Tide hoping for another big effort from Trevor Lacey

JaMychal Green’s return to the practice floor this week was welcomed by his Alabama teammates.

Last Saturday, they also welcomed the return of freshman guard Trevor Lacey.

No, Lacey hasn’t been suspended. But the 6-foot-3, 200-pound guard’s game had been missing for much of the Crimson Tide’s SEC season.

After kicking off league play with 19 points in a road victory at Georgia on Jan. 7, Lacey shot just 26.6 percent (21-of-58) from the floor in the Tide’s next 10 league games. He scored in double figures just twice – 10 points each in losses to Vanderbilt and Kentucky.

But against Tennessee, Lacey showed signs of revival. He still shot just 4-for-10 from the field, but he took the fight to the Vols and drained 9-for-12 from the foul line. He led Alabama with 18 points as the Tide snapped a two-game losing streak.

Crimson Tide coach Anthony Grant is counting on more of the same when Alabama (17-9, 6-6 SEC) visits Arkansas (17-10, 5-7) tonight (6 p.m., ESPN2) at Bud Walton Arena.

“I told him after the game, that’s what we need out of him,” Grant said. “We need him to go be aggressive. When you’re a young guy, sometimes, you try to figure out, ‘Where do I fit? What’s my role? What do I do?’ Sometimes you rely on one thing.”

So what was different about last Saturday?

“I just stopped settling for jump shots,” Lacey said. “I tried to attack the rim and get to the free-throw line as best I could. That was the difference.”

Lacey, a two-time Mr. Basketball in Alabama, hasn’t faced much frustration on a basketball court until this season. Frustrated over his frigid jump shooting, he seemed a bit gun-shy in several areas of his game.

Grant and the coaching staff have been telling him to stay aggressive. That message got through against Tennessee.

“Whether it was attacking the rim or his jump shot or whatever it was, he was aggressive and wasn’t worried about making a mistake or the impact of missing a shot or whatever it was,” Grant said.

“He was able to move on to the next play today. He stayed really aggressive – and that’s what we need out of him.”

The coach said Lacey has all the tools to be an impact player.

“He’s got a very high basketball IQ,” Grant said. “He’s got a very high skill level. He’s a guy that has the ability to make plays for himself and make plays for his teammates when he’s aggressive like he was tonight.”

Being a 2 guard, particularly against the 2-3 zones that have caused Alabama fits at times this season, doesn’t mean being stationary and looking exclusively for a shot.

“He was able to get in the lane and make some passes that – whether the shot went in or not – I told the guys at halftime, it’s the right play to make that you guys are making,” Grant said. “Don’t worry about whether or not the shots go in. Keep making those plays, keep staying aggressive, keep attacking, keep staying together. He was the catalyst for that.”

Junior guard Andrew Steele said a new experience awaits Lacey and the other three Alabama freshmen – Nick Jacobs, Rodney Cooper and Levi Randolph – tonight at Arkansas.

“It’s still going to be half our team’s first time going into a new environment,” Steele said about Bud Walton Arena. “It’s one of the tougher environments in our conference. You can’t really simulate that, you got have to go through it.

“They have done a good job of adjusting on the fly, which they’ve had to. They have some confidence and we have been in a lot of situations, so I think they will be fine.”

The confidence Lacey gained against Tennessee should be invaluable.

“He did a good job penetrating and keeping his head up and seeing what the defense gave him,” Grant said. “Yeah, he’s a freshman that’s learning college basketball, learning what his role is and how he can go out and impact winning. I thought it was a good step for him in terms of the aggression that he came out with.”

B.J. Young leads Arkansas in scoring, averaging 15.1 points per game. He scored 31 against Florida last week, but the Gators handed the Razorbacks their first home loss of the season.

Alabama won 72-66 in Tuscaloosa on Jan. 28.

“In a lot of ways they outplayed us and we were fortunate to be able to come out with the close win,” Grant said. “Going up there, one of the toughest places in our league to play, they’ve played outstanding at home.”