Alabama Basketball is down one recruiter during a pivotal period for the Crimson Tide. Technically, Nate Oats is two short because Austin Claunch has not been officially announced. Claunch is transitioning to Tuscaloosa, from being the Head Coach at Nicholls State.
It has been widely reported a second hire is imminent. It is NBA assistant coach, Ryan Pannone. Pannone has coaching experience in the NBA G League and the NBA Summer League. He has also coached internationally in China, and the Euroleague in Germany and Slovakia. Basketball experts consider Pannone has a top ‘X’ and ‘O’ guy who will fill Charlie Henry’s role for Oats. Henry was key to game-planning, especially from a defensive perspective, and was not a designated recruiter. Pannone is not expected to be active in recruiting.
Nate Oats will have one more opening to fill. It has been speculated that Oats will hire Preston Murphy for the third position. Due to an NCAA ‘show cause,’ Murphy would not join the Alabama staff until June when the show cause expires. Murphy was an assistant coach at Creighton and is considered a top recruiter.
Alabama Basketball Official Visits
- Wofford, 6’8″ power forward, B.J. Mack is in Tuscaloosa through April 16. He has additional visits planned (in order) to Iowa, South Carolina and Arkansas. Mack has already visited LSU.
- Cal-State Fullerton guard, Latrell Wrightsell is expected to visit during the next few days. Wrightsell shot over 38% from outside the arc, this past season. He has narrowed his choices down to the Crimson Tide, Nebraska and Minnesota.
- Within the next week, Nate Oats is anticipating a visit from North Texas guard, Tylor Perry. Perry is an outstanding three-point shooter and scorer. Perry led North Texas to the NIT Championship this season, beating UAB in the Final. He was the CUSA Player of the Year.
- Hopefully, within the next two weeks, Hofstra guard, Aaron Estrada will visit. He averaged over 20 points last season and was the CAA Player of the Year.
What will it take to close two or more of these transfer prospects? Alabama basketball fans are convinced NIL deals are the tipping point in the decisions of many players. Just one program believed to be maximizing NIL offers is Arkansas.
A recent story published by On3 discussed the dollar amounts collectives are providing for basketball rosters. According to NIL experts, players with high demand are,
"often hoping the players will sign agreements worth $250,000 to $400,000 per year, with some of the most in-demand players hoping to earn at least half a million dollars."
How much money is being thrown around? According to an NIL expert, for some programs the total roster amounts are huge.
"the biggest pots are in the $3 to $4 million range. There are probably five to 10 programs that have, you know, $2.5 million-plus for basketball."
To just compete in the current world of annual roster management, a program with championship aspirations must be able to offer at least a couple of million dollars. What Alabama provides is not known, nor has it been estimated publically.
Will some Alabama basketball targets, as has been reported for Alabama Football, decline higher dollars from other programs, believing their careers can be best enhanced in Tuscaloosa? The same question applies to players already on the Crimson Tide roster.