Regardless of what happens with Aden Holloway, Alabama has a need at guard in the Transfer Portal.
Labaron Philon is likely headed to the NBA Draft, and Latrell Wrightsell is out of eligibility. Alabama needs a playmaking guard who can break down defenses off the dribble and then kick out to the Crimson Tide's open shooters.
Hopefully Holloway will be able to play next season, but that's far from guaranteed. No matter what, expect Nate Oats to be aggressive in pursuing some of the top guards in the portal.
Alabama's Transfer Portal performance has to be better this year than it was last, especially with Philon (probably) moving on. You could easily argue that Oats went 0-for-4 last year with Taylor Bol Bowen, Jalil Bethea, Noah Williamson, and Keitenn Bristow. That can't happen again.
That starts with avoiding these three portal guards.
3 Transfer Portal guards that Alabama should avoid
3. Acaden Lewis, Villanova
Villanova transfer Acaden Lewis would bring a nice level of playmaking to the Alabama offense, and he's definitely able to beat defenders off the dribble and get into the lane. He finishes well at the rim (61.2% on 165 attempts, per Bart Torvik), and he averaged over five assists per game during his freshman season.
The problem is that Lewis is a total non-shooter at this stage of his career. He hit 27% of his attempts with the Wildcats. You don't have to be a 40% three-point shooter to thrive in Oats' system, but you have to be a threat.
Right now, Lewis isn't a threat.
2. Jaland Lowe, Kentucky
Jaland Lowe was one of the most sought-after guards in the portal a season ago, coming out of Pittsburgh, but a disappointing injury-plagued season at Kentucky has dropped his value. He could ultimately be a steal for someone, but that someone shouldn't be Alabama.
Like Lewis, Lowe is a non-shooter. After dropping from 35.2% to 26.6% in his freshman and sophomore seasons at Pitt, Lowe dropped to 20.8% in the nine games he played for Kentucky.
And despite the poor percentage, that's never deterred Lowe from jacking up shots. His 26.6% at Pitt came on five attempts per game. He was shooting nearly three per game for the Wildcats.
1. Zoom Diallo, Washington
Alabama fans have seemed intrigued about the possibility of landing Washington transfer Zoom Diallo in the portal, but he doesn't seem like much of a system fit for the Crimson Tide. He does have good size at 6-foot-4, which could be intriguing for Oats, but like the others, he's just not much of a threat to knock down shots.
He shot 31.5% from three on 73 three-point attempts as a sophomore in Seattle.
With Diallo, it's not just the shooting that's a red flag, either. He averaged 2.5 turnovers per game playing in a slow-tempo system at Washington. The Huskies ranked 195th in tempo. Alabama was 5th in tempo this year and consistently plays one of the fastest paces in the country.
Diallo's turnover issues would be exacerbated by playing faster, and that's not what the Crimson Tide would need out of its lead guard.