Alabama Basketball: Rapid transfer transition for the Crimson Tide

It is Transfer Portal frenzy time for college basketball and Alabama Basketball already has one exit. Nimari Burnett announced his Portal entry on Tuesday. As recently as a couple of days ago, Alabama basketball insiders were thinking other than Brandon Miller, Noah Clowney and Jahvon Quinerly, the Crimson Tide would have no roster exits.

The latest buzz is Burnett might not be the only additional Crimson Tide player to enter the Transfer Portal. There are rumblings Rylan Griffen and Nick Pringle may jump as well.

Miller’s exit is not in doubt. What Clowney and Quinerly will do may not be known for several weeks. There is some thought Nate Oats and Antione Pettway will try hard to persuade Quinerly to choose another season of college ball.

The declare date for the NBA is April 23. But players have until May 31, to decide to withdraw. The NBA Draft is June 22.

The Transfer Portal window for basketball is open and closes again for immediate eligibility on May 11. Coaches cannot exercise too much patience as many top transfer targets do not remain available for long.

Nate Oats and his staff have been adept at Portal management. No longer having super-recruiter Bryan Hodgson is a concern.

Nationally, the transfer situation changes daily. So far, 10 SEC schools have Portal activity. Nine of the 10 have a total of 26 players in the Portal. The most impacted are South Carolina with five, along with Florida and LSU with four each. Missouri has added to its roster through the Portal, bringing in John Tonje, 6’5″ SF from Colorado State.

What about Alabama Basketball additions?

Keep in mind, not all talented players are good fits for the Oats system of play. And even players with considerable starting experience will not be considered. For example, Kentucky is losing former Georgia player Sahvir Wheeler. Wheeler started at both SEC schools, but it would be a surprise if Nate Oats has any interest.

As we recently discussed, Oats is interested in Denver Jones and Reese Dixon-Waters.

Check out some Denver Jones highlights in the tweet below.

A new name popped up on Tuesday. He is Washington freshman guard, Keyon Menifield. He was the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year. An early projection is Louisville and Alabama have the best chance to land him. Check out his highlights below.

Note: Transfer Portal updates are available here.

Four more potential transfers Alabama has been mentioned with are 6’7″ Wing Frank Policelli, 6’8″ SF, Kamari Lands, 6’2″ PG, Nate Calmese, and 6’7″ SF, Zack Austin.