Kai Spears didn't have much time to show Nate Oats made the right decision.
Spears only had 1:02 against Mississippi State on Saturday to show Oats made the right move putting him on scholarship this week . Alabama had only been using 12 of its 13 scholarships this season. Once Oats decided it wasn't going to use the last one to add a player for half the season, he decided to give it to a walk-on.
So he gave it to Spears, and Spears tried his best to show he was deserving in the first game he had the chance. Over that limited time, only really a minute at the end of the game, Spears tallied five points, hitting both of his free throws, drawing a foul and draining a 3-pointer.
"He's a scholarship player now," Oats said. "He's got to produce when he gets in the game, right?"
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Spears' efforts put the finishing touches on a dominant 99-65 victory for the No. 22 Crimson Tide over the Bulldogs at Coleman Coliseum to remain atop the SEC.
Alabama's rout of Mississippi State gave the Crimson Tide a chance to debut their newest scholarship player.
"He doesn't play scared," Oats said. "He went to the rim. He made his two free throws. He made the one (3-pointer). Pretty productive 1:02."
Spears wasn't playing like his team had the 30-point lead. Once he entered the game, he performed like a guy trailing by 30.
Spears having the opportunity to do that speaks to the game Alabama put together. Mississippi State (14-8, 3-6 SEC) isn't a bad team. The Bulldogs just had the misfortune of having to face the Crimson Tide at Coleman Coliseum, where Alabama has lost just once the past two seasons.
Alabama (16-6, 8-1) didn't even shoot incredibly well to score 99 points. It just made the most of some opportunities. That includes taking advantage of 18 Mississippi State turnovers; Alabama turned those into 27 points. Meanwhile, the Bulldogs only tallied seven points off the Crimson Tide's 11 giveaways.
Alabama also found a way to win the rebounding battle, with a 48-37 edge on the glass. Oats had challenged the team to do better in its rebounding after Georgia dominated at times this past Wednesday.
And then, Mark Sears tallied 21 points, his fifth consecutive 21-point outing. Mo Dioubate had a career-best 14 points, Jarin Stevenson tied his career high of 14, and Aaron Estrada tallied 15 points on his birthday.
All those strong performances made it possible for the newest scholarship player to show what he can do.
"Happy for (Spears)," Oats said. "He works really hard and it's all about the team. Gets in the gym, works with our guys, works on his own game. He's coming. Doesn't get a chance to play very many minutes. It's hard to be a walk-on at this level. When I'm going to get him in, I'm going to get him in."
Nick Kelly is the Alabama beat writer for The Tuscaloosa News, part of the USA TODAY Network, and he covers Alabama football and men's basketball. Reach him at nkelly@gannett.com or follow him @_NickKelly on X, the social media app formerly known as Twitter .
This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Kai Spears: New Alabama basketball scholarship guard's impactful 1:02
