Nick Pringle didn't even put on the hard hat. The forward thought it belonged somewhere else.
Alabama coach Nate Oats had just finished reading off the blue-collar points after Tuesday's 74-47 win over South Carolina. Oats was standing at the front of the room in front of the team when he commended the effort of some of the top blue-collar performers, a stat Alabama's staff tracks every game.
Although Mo Dioubate had the most blue-collar points per minute, Pringle had the most over the course of the game. So, he was handed the hard hat, always given to the player with the most blue-collar points that day.
Then Pringle took it, immediately turned around and placed it on Dioubate's head. The Crimson Tide players circled up around Dioubate, hitting the hard hat as they hollered in celebration.
That's exactly what Oats hoped for when he brought in Alabama softball coach Patrick Murphy on Monday to speak to the team.
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Murphy has had all kinds of success as UA's softball coach for a quarter century, including a national championship in 2012. At the core of that has been the term mudita; Simply put, it's about finding joy in the success of others.
"Having genuine joy, vicarious joy through your teammates' success," Oats said. "I thought we had that tonight."
Oats saw it when his players swarmed Dioubate as he came off the court. Dioubate didn't play much, not even 10 minutes, but he almost led the team in rebounds with six. Dioubate displayed effort that Oats has sought from his team.
"A kid who hasn't played much who has an unbelievable attitude, and they were as happy as can be," Oats said.
That wasn't the only example of unselfishness Oats saw vs. South Carolina. At one point late in the game, guard Davin Cosby made a point on the bench with which Oats agreed. Many on the bench didn't realize Sears had 31 points because "it was the most unselfish 31 points we've seen."
Sears made all of his free throws, grabbed 6 rebounds, drew 5 fouls, tallied 3 assists and 3 steals over 28:51.
"I thought he was making the right plays, moving the ball, great teammate," Oats said. "Still ends up with 31 points. It kind of proves you can play the right way and move the ball and when you're as talented as he is, he still ends up with 31 points."
Sears was vital in Alabama's efforts crushing South Carolina in the second half to hand the Gamecocks their second loss of the season. The Crimson Tide outscored South Carolina 44-18 after halftime. It was a welcomed change from many games this season where Alabama has suffered late collapses, often resulting in losses.
Oats had been asked in his postgame press conference about what was different from those other games. That's when he mentioned Murphy's speech to the team.
"We kept playing for each other," Oats said. "The ball kept moving. When you play unselfish, you take care of the ball and you play defense like that, we're one of the best teams in the country."
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: Patrick Murphy spoke to Alabama basketball before USC. Here's why
