Alabama Basketball: Another NBA Draft entry
Alabama Basketball potentially lost a fifth player to the NBA Draft on Saturday. Junior guard Mark Sears has announced that he will test the waters, leaving open the option to return to Tuscaloosa.
While one-and-done freshmen Brandon Miller and Noah Clowney appear to surely be gone, Alabama Basketball fans are hopeful that Sears will return, along with fellow guard Jahvon Quinerly and center Charles Bediako.
If this trio returns after receiving feedback from the professional ranks, they will form a very formidable core for Coach Nate Oats to build around next season.
These possible returns are critical to a roster that already needs more bodies. If Quinerly and Sears both stay in the draft, Alabama Basketball will have lost its entire backcourt and will have zero true guards on the roster.
The process of recruiting the NCAA transfer portal, already of the utmost importance, would become a borderline desperate situation for the Crimson Tide.
Should Charles Bediako join the guards in departing, Alabama could be in a situation in which it has just seven scholarship players, none of which have ever started a game in the SEC.
Needless to say, it would greatly benefit the Alabama Basketball program for Mark Sears, Jahvon Quinerly, and Charles Bediako to return. Should they be back in the fold, Coach Oats would only need one or two more quality transfers to field a very competitive roster.
Alabama Basketball: Looking for additions
Oats is hitting the portal hard, and many major transfer targets have been affiliated with the Crimson Tide. However, it is not easy to recruit with a depleted coaching staff.
Bama’s portal prospects have taken a hit this weekend, as former Oregon big man Kel’el Ware canceled his visit to Tuscaloosa and former FIU guard Denver Jones committed to Bruce Pearl and the Auburn Tigers.
Wofford transfer BJ Mack is one of the biggest names, and would give Bama a solid offensive option to pair with Bediako and Nick Pringle in the frontcourt. At guard, Hofstra transfer Aaron Estrada could potentially give the Tide some perimeter scoring punch.
Next. New assistant incoming. dark
Alabama Basketball has a lot of work to do as far as roster reconstruction this offseason. The final decisions of Bediako, Sears, and Quinerly will go a long way towards finalizing the 2023-24 roster.