Alabama Basketball: With No. 3 ’22 class Nate Oats may not be finished

However the 2022 Alabama basketball season finishes, Crimson Tide fans will be excited about next year. So far the 2021-22 season has been a rocky ride, with no shortage of drama from tremendous wins over top teams and disappointing losses to bad teams. While the Crimson Tide currently lags in the SEC standings, March and April are all that matter in college basketball.

Nate Oats has five players signed in the 2022 class. Two of the five are 5-Star recruits, and four are inside the 247Sports Composite top 58 players nationally. The fifth is a highly valued JUCO transfer. Three of the newcomers have a solid chance to be immediate starters. One has legitimate potential to be a one-and-done player.

Many Alabama fans believe the 2022 class could be the Crimson Tide’s best-ever combination of new players. The five 2022 signees are profiled below.

While Nate Oats and his staff are actively pursuing players from the 2023 and 2024 classes, it appears they may not be finished with the 2022 class. An under-the-radar Canadian player is drawing interest from several colleges as well as the NBA’s G League.

Over the last couple of years, Leonard Miller has spurted from being a 6’4″ wing player to a 6’10” player that has not lost any of his skills to score from the outside and dish out assists. He still patterns his game to NBA high-scoring guards. If he decides to pursue college basketball instead of skipping it to be a professional, Miller can quickly develop into a top player.

Miller has been so little known, he currently is not ranked in the 247Sports Composite. Alabama is a school Miller is considering along with nine others. The Crimson Tide and five other programs offered Miller in mid-November. Since then three more schools have added offers. In addition to Alabama, the schools are Washington State, Oklahoma State, TCU, Kansas, Georgia, Wake Forest, LSU, Pitt and Arizona State.

Leonard’s brother, Emanuel Miller is a junior at TCU and the Horned Frogs’ third-leading scorer this season. Leonard has not said that TCU, or any other school, leads in his recruitment.

Check out his highlights below.

As great as the Tide’s 2022 class already is, it is possible Leonard Miller could be better than any of the new Crimson Tide signees.

Alabama Basketball 2022 Signing Class

• Brandon Miller; 5-Star, 6’8″ wing ranked No. 11 overall in 2022 class
• Jaden Bradley; 5-Star, 6’3″ guard ranked No. 17 overall
• Rylan Griffen; 4-Star, 6’5″ shooting guard ranked No. 49 overall
• Noah Clowney; 4-Star, 6’9″ forward ranked No. 58
• Nick Pringle; 3-Star, 6’9″ forward ranked as No. 3 JUCO player

With five, and possibly six new players for the 2022-23 season, roster turnover will be a tough task for Nate Oats. As many as six or seven current players will either turn professional or pursue options with other college programs.