Sunday Alabama Basketball faced off in a scrimmage against the TCU Horned Frogs in Birmingham losing 85-81. There was no media or fans in attendance however, box scores have begun to leak to the media.
The biggest takeaway from the reported scrimmage was Alabama freshman Sam Walters scoring 29 points leading the Crimson Tide. The 6-foot-10 small forward from Florida was a four-star recruit coming out of Florida. Walters shot 7-12 from beyond the arc en route to his 29-point performance. Sam Walters will likely start for Alabama at small forward replacing Brandon Miller who left for the NBA Draft this off-season.
Transfers Grant Nelson and Aaron Estrada contributed in a big way scoring 13 and 19 respectively. The Alabama Basketball team struggled shooting the basketball shooting 25-58 from the field and 8-25 from three. Returning starter Mark Sears did not play in Sunday’s scrimmage.
Alabama Basketball will rely heavily on newcomers in 2023.
After losing starting players in Brandon Miller, Noah Clowney, Charles Bediako, and Jahvon Quinerly Alabama will have to look to newcomers to fill big roles. Grant Nelson a transfer from North Dakota State University is the highest profile player coming into the program after averaging 17 points and 9 rebounds per game last season. With such high usage in the scrimmage, it would appear that Sam Walters a freshman will play a massive role for Alabama in 2023. Aaron Estrada a transfer from Hofstra received high praise from Nate Oats at SEC Media Day where he said the following about Estrada:
"“He’s assimilated great. He’s an unbelievable kid. Great leader. Plays Hard. One of the hardest working guys I’ve ever been around. His skill level is really high.”"
Estrada will be tasked with replacing Jahvon Quinerly who played 21.1 minutes per game averaging 8.7 points per game and 3.6 assists per game. The Newcomers will get their first public exposure in a game against Wake Forest in Winston-Salem next Sunday.
Note: Stats Provided by ESPN, Box Scores provided by Tuscaloosa News.
Alabama will have five home games in Tuscaloosa during November, with the first on Nov. 6 against Morehead State.