While the NBA draft process may still be ongoing, the transfer portal window is closed and we can start to assess what teams are going to look like next year. For [autotag]Nate Oats[/autotag] and the Alabama Crimson Tide, it was a wildly successful spring as they landed four key transfers in Aden Holloway from Auburn, Clifford Omoruyi from Rutgers, Chris Youngblood from USF and Houston Mallette from Pepperdine. Oats also earned a commitment from the No. 32 ranked player in the 2024 class in former Kansas commit Labaron Philon.
Grant Nelson announced his decision to return to the Crimson Tide next year, but we are still nervously waiting on a decision from Mark Sears. It sounds more likely than not that Sears, Alabama’s best player from a season ago, will be back in Tuscaloosa, but nothing is official yet. Freshman Jarin Stevenson also entered his name in the draft process, but we haven’t heard much about his status yet.
With one of the best coaches in the sport and a top two or three roster, the expectations will be high for Alabama coming off the programs first ever Final Four. In ESPN college basketball expert Jeff Borzello’s Way-Too-Early top 25, the Crimson Tide are ranked No. 6 in the country.
Borzello says of Alabama, “Nate Oats spent the first part of the offseason overhauling the perimeter group. Aaron Estrada, Rylan Griffen — and perhaps Mark Sears — are out the door, while Aden Holloway (Auburn), Chris Youngblood (South Florida) and Houston Mallette (Pepperdine) have arrived. The past couple of weeks, however, he’s been focused on the frontcourt, first getting starting forward Grant Nelson back and then beating out North Carolina for Rutgers transfer Clifford Omoruyi.”
Roll Tide Wire will continue to follow Alabama basketball throughout the 2024 offseason.
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