Alabama basketball coach Nate Oats praised Mark Sears' response after he was benched against LSU, but did not say whether he would start at Mississippi State.

Vanderbilt's roster construction and Morez Johnson's rapidlly-improving defense among trends Isaac Trotter is tracking.

That's the version of the All-American point guard that Oats is hoping will take the floor for the No. 4 Crimson Tide from here on out, and not the version he thought he saw when he benched Sears for the duration of the second half of last Saturday's win against LSU.