Amari Allen returned to Alabama to show NBA teams that he could be a guard.

The sophomore took the first step towards that goal on Friday, finishing with 16 points, 13 rebounds, and 11 assists to record the fifth triple-double in Crimson Tide men's basketball history in Alabama's 101-86 win over Arkansas State.

Allen found Brandon Garrison inside for his tenth assist with just over six minutes to play in the game, having already long cleared the threshold for points and assists.

Allen led Alabama in all three relevant stats at halftime, with 13 points, eight rebounds, and six assists, but he had a quiet start to the game. This changed Alabama's 14-0 run to end the first half, during which Allen scored eight straight points and recorded four rebounds and three assists during a two-minute stretch.

"Coach Oats and Preston (Murphy, assistant coach) called me over and they were like, 'Why are you not being aggressive?' And I'm like, 'You're right, you're right,'' Allen said on the SEC Network+ broadcast postgame. "That's when I came out, shot those, you know, I passed a couple up, but just trying to get guys involved. Trying to run the team. Second half, you know, the guys are open for shots, so I'm not going to force it. You know, get guys open for shots and get the best shots we can possibly get."

Three of the five triple-doubles in program history have now come under Nate Oats. Roy Rogers recorded two in the span of seven days in the 1996 season, with both of them coming through points, rebounds. and blocks, instead of assists. A 24-year drought followed, before Kira Lewis Jr. notched a triple-double in Alabama's 95-91 overtime loss to Auburn in 2020. Aaron Estrada had the last one in a 2024 victory over Ole Miss.

Allen becomes the first Alabama player to record a triple-double in a nonconference game, and the first to do it outside the month of February.

This story will be updated with quotes head coach Nate Oats at the conclusion of the game.

Triple Doubles in Alabama basketball history

• Roy Rogers, Feb. 10, 1996 — 15 points, 12 rebounds, 14 blocks vs. Georgia

• Roy Rogers, Feb. 17, 1996 — 27 points, 10 rebounds, 10 blocks vs. LSU

• Kira Lewis, Feb. 12, 2020 — 10 points, 10 rebounds, 13 assists vs. Auburn

• Aaron Estrada, Feb. 28, 2024 — 18 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists vs. Ole Miss