It didn’t take long for freshman guard Trevor Releford to impress his teammates at Alabama. Before the season officially started, Releford was already the team’s leading scorer.
Releford was the leading scorer for both of the Tide’s exhibition games, with 17 points in the first and 22 in the second. He starts for the Alabama Crimson Tide at point guard, taking the place of the graduated Mikhail Torrance. So far this season, the other players around him see him as a good point guard for the team.
“Trevor’s going out there, trying to play his role on the team, being a good point guard,” said senior Senario Hillman. “He’s humble, working hard. I like that about him. I think he’s going to be a pretty good point guard this season.”
In an exhibition game against UAHuntsville on Nov. 8, the Tide was down at the half 28-26, with Releford contributing five to the 26. Then in the second half plus two overtimes, Releford added 17 to the team’s 47.
“Trevor did a great job [against UAHuntsville],” said junior JaMychal Green. “He stepped up in the second half, knocked down big shots.”
Though he has been able to contribute in a big way to the team, he’s still learning about things that are new at a collegiate level, like the shot clock.
“Coach told me at the end that I have to manage time better from the point guard position,” Releford said. “You have to know when we have a new clock, like when the ball hits the rim.”
Though he’s already putting up big numbers for the team, teammates say he works hard every day to get better.
“He’s definitely one of the newcomers that looks to get better every day,” senior Chris Hines said. “He likes a challenge, asking questions, trying to find out things about things that can make him better.”
Releford said all the newcomers have been doing well so far this season.
“I think we all played good in the first two games,” he said. “We all have a lot of improving and learning to do, and that will come along as the season goes on.”
Hines said one of the biggest things Releford is working to improve is in his defensive game.
“He’s always coming up to watch film, always working on defense,” he said. “That’s a big thing for him right now because at this level it can be kind of hard to stay in front of someone, so he’s always coming up and learning angles, which angle to take on guys for certain defensive plays to make himself better on defense.”
Head coach Anthony Grant said after the first exhibition game, where Releford was the leading scorer with 17 points, that he still has a lot to learn as a freshman just starting his collegiate career.
“Taking the court for the first time as a collegiate player, there’s so many things as a freshman that you have to learn about college basketball,” he said. “There are a lot of areas he will continue to grow and learn in.
“For any freshman, my hope would be that he will continue to remain hungry and aware in terms of coaching he’s receiving, advice his teammates are giving him as he goes through the freshman year.”
