SEC: Can Levi Randolph Save Alabama Basketball?
Earlier in the year, Alabama Crimson Tide coach Anthony Grant asked his team to select their captain.
In a unanimous decision, the responsibility of the team fell upon the shoulders of the senior 6’5″ shooting guard, Levi Randolph. On a young roster, Randolph is one of the elder statesmen. In his last three seasons playing at Alabama, Randolph has started 86 games.
In an interview with the the Ledger-Enquirer, Randolph said this speaking about his teammates asking him to lead:
"“That meant a lot that my teammates look up to me and wanted to put me in that role…they feel I have a lot of experience and will be able to help the younger guys out and be that voice for the team” said Randolph."
Known primarily for their powerhouse football program, most people outside the state of Alabama don’t know that the University of Alabama has a basketball team. Better yet, most people don’t know that their basketball team has a great guard within the Southeaster Conference.
The Alabama Crimson Tide’s best player is shooting guard Randolph, and soon enough when people Google Alabama basketball, his name will appear.
This year Randolph will begin his senior year playing for a team that didn’t have a good record last year. The Crimson Tide were terrible to say the least with a record of 13-19 overall, and 7-11 record with the SEC. Against teams that were ranked within the top 50 of the BPI, Alabama finished with a 1-9 record.
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What was even more glaring about the Alabama team is they only averaged 67.8 points per game. Alabama finished the year as the 259th best team in the country in scoring. Because of their overall low scoring totals Alabama only had one player averaging double-digit points and it wasn’t Randolph.
Instead it was the senior leader and Randolph’s running mate, point guard Trevor Releford.
Now that Releford has graduated from Alabama, next year Randolph is going to have to bloom into the go to scorer for his team if they even want a remote chance of competing within the SEC.
If you’re reading this and wondering to yourself, “Why should I care about a guard who wasn’t even his team’s best player last year” then here’s the answer why. Last year in one game Randolph showed his tremendous potential.
Against the Missouri Tigers, a team who might make the NCAA tournament this year, Randolph had a career night. Randolph scored 33 points on 11-15 shooting from the field, finishing the game shooting 73 percent from the field.
In addition, Randolph also nailed five out of his seven 3-pointers and shot 71 percent from beyond the arc. Also, Randolph chipped in contributing two rebounds, two assists and two steals.
Last season Randolph averaged 9.6 points and had 16 double-figure scoring games. Also, his 3.8 rebounds left him as the second highest rebounder on the team. Randolph even finished second in offensive rebounds for Alabama.
With Randolph entering his last year playing for Alabama, Grant has a player that can command his offense. Grant is well known for taking an aggressive approach on defense.
In the past his Alabama teams have led the SEC in steals per game, and have finished as high as 18th nationally in scoring defense. Last year Grant’s team finished sixth in steals in the SEC.
Now to pair Grant with Randolph in his senior year, the two are going to make a lot of memorable moments to watch.
Because Randolph’s increased role in the offense he will have to have a better shooting touch. Last season he only shot 31.4 percent on 2-point field goals and on 3-point field goals he shot 34.7 percent.
Regardless of his flaws as a shooter Randolph has already turned heads early in the year. In Alabama’s exhibition game against Montevallo, Randolph finished the game with 22 points, six rebounds, four assists, and shot 50 percent from the field.
Can’t wait for more? Get ready to watch him quietly surprise in the SEC.