as encouraged him to continue taking open looks.

“And then to go to the shooting. This kid’s shot 40 – we chart everything from the time they get here in the summer, so on all of our live 5-on-5, drills, scrimmage, everything all summer and fall, he shot 40 percent three,” Oats said. “So it’s hard sometimes in limited minutes when you know you’re not going to be in there a bunch, to shoot it great. We just keep encouraging him to shoot. I tell him in my mind, he’s a 40 percent shooter. Don’t worry about what the numbers say. As long as your feet are set, you’re stepping in and it’s a good shot, let it fly. I was happy to see the first one go and he hit the next one.”

His shooting numbers are understandably low with the incredibly low volume of threes he’s taken this season, but he has a good-looking shot for a big man and clearly has the capabilities to knock down outside shots. His shooting ability is an intriguing prospect for Alabama’s offense, being able to deploy a true stretch five to maximize spacing.

“Offensively for us, that really opens up the rim, it’s just good to see him his some shots,” Alabama forward Grant Nelson said.

Sherrell also played a very solid defensive game, holding his own against projected lottery pick Asa Newell on the interior, using his 6-foot-10, 240-pound frame to his advantage. Newell finished the game with 16 points, but it took him 15 shot attempts to reach that total.

“I wouldn’t say I was gearing up (to guard Newell), because every game I prepare to guard the big guys, whoever down there in the post,” Sherrell said. “We just had a game plan for him, and we went out there and executed.”

The former McDonald’s All-American hasn’t fully gotten the chance to showcase his abilities this season as he develops behind a veteran frontcourt, but the flashes he’s shown should excite Alabama fans for his role in the future.

“So he goes 2-of-3 from three, and he struggled with the line a little bit through the year, even though he’s a great shooter,” Oats said. “He goes 4-of-4 at the line, ends up with 12 points and seven rebounds in 20 minutes and we’re plus-16 when he’s in the game. So can’t say enough about Aiden tonight.”

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