The growing story of Anthony Brock

While sitting in Fresh Food yesterday for lunch, I was watching Sportscenter on one of the televisions in the area. Much to my surprise, considering how little air time the SEC has been getting in basketball this year, I noticed "Alabama/Tennessee" on the rundown for stories coming up next. I didn't get a chance to watch the game on Sunday because I was on my way to the Davis Cup in Birmingham, but was able to listen to the game, so I knew what happened.

Once the highlights came up, almost every person in the area looked up at the screen, as if they knew I was in the area and wanted to say, "See, this school does care about basketball."

Nonetheless, Anthony Brock's 30-foot bank shot to sink Tennessee came on the screen. A table full of guys to my left started chuckling in disbelief, so they obviously watched the game Sunday. What really bothered me was some Sally Sorority-girl behind me who uttered the phrase, "Oh my gosh!! Wait, who was that?"

All I could do was laugh and shake my head.

I'm not saying that I attend every sport on campus religiously (I missed out on volleyball this year, sadly), but to not know an athlete on one of the major sports teams at your school is a bit harsh.

So, for Sally, and probably a good bit of everyone else, this is the growing story of Anthony Brock.

Brock, a 5' 9" junior guard from Little Rock, Arkansas, transferred to Alabama last year from Itawamba Community College. Since you can't possibly know where that is unless you are from that area (or have a cousin who's boyfriend attended there) it's close to Tupelo, Mississippi.

When Brock committed, I got to hear all about him from the boyfriend. He was a star at ICC, scoring over 1,000 points in his two seasons at the school. What really made me excited was his 47 percent clip from downtown, something that Alabama severely needed help with. It also didn't hurt that the last JUCO transfer from Arkansas saved my life last March in Atlanta.

As much as I was excited to get Brock to Tuscaloosa, I was just as disappointed when he didn't see much playing time early on this season. In the second game of the season, he dropped 13 on FAMU, making all of his shots, including three from behind the arc. Over the next fifteen games, though, Brock saw action in only three of them. During that time, Alabama shot 27 percent from three-point range, but Brock never saw the floor.

Since Brock has been implemented back into the rotation, Alabama has seen a dramatic increase in it's three point production. In the past 13 games, Alabama has shot 39 percent from three. During this time, Brock has gone 18-40 from range, good enough for 45 percent accuracy.

When Brock is on, it is time to watch out. Against Vanderbilt, a gym where Alabama has traditionally played poorly, Brock brought his best game to date, going for 15 points and making five of his six shots from three-point range.

Against Ole Miss, Brock, once again began to feel it, making five of six once again plus a career high 17 points to propel Alabama to its first road win in its last 20 attempts.

The Ole Miss game is also where the magic began. In Oxford, I had the privilege to sit near some of Brock's family friends from the area and I learned of his grandmother's death during the game. I was already a fan of his, but to see him go out and perform in that game like he did made it that much more special. After that game, his brother drove him back to Arkansas to be with his family.

Then, against Tennessee, Brock had to be driven all night by his cousin to Knoxville after his grandmother's funeral went long and he missed his flight.

That is when the real magic happened for Bama's newest star.



And that is just the story so far. Brock still has one more year at the Capstone with the Crimson Tide, and it is a pretty safe bet that most people know who he is now.