Trevor Releford has the ball at the point. There are five seconds on the shot clock. Releford has to make a split-second decision. He looks for a pass; there’s nobody open. Four seconds on the shot clock.
B.J. Young, the Arkansas defender guarding Releford, blinks. Bad decision. Releford fakes left, cuts right and drives to the basket. Three seconds on the shot clock, but it doesn’t matter. Young can only watch as Releford finishes the layup.
The basket capped a 7-1 run for Alabama and put the Crimson Tide up 37-30 to end the first half of its game against Arkansas last Saturday.
“When you need a win like Alabama does, you go to the guys that can make plays,” said Dave Baker at the time, who was calling the game for the SEC Network.
Releford is in his second year playing for Alabama and head coach Anthony Grant. He saw significant playing time his first year, starting at point guard for most of the season. Even as a freshman, he wowed fans and teammates alike with his clever cuts and blazing speed.
“He’s more experienced than he was last year,” Grant said. “He’s grown in a lot of different areas—offensively, defensively, his overall understanding of the system. There’s a lot that’s different for him.”
The ‘shake-and-bake’ move was not the first time the sophomore point guard has made something out of nothing, nor was it the last. Releford has made a habit of making dazzling plays like the one against Arkansas – even his teammates say they’re amazed at what he can do.
“We’ve kind of come to expect that from him,” junior Andrew Steele said. “Sometimes there’s still a couple of plays where it just shocks me how good he is, but that’s what we expect from him.”
Playing 22 games this year so far, Releford is averaging 12.3 points per game – up one from last year. He’s also on pace to average more free throw attempts, which is evidence of his aggression and willingness to go right at the defense.
“The thing he’s learned this year is the difference between good shots and great shots,” Steele said. “He’s realized that he’s got such a great ability to get to the rim.”
“I’ve been doing that ever since I was little, but I feel like it got stronger when I got to college,” Releford said. “Coach Grant is helping me find different ways to get into the lane, just put my head down and go into it. I think that was the biggest thing to help me out at the next level.”
Releford’s game doesn’t stop on the offensive end either.
Take the Tide’s game against Ole Miss, for example.
Alabama fell behind early, so Grant called for a full court press on defense. Releford was able to make a steal and immediately convert it into two points to tie the game. He leads the team in steals per game with 2.1.
“It gives us a lot more offensive opportunities and gives us better chances,” Steele said. “I’ve been seeing him do it for the last two years. Even when I was in high school, I saw him do it.”
