If Alabama is going to rally past Duke in the second half and reach the Final Four for the second straight year, Grant Nelson needs to be more involved, Charles Barkley said.
Speaking at halftime of the Crimson Tide’s Elite Eight game with the Blue Devils on Saturday night on CBS, Barkley said Alabama must utilize the 6-foot-10 Nelson in a two-man game with All-America guard Mark Sears. Nelson had six points on 3-for-6 shooting in the first half, while Sears — who hit 10 3-pointers and scored 34 points vs. BYU on Thursday night — scored only two points in the first 20 minutes vs. Duke as the Crimson Tide trailed 46-37 at the break.
“That was a really good half of basketball by Duke,” Barkley said. “Alabama played well. They just didn’t make a lot of shots. I’d like to see them use Nelson more, especially on the pick-and-roll with him and Sears. I hate when they just have him standing out there. When he gets to moving, he’s got a couple of dunks, a couple of easy layups. But they just have standing out there.”
All-American Cooper Flagg had 10 points and five rebounds in the first half for Duke. The Blue Devils shot 56% as a team and went 5-for-9 on 3-pointers in building their nine-point lead.
Barkley said Alabama will have to return to its running and gunning style to come back and win.
“On the defensive end, they’re making too many mistakes,” Barkley said. “You’ve got to double Cooper Flagg when he comes off that pick-and-roll. You can’t make mistakes and give up 3-point plays. This game has got a long way to go, obviously.
“… Alabama can only win a track meet. They cannot win this game in the half-court. Duke has got too much skill in the half-court. Alabama’s got to turn it into a track meet.”