Alabama men’s basketball had a rough 2021-2022 season. Sure, the program as a whole is improving, which can be seen by the mere fact the team was a lock to make the NCAA Men’s Tournament when Selection Sunday came around – no more ‘bubble watch.’
[autotag]Nate Oats[/autotag]’ team, however, had a really ugly end to the regular season, followed by a horrible loss to Vanderbilt in the opening round of the SEC tournament and finally it all came to an end when Notre Dame took down the Crimson Tide in the Round of 64 in March Madness.
Kansas took down North Carolina in the national title game, which means college basketball is now officially in the offseason. What this really means is that it’s time to try and predict the future.
Jeff Borzello of ESPN released his “Way-too-early top 25 CBB rankings” for the start of the 2022-2023 season.
As difficult to watch Alabama’s season was to watch, Borzello has the Crimson Tide opening up the year as the No. 15 team in the nation. In fact, he would have them even higher if it wasn’t for [autotag]Jaden Shackelford[/autotag]’s recent announcement that he would be entering the 2022 NBA draft.
Borzello writes,
“Before Jaden Shackelford’s decision on Sunday to enter the NBA draft — with a statement that doesn’t indicate much of an interest in returning to Tuscaloosa — I had the Crimson Tide ranked inside the top 10. Now, they drop several spots, but I still like Nate Oats’ team. Jahvon Quinerly is back, as are three other key members of the Alabama rotation. A lot of the optimism stems from an elite recruiting class that features five-star prospects Jaden Bradley and Brandon Miller, as well as ESPN 100 recruits Rylan Griffen and Noah Clowney. We also have to wait and see whether JD Davison and Keon Ellis — two projected draft picks — will return to Tuscaloosa for another season.”
Roll Tide Wire will continue to cover Crimson Tide basketball over the offseason, as well as former players in the NBA.
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