As Alabama men’s basketball enters a new year with a replenished roster, questions loom about whether the team will be able to make a deep run in the NCAA Tournament for a third straight year.
With All-American guard Mark Sears leaving along with other key contributors, including forward Grant Nelson, guard Chris Youngblood and center Cliff Omoruyi, head coach Nate Oats’ team will look to new faces to continue Oats’ fast paced offense and “blue-collar” play style.
While the program has looked to a combination of transfers, freshmen, and improved returners to replicate the success Alabama experienced throughout 2024, the challenges of fitting these new pieces together will cap the Crimson Tide with a lower ceiling than last year.
Sophomore guard Labaron Philon Jr. is the heir apparent to Sears as the primary initiator on offense. His performance in an exhibition win over Florida State reinforced his place as the number one scoring option on the team.
Philon scored 28 points on 8-12 shooting in the game and demonstrated a new level of aggression on offense, making multiple step-back 3s and attacking the rim throughout the game.
“He was more vocal,” Oats said of Philon after the game. “He needs to take more ownership of the team because he’s gonna have the ball in his hands quite a bit this year.”
While Philon’s success this season is expected given his level of play in 2024 as a true freshman, it will be the contributions of other newcomers that will shape the Crimson Tide’s ceiling.
Philon could play himself into a lottery pick in the 2026 draft and veterans Aden Holloway and Latrell Wrightsell should be ready to contribute, but the rest of the roster’s newness to the team and unclear fit will make it difficult for them to replicate the offensive firepower of Oats’ 2024 team.
With several transfers and true freshmen on the depth chart, Oats and his staff will need some new players to be ready to pick up the intensity of SEC basketball and contribute immediately.
Florida State transfer forward Taylor Bol Bowen will have a lot asked of him early on in Tuscaloosa. A 6-foot-10 position-flexible forward, Bol Bowen’s length and athleticism will provide versatility on the defensive side of the ball, but he must quickly acclimate to Oats’ offensive style to take the spot of the jumbo-sized wing held by Nelson.
Tarleton State transfer forward Keitenn Bristow, meanwhile, could prove a vital piece for Alabama with his intensity and effort on the smaller details of the game.
Scoring 13 points on 6-10 shooting against Florida State, Bristow finished with six rebounds, including three on the offensive glass, and he set the tone with his effort on defense.
“He’s gonna be that Blue Collar guy,” Oats said of Bristow. “Comes in, gets offensive boards, makes big plays on defense. Shoot, he was big when we needed to win the game.”
Although Bol Bowen and Bristow have enough experience under their belts for fans to expect them to be ready to contribute, the looming question over the Crimson Tide’s roster is how prepared the true freshmen are to see playing time.
Forward Amari Allen looks to be the freshman the coaching staff are putting the most trust in to start the year, playing the most minutes among freshmen against Florida State.
Allen struggled shooting the ball, finishing 2-8 from the field, but was noticeably involved as a ball-carrier on offense, racking up four assists. He later put up 11 points and nine rebounds in an exhibition game against Furman.
“He’s not a guy that you’re gonna see a whole lot of rah-rah out of,” Oats said after the Furman game. “I think he’s got a lot of toughness to him. He’s very motivated.”
Freshman guard Davion Hannah, meanwhile, proved valuable on the defensive side of the ball, while forward London Jemison struggled in the limited minutes he saw.
Though they showed flashes, at least one of those three will have to shoulder a heavy workload for Alabama to compete at the top of the SEC again. It was freshman Philon’s surprising readiness to contribute last year that elevated Alabama’s ceiling, and it will need another freshman to step up as a threat to score again in 2025.
It is that uncertainty, combined with the questions of how transfers will fit into the offensive and defensive schemes of Oats’ team, that projects the Crimson Tide to be less successful than last year.
If some of those new faces do step up, however, and the coaching staff is able to instill cohesion among new members of the team, Alabama could still find itself competitive towards the top of the SEC and a tough out in the NCAA Tournament with a Sweet 16 ceiling.
