Alabama Basketball announced some unfortunate news on Wednesday morning confirming that guard Nimari Burnett had suffered a season-ending knee injury.
Program update regarding Nimari Burnett
— Alabama Men’s Basketball (@AlabamaMBB) September 8, 2021
Burnett, a transfer from Texas Tech, spent his freshman season a year ago with the Red Raiders appearing in 12 games where he averaged 5.3 PPG, 1.8 RPG, and 1.4 SPG. A former five-star recruit, Burnett announced he was transferring to Alabama in the offseason where he was expected to play a big-role in the Crimson Tide’s 2021-22 backcourt.
Now with the talented guard unavailable for the entirety of the 2021-22 season, how will the Crimson Tide replace Burnett in the rotation?
How will Alabama Basketball replace injured guard Nimari Burnett?
While losing a prominent player to injury before the season even tips-off isn’t ideal, the Crimson Tide have the talent and depth to be just fine.
While Burnett could’ve been a candidate to potentially see time at point guard, the duo of Jahvon Quinerly and JD Davison will feature at the position this season. These two will most-likely see time on the court together, and when they do, it will likely move Davison to shooting guard with Quinerly at point.
The biggest impact will come at the two-guard position where Burnett would’ve likely been featured the most. While the injury to Burnett likely means Jaden Shackelford will split-time often between the two and three, it also affects Keon Ellis as he will be key in replacing Burnett’s defensive versatility.
Two others that could see increased minutes because of this are sophomore Darius Miles and freshman Jusaun Holt.
Miles showed flashes a season ago in limited action as a freshman, and most-likely would’ve already had a bigger role this season even before the Burnett injury. Holt enters his freshman season after averaging 21/8/4/2 during his senior season at St. Francis (GA) in 2020, and will be key in replacing John Petty’s three-point shooting.
Alabama Basketball will most-likely play a lot of interesting combinations on the court this season, especially when it comes to the backcourt. While Quinerly, Davison, Shackelford, and Ellis are a given, don’t be surprised if Miles and Holt also play a big role in replacing Burnett this season.