Releford leads talented Tide trio into Rupp

Alabama, the "other" team in Rupp Arena Tuesday night, features a candidate for Southeastern Conference Player of the Year, the SEC's Freshman of the Week for last week and perhaps the league's hottest player.

Senior point guard Trevor Releford will get consideration for SEC Player of the Year even though Alabama has a 6-10 league record (12-17 overall), several coaches said Monday. He holds the school record for steals with 257, scored 1,825 points in his career and hit double digits in 30 straight games.

"He's consistently been able to produce," Alabama Coach Anthony Grant said. "... He's a tremendous competitor. Every night he's getting the best defender and the (other) team's focus. He goes out there and makes plays and gives us a chance."

Levi Randolph has given opponents another headache recently. His average of 23.3 points in the last three games (nine of 16 shooting from three-point range) includes a career-high 33 against Missouri on Feb. 22. He scored 24 in a 73-57 victory over Auburn on Saturday.

"Our team is feeding off of that as of late," Grant said.

The SEC named Shannon Hale, a 6-foot-8 forward, as Freshman of the Week for last week after he averaged 17 points and five rebounds against Mississippi and Auburn.

This story was originally published March 3, 2014 at 8:52 PM with the headline "Releford leads talented Tide trio into Rupp."