Alabama’s Herb Jones embodies ‘hard-hat’ culture Oats is creating in first season

TUSCALOOSA — A passing glance of Herbert Jones’ stat line in Alabama’s 93-65 exhibition win over Georgia Tech last Sunday might not reveal much.

Five points on 2-of-7 shooting, including one 3-pointer, six rebounds, five assists and five turnovers.

In fact, those five turnovers might lead some to take a negative view of Jones’ performance Sunday.

But it’s the points between the lines that earned the Crimson Tide junior wing the team’s coveted “Hard Hat” award after the game, a new tradition first-year Alabama head coach Nate Oats brought with him from Buffalo.

“Herb’s one of the better defenders in the country, and we’ve known that and kind of praised it. We call them ‘blue-collar points,’ a combination of points for charges, floor dives, loose balls, deflections, rebounds, offensive rebounds — all the stuff that maybe doesn’t show up on a box score but wins games,” Oats said of Jones last Sunday. “Herb ended up winning the blue collar (points), and we gave him a hard hat after the game, and also won the plus-minus on the stat sheet. So we were best when Herb was in the game, even though he didn’t score that many points.”

The team’s hard hat award is a painted-white construction hat with a Crimson script-A embossed on either side and gets presented to the player with the most “blue-collar” points or plays in the game. While many of those points are officially tallied upon film review, a general indicator is the player’s plus-minus contribution in the game.

“It means a lot. I feel like that’s how I impact winning, doing what I have to do for the team to win,” Jones said Thursday. “It’s like the hustle points. … It’s good to know they’re watching (that sort of stuff), even though it doesn’t show up in the box score. It’s good to know they’re acknowledging that we’re playing hard.”

While he might not have been a productive offensive threat, Jones still managed to lead Alabama with a plus-25 plus/minus over his 20-plus minutes in the game Sunday. That was even better than the plus-20 for freshman leading scorer Jaden Shackelford, who led the way with 21 points on 6-of-10 shooting from 3 in 25 minutes, and the plus-9 from sophomore point guard Kira Lewis Jr., who added 20 points, eight assists and seven rebounds in more than 31 minutes Sunday.

“We take pride in blue-collar plays and doing all the little intangibles, even when you’re not playing very well (offensively),” Shackelford said Thursday. “So having a good plus-minus, or whatever it may be, we take pride in that. It’s a great feeling (to get the hard hat).”

As a key holdover from the previous administration, the 6-foot-7 Jones has quickly established himself as one of Alabama’s most important players in Oats’ inaugural season in Tuscaloosa, which officially kicks off next Tuesday with the Crimson Tide’s home opener against Penn.

“He does so many little things that wins games, and our guys know that, we know it. That’s why he’s a huge part of what we’re doing,” Oats said of Jones on Sunday. “It’s why he’s on NBA scouts’ radar, because he does all that stuff. And the more he’s able to shoot it — he hit the one 3 today — I think that’s going to go up. We’ve been in the gym a ton just getting up shots with him, he’s going to be a more confident offensive player (moving forward).”

Jones also has the versatility to play anywhere between point guard and power forward as Oats looks to utilize more four-guard lineups where the 6-7 Jones is technically one of the bigger men on the floor and must defend other teams’ power forwards or centers. Of course, Jones is more than up to the task, especially since Oats’ aggressive and relentless defensive approach seems to fit Jones’ personal style of play, regardless of the position he’s in.

“Most times I don’t know who I’m going to guard or what position I’m going to play (defensively),” Jones said, “so I’ve just got to be ready and pay attention to all the plays and pay attention to the scouting report. … (But) I feel like it’s more fun to play (like that), it’s less to worry about so it kind of frees you up on the offensive end, and just on defense, that’s how I’ve played all my life, so it’s just second nature to me.”

So, as Alabama (0-0) opens the season Tuesday against Penn with its second game a week from Monday against Florida Atlantic on Nov. 11, Jones epitomizes the multi-dimensional player that could be the linchpin to lead the new-look Crimson Tide to even greater heights in Oats' first season.

“I haven’t had a guy that versatile on offense and be as great on defense as Herb,” Oats said. “We’ve played with 6-6 big guards like him before, but Herb’s overall two-way, offensive and defensive play, is at an elite level. Now if he can start making shots, and we’re encouraging him … but if he adds that dimension to it, he’s going to be one of the better players in the country in my opinion.”

Contact Montgomery Advertiser sports reporter Alex Byington at abyington@montgomery.gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @_AlexByington.