Three seasons ago, guard Aaliyah Nye entered the transfer portal after spending her first two years at the University of Illinois. She ended up committing to Alabama in 2022.
Fast-forward to today, and Nye is among the best 3-point shooters in the country. She holds the school record for 3s made in a season and the all-time Alabama record for 3-point percentage in a career.
The decision to come to Alabama was an easy one for Nye. She grew up in Huntsville, Alabama, before moving to East Lansing, Michigan, and cited being able to have her family come to her games, as well as a sister who currently goes to school at Alabama, as a big reason for her choice. She also said she had a “fantastic” visit and enjoyed learning more about head coach Kristy Curry and the style of basketball she has implemented for the past 13 years at Alabama.
“I really enjoyed the coaches and I really liked Coach Kristy’s system,” Nye said. “I felt like I would fit very well here at Alabama.”
Since coming to Tuscaloosa, Nye has seen her game drastically improve.
She was an above-average 3-point shooter during her two seasons at Illinois, shooting 36.4% from downtown. However, once she arrived in Alabama, Nye immediately became one of the best shooters in the country, and her 45.1% mark from 3-point range during her first year with the Crimson Tide was good enough for the best in the SEC. In total, she has made 43.5% of her 3-point shots since coming to Tuscaloosa.
Nye attributed her success from the 3-point range at Alabama to personal growth but also the Crimson Tide’s offensive system and her teammates for helping her achieve new levels of success.
“This system just fits me really well, it’s able to get me a lot of good shots,” Nye said. “At Alabama we have a lot of good players here that draw attention, and I’m able to get a lot of open shots because of them.”
Nye has had a couple of personal achievements and broken a couple of school records during her time with the Crimson Tide. Last season, she reached the 1,000 career points mark and earned her first postseason honors, as she was awarded 2024 All-SEC second team for averaging a career-high 14.1 points per game.
The improvement from 3-point range came full circle for Nye last season, as she made her 95th 3 of the season against Mississippi State, setting the school record for 3s in a season en route to finishing with 108. She also holds the school record for 3-point percentage in a career with her 43.5% mark.
But Nye doesn’t think much about records and achievements. She is grateful that hard work has paid off, but she has bigger goals for the team.
“Ultimately, the achievements make me happy, but I don’t think about that a lot,” Nye said. “For the team, not just myself, I really want to win a lot of games and get a championship under my belt.”
Team success is something that Nye greatly values. She said her favorite achievement at Alabama was the team’s appearance in the NCAA Tournament the first year she was here.
“I don’t think people understand that it’s really hard to get into the tournament,” Nye said. “I never made it at Illinois, so to have that moment with the team is special, because that’s what we play for.”
Nye has made the NCAA Tournament in the past two seasons at Alabama and won her first March Madness game last season, beating Florida State 82-74.
Now, with a team this season that earned preseason Top 25 honors for the first time since the 1998-99 season and that’s off to the hottest start in program history, Nye believes the respect the team gets is earned and is out to keep proving it.
“I think in the past, we weren’t respected as much as we would like to have been, but this season we’re earning it,” Nye said. “I think we just have to continue to keep winning games and show everyone who we are.”
The Crimson Tide’s 15-1 start this season has been largely due to the play of the starting lineup, which has featured Nye, Karly Weathers, Sarah Ashlee Barker, Zaay Green and Essence Cody. Nye has particularly grown fond of this unit.
“I just love playing with them, we have a really good group,” Nye said. “We all have experience and we know how to look for each other on the floor, and we just bring a ton of energy.”
With her collegiate career coming to an end, Nye has only one goal in mind, which is to win a championship. She believes this team has a very good chance at achieving that goal.
“The desire to go out on top is strong, and I really think this is the team that can do it with how good our players and coaches are,” Nye said. “This is the reason we play, which is to win. The desire is strong across the locker room, and I think this team can do it.”
