In Tuscaloosa for a few months now, Collin Sexton was center of Alabama's basketball hype. Until Tuesday night, he hasn't been heard.
But after scoring 29 points in a 77-76 win over UT Arlington, the potential top-10 NBA draft pick was made available to the media for the first time. It's been an interesting ride for the best Crimson Tide recruit in a generation.
The McDonald's All-American was suspended for the season opener for alleged involvement in the scandal exposed in the FBI probe of college basketball. Since then, he's scored at least 20 points in three straight Alabama wins.
Sexton does it with the kind of personality and energy not seen in Coleman Coliseum in some time.
"I feel like when we're having fun, we're at our best," Sexton said Tuesday night. "In practice, if we're having fun, we're going to have a great practice. It just translates over into the game."
Sexton had 29 in the UT Arlington win. That included the final five points and lock-down defense when UTA's Erick Neal had a shot at the buzzer for the win.
"I was ready for the challenge," Sexton said. "In practice, we go over a whole lot of defensive plays. Coach calls it the alley. And if you turn him more than four or five times, that's a good possession. I turned him a few times and I got him to shoot a tough shot."
Before that, he made a huge layup while getting fouled with 29 seconds left. It put Alabama up four when his free throw missed the mark.
"Coach, he put me in a great position to have the floor open and allow me to attack the point guard as well as the big," Sexton said. "If he came up, drop it down. He just gave me the floor and told me to operate."
Sexton already led the SEC with his 23.5-point scoring average before dropping 29 on Tuesday.
"Since I'm out there, I might as well do something while I'm out there," Sexton said. "Every time I step on the court, I have to give my all."
Michael Casagrande is an Alabama beat writer for the Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter