When Alabama baseball coach Rob Vaughn watches Justin Lebron, he doesn't think about the posterchild for the Los Angeles Lakers, or his son.
Instead, Michael Jordan comes to mind. Not because of the six-time NBA champion's stint in the minor leagues, or because Lebron's cleats are Jordan 1 Retro Low 'Chicago's.
As No. 8 Alabama (27-6, 7-5 SEC) trailed 6-3 against Auburn in the finale of a 2-1 rivalry series loss, Vaughn put on the headset for an on-field interview to speak on Lebron's prowess. Even in the events leading to defeat, it was hard to forget "Bronny's" highlight-reel hit to start Saturday's doubleheader, and the sophomore only kept making plays that forced broadcasters to admit they have a "crush."
Any time Lebron is on the field, there's hope — or fear — that UA can rally. A shaky day for Alabama pitching continued in the eighth inning of Saturday's first game as Auburn (22-10, 6-6) reclaimed a 5-4 lead.
Leadoff hitter Richie Bonomolo Jr.'s bat was daunting enough. Then AU reliever Carson Myers had to face Lebron.
Why Alabama baseball's Rob Vaughn thinks of Michael Jordan when he watches stud shortstop Justin Lebron
For the second time in the game, Lebron brought Bonomolo home in the ninth inning just how you'd expect a potential No. 1 draft pick to do it:
A two-run blast over the left field wall at Plainsman Park to see Myers give up his first run in SEC play.
"Sometimes you need your best player to be your best player. And Bronny got a slider out over the plate and didn't miss it," Vaughn recalled on the SEC Network. "He loves the moment. He's not afraid of the moment. And so many guys get in that spot right there and they try to do too much."
"Michael Jordan said it the best, man. You're in that situation a lot, you're going to miss a lot of them, but if you can stay present, stay engaged, you got to fight the shot. He [Lebron] tends to do that a lot," Vaughn continued.
For kicks and giggles, in Jordan's single season with the Birmingham Barons, the then-AA affiliate of the Chicago White Sox, the 31 year-old slashed .202/.290/.266 with three home runs in 127 games. On Saturday, Lebron hit his 14th home run through 31 games, carrying a .336 clip with an on-base-plus-slugging percentage of 1.193.
