Alabama Basketball falls to Wake Forest in exhibition game
In its second scrimmage of the preseason, Alabama Basketball fell to a shorthanded Wake Forest squad by a score of 88-80.
The Tide previously lost another close contest to TCU.
It’s difficult to gauge much from the scrimmage against Wake, but it is somewhat surprising that a deep Alabama Basketball team was outlasted by the Demon Deacons, who had just eight active players.
It should be noted that the Crimson Tide went without Mark Sears, a preseason second-team All-SEC competitor and Bama’s presumed starting point guard.
The Tide started a giant lineup that consisted of Hofstra transfer Aaron Estrada and sophomore Rylan Griffen in the backcourt along with freshman Jarin Stevenson, NDSU transfer Grant Nelson, and senior Nick Pringle in the frontcourt. Bama quickly jumped out to a double-digit lead and led 52-39 at the half before allowing an explosive second half run by the Deacons.
Alabama Basketball played from behind the rest of the way, keeping it close but ultimately losing by a margin of eight.
Estrada led Alabama with 24 points and should pair with Sears to create one of the best backcourts in the SEC.
True freshman Sam Walters, who led Bama with 29 points against TCU, contributed 13 in the loss to Wake. Walters has been a pleasant surprise and early indications suggest that he will be one of the best shooters on the team.
Veteran frontcourt standouts Nick Pringle (13 points, team-high nine rebounds) and Grant Nelson (11 points) rounded out the double-figure scorers for Alabama. Rylan Griffen and Latrell Wrightsell Jr. added eight apiece.
Ideally, the Tide will play better perimeter defense going forward. It allowed 38 and 27 points respectively to Wake Forest guards Cam Hildreth and Hunter Sallis. Hildreth was a starter and major contributor for the Deacs last season, while Sallis is a transfer addition from Gonzaga and a former 5-star recruit.
In theory, the Tide will face several backcourts this season that will be more potent than Wake’s duo. Teams like Creighton, Arizona, Tennessee, Kentucky, Texas A&M, and Arkansas will all field guards that can light up a scoreboard, so Alabama Basketball must be effective defensively to compete.
Next. Where does the latest AP Poll have the Tide?. dark
While nothing concrete can be gleaned from these exhibition games, they do provide a glimpse of what kind of talent different teams may have. While it will need time to gel, Alabama Basketball should again be amongst the nation’s best in the upcoming season.