Davin Cosby gives Alabama a boost off the bench at Ole Miss
Alabama guard Davin Cosby had “a really good” Tuesday practice, head coach Nate Oats said before the Crimson Tide’s game at Ole Miss on Wednesday night. And with Latrell Wrighstell Jr. missing a third straight game, Oats wanted to recognize the redshirt freshman’s effort.
“We needed a boost and Davin had an unbelievable practice yesterday,” Oats said after the game. “So I told him, ‘You’re gonna play. I’m gonna find you minutes in the first half. Make sure you’re ready to go on defense.’ I think you have to reward guys that practice hard and play well, and he did.”
Cosby scored a career-high 15 points in Alabama’s 103-88 win over the Rebels in Oxford, Miss. He shot 5-of-10 from 3-point range, establishing career-bests in field goals made and field goal attempts, as he logged his most points since Dec. 23 against Eastern Kentucky (12). Before the win at Ole Miss, Cosby had scored 11 combined points in nine conference games.
The redshirt freshman from Richmond, Va., hasn’t been a huge rotational piece for Alabama of late. In fact, he has been working with the scout team and was tasked with simulating Ole Miss guard Matthew Murrell in practice. Oats said he was 11-of-22 from three Tuesday.
With Wrightsell out due to a head injury, the Tide needed someone to step up, especially after a disappointing defensive showing at Kentucky, and Cosby seized his opportunity.
“I didn’t know how many minutes I was gonna get,” Cosby said. “I just told him whatever role I’ve gotta play while I’m on the court, I would do it, regardless if it’s scoring or just playing defense. I’d rather focus on my defense, and I lost myself in the game and let it flow.”
Cosby was one of six Alabama players who scored double-digit points in the team’s ninth 100-point game of the season, and he did most of his damage to the Rebels in the second half. The Tide was clinging to a 74-70 lead with 6:58 to go before Cosby drained a triple. After back-to-back misses, he followed that up with a make 1:40 later to spark an 8-0 run.
Ole Miss cut the Alabama lead to seven with 1:46 to play before Cosby drilled consecutive threes in 13 seconds to seal the much-needed win for the Crimson Tide on Wednesday night.
Whether in the game or at a prior practice, Cosby remained confident and ready to go.
“I feel like all season I just had the role of helping my teammates, being a leader off the court, helping everybody else see what I see,” Cosby said. “I waited my time, practiced hard. I had a great practice last practice and when the time showed, I came and showed up.”
The win over the Rebels helped No. 14 Alabama (20-8, 12-3 SEC) stay atop the SEC standings in a tie with No. 4 Tennessee before a matchup with the Vols on Saturday in Tuscaloosa.
Given his approach all year long, Oats was happy to see Cosby step up in a must-win game.
“For a kid that has gone multiple games and not played at all, he’s never lost his confidence,” Oats said. “Now, we keep pumping him full of it in practice, scout team, all of that. But it says a lot about who he is as a person, his internal character, his work ethic. He stays in the gym and works, expecting to get a chance. And we needed him.
“I mean, if you’re gonna win a league championship, these are the games you’re gonna have to win on the road. And if we don’t have him tonight, we don’t win this game.”
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