Alabama Basketball: Kira Lewis, John Petty most underrated duo in 2019-20

Their greatness individually

Kira Lewis is one of the most elite floor generals in the country, and there is no denying that. Everything that runs through Alabama has to run through him first. He plays a whopping 92.2 percent of the team’s minutes (16th nationally); he also uses 23.8 percent of their possessions and 23.8 percent of their shot attempts.

The 6-foot-3, 167-pound point guard is the heart of Alabama Basketball; the team couldn’t ask for much better. Lewis is a Swiss Army knife PG, meaning that he does a little bit of everything for his team. His strongest suit is his ability to carve defenses on his way to the basket.

Whether if it’s in the pick-and-roll or in isolation, Lewis can bolt pass any defender with his quick burst and ability to change speeds whenever he pleases. He can find his way to the basket on command, often drawing extra eyes when he does. That’s where a big chunk of his 4.7 assists come from; him making help defenders pay by dumping it to a big or kicking it out to a shooter.

One of those shooters is none other than John Petty, who has surprisingly grown to become one of the most efficient shot-throwers in college basketball this year.

The 6-foot-5, 197-pound guard is 4th in all of the NCAA this year in 3-point field goal percentage at 47.7 percent. Out of the top 5 from that list, he has attempted the second most threes. Petty attempts a strong 7.3 threes a game this season, which is good for a career high.

His 47.7 percent success rate from downtown is also a significant career high. Before this season he was a career 35.85 percent 3-point shooter. In the short span of a year Petty has gone from acceptable to exceptional from deep. His improvement has not only placed himself in an elite class, but also has made his coherency next to Lewis one of the best to be seen in 2019-20.