5-star freshman Collin Sexton is ready to make Alabama a basketball school, too

As a point guard, Avery Johnson never needed to score to make a major impact. He was the NCAA’s assist leader twice at Southern and finished as high as third in the NBA in assists during the 1995-96 season with the San Antonio Spurs. Johnson averaged only 8.4 points per game for his pro career, but he was so integral to those Spurs teams as a heady, pass-first floor general that the organization retired his number anyway.

Johnson is the head coach of Alabama now where he’s tasked with guiding the program to the NCAA tournament for the first time in five years. If he’s going to do it, it will be on the back of a young point guard who plays the position in a way that barely resembles Johnson’s esteemed former work.

Collin Sexton is all fire and willpower: a relentless scorer who rose from an unranked prospect to a five-star recruit over the course of one summer. His stay at Alabama will be a short one — Sexton is projected as a top-10 NBA draft pick — but Sexton’s magnetic game and personality should make him one of the program’s most memorable players ever. Yes, Alabama plays basketball, too.

The good news for Sexton is that he has plenty of veteran help. Braxton Key is a 6’8 combo forward who led Alabama in scoring last year as a freshman. Dazon Ingram is the type of two-way wing every good team needs — a 6’5 bulldog who attacks the basket and opposing ball handlers with equal fervor. There’s also the coach’s kid, Avery Johnson Jr., who can provide another steady ball-handler and playmaker.

With a rare one-and-done star in Sexton, there’s pressure on ‘Bama to win in a big way this year. This is a program that has reached the NCAA tournament only once in the last 11 years. Consider this Johnson’s big opportunity to make his mark not only in the SEC, but also on the national level. The talent is in place. Now it’s time for results.

PG Collin Sexton, freshman

SG Riley Norris, senior

SF Dazon Ingram, junior

PF Braxton Key, sophomore

C Donta Hall, junior

Key contributors: G John Petty (freshman), C Daniel Giddens (sophomore), Avery Johnson Jr. (senior), F/C Alex Reese (freshman), G Ar’mond Davis (senior), G Herb Jones (freshman)

Alabama made strides in Johnson’s second season but ultimately missed the NCAA tournament at 19-15. There were encouraging signs if you look hard enough. Most notably: two wins over a South Carolina team that would eventually make the Final Four, one in four overtimes, and another in the SEC tournament.

Alabama also gave Kentucky everything it could handle in the conference tournament before eventually bowing out, falling by five. Alabama’s season ended with a first-round NIT loss to Richmond.

We’re not done talking about Sexton yet. His dramatic rise up the recruiting rankings started on Nike’s EYBL circuit in the summer before his senior year of high school. All Sexton did was average a record 31.6 points per game, which was nine points per game better than the league’s second-leading scorer, possible No. 1 overall NBA draft pick Michael Porter Jr.

Sexton then flew off to Spain to compete with USA Basketball at the U17 World Championships. Sexton’s goal was just to make the team, but he ended up winning MVP in his first-ever international event.

It’s not a direction comparison, but I’ll say it anyway: The way Sexton’s motor never stops running is going to remind people of Russell Westbrook this season. He plays with a rare intensity focused on one thing: putting the ball in the basket.

There’s a reason Sexton is currently projected as the No. 8 pick in the 2018 NBA draft by ESPN. He’s a truly gifted scorer and will be a joy to watch all season.

The presence of Sexton is the biggest reason for optimism, but he’s not a one-man show. Alabama has a well-rounded team of veterans around him that will make the Crimson Tide arguably the most balanced team in the SEC.

There’s one thing you can count on an Avery Johnson team for, and that’s defense. The Tide finished No. 10 in the country in defensive efficiency last season and return the majority of their most important pieces. Ingram is a dogged defender and slasher who also averaged 3.3 assists per game last season. He can be an all-conference performer this year.

Key is intriguing as a 6’8, 225-pound wing who can slide between either forward spot and score from three levels. There’s also a pair of capable shooters next to Sexton in the backcourt in senior Riley Norris and fellow freshman John Petty — who chose ‘Bama over an offer from Kentucky. Tying together the defense is Donta Hall, a 6’9 big man who finished with a top-50 block rate in the country last year.

For as gifted as Sexton is, it’s hard to ignore the scoring problems this team had last year. By finishing No. 10 in defensive efficiency and No. 153 in offensive efficiency, ‘Bama had one of the biggest splits for any power conference team last season. The biggest culprit might have been the glacier’s pace they played at. ‘Bama ranked No. 301 in tempo last season, per KenPom.

If ‘Bama’s offense is going to be better this season, it will have to unleash Sexton in the open court. It would help if Norris can rediscover his shooting stroke too after hitting only 33.3 percent of his threes last year. Petty is also a dynamic shooter and scorer when he’s locked in. Don’t be surprised if ‘Bama is leaning heavily on an all-freshman backcourt come postseason time.

Roll tide.