Alabama Basketball: A lot going on even with Watford in limbo

There is much Alabama basketball news even with Nate Oats not yet filling the 2019-20 roster while the Trendon Watford camp waits.

For those only checking in for news on Trendon Watford, skip to the bottom of the post. We are going to discuss actual Alabama basketball news first. Crimson Tide head coach, Nate Oats has been making offers across the nation. Most, but not all of them, are for the 2020 signing class.

Nate Oats is making bold moves in pursuit of several, elite level players. He is also hard at work on the 2021 and 2022 classes. Expectation Oats will finish the 2020 season roster any day has turned into he will finish it someday in the future.

There has been recent news about three players from the 2019 roster. No players from last season’s team were invited to the NBA Combine. Donta Hall has been invited for a workout with the Charlotte Hornets. There is no news of any NBA  Draft grade for Tevin Mack. Unless Tevin opts for playing professionally next season, somewhere other than the NBA, he should be back in Tuscaloosa.

Another transfer portal exit has been announced. Daniel Giddens is going to Vermont. As a graduate transfer, he will be eligible to play next season.

Howard University, transfer point guard, R.J. Cole spent three days in Tuscaloosa last weekend. Cole is a great fit for the Nate Oats system. He must sit out next season and then could use two remaining seasons of eligibility. Recruiting experts project Cole will choose either Alabama basketball or U Conn. The Huskies are believed to be the favorite.

JUCO forward, James Rojas has been quoted as saying he wants to play for Nate Oats. The junior college All-American would be an asset, though he is not considered to be a major scoring threat.

Assuming Mack returns, either Diante Wood will have to follow through on transferring (after putting his name in the portal) or another Tide player must decide to transfer.  Otherwise, there is no room for another new player. Conjecture Javian Davis-Fleming might transfer has abated.

Insiders say Wood will not return. So the remaining roster spot could go to Cole, Rojas or potentially to the enigmatic Trendon Watford. Many Alabama basketball fans wish Oats would tell Watford the train has left the station. Others believe the 5-Star recruit is worth waiting on.

No one on the outside of the Watford family conclave knows why Trendon continues to delay. Many experts believe Memphis, with a bevy of other options, has moved on from Trendon. Waiting to see if Will Wade will or will not be fired by LSU seems an apparent reason.

There is, the no predicting what will happen in Baton Rouge factor. One theory is LSU realizes it needs to fire Wade but is investigating for ‘termination for cause’ proof, thereby saving the buyout costs.

How long will LSU delay? How long will Watford wait? How long will Nate Oats wait? Our answers to the three questions are: as long as it takes for LSU to figure out how to best save face; we no longer care and we hope not long.