Aaron Estrada Settling into His Role as Alabama Approaches SEC Play

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Alabama basketball has gone through a roller coaster of a season already as non-conference play has come to a close.

The Crimson Tide sits at an underwhelming 8-5, though the team has competed strongly with some of the top teams in the nation while playing a brutal schedule. 

During a 3-game losing streak in mid-December, transfer guard Aaron Estrada struggled to find his rhythm. He scored just eight points per game during the skid, after coming in as Alabama's second-leading scorer and shot a measly 22 percent from the field. 

In Alabama's two wins since the Arizona loss on Dec. 20, Estrada has completely transformed his game. He posted a 12-point, 8-rebound, 7-assist game against Eastern Kentucky, and followed it up with a 13-point, 10-rebound, 9-assist game against Liberty last weekend. 

Alabama head coach Nate Oats said Estrada's game against Liberty was the best game he'd played in a Crimson Tide uniform so far.

"I think he's starting to figure out where to attack, where to get the assist, how to play with these guys a little more," Oats said. "We knew he could be good. Obviously, he showed how well he could score it that first game here, but I think he's figuring a lot of other things out."

Estrada said that his game has evolved since coming to Alabama from Hofstra, his previous stop where he was a 2-time conference player of the year and a 20-plus point per game scorer.

"I think it's just me kind of finding my role on this team, within the game," Estrada said. "As you guys know, I was pretty much just a scorer at Hofstra for the last two years, and here, that's not really the case. I feel like I'm just making winning plays at this point and it doesn't have to end with a shot every time."

Oats' confidence in his shooting guard remains sky-high and he has lofty expectations for his capabilities as the season goes on.

"I think he's a guy that, hopefully, we can get a triple-double this year. With the amount of shooting players he has around him, hopefully he has more games where he gets double digit assists. But he's also a guy that puts his nose in there and rebounds it. I think his overall game, I think he's playing his best basketball of the year for us right now."

Alabama's conference slate opens tomorrow afternoon, taking on Vanderbilt in Memorial Gymnasium with a 2:30 p.m. CT tipoff. The game will be televised on SEC Network.