Alabama basketball wrapped up its three-game exhibition slate last Thursday by taking down rival Auburn in "The Feud" at Legacy Arena in Birmingham. That built off wins over Furman and Ole Miss in the two previous preseason matchups.
Those three games gave us our first look at Nate Oats' eighth Alabama team, at least somewhat. Aden Holloway missed the three exhibition games and will sit the first two regular-season games, too, serving his five-game suspension. Alabama also played without freshman guard Anderson Diaz, who will miss the start of the season with an injury.
This may be Oats' deepest roster to date. There looks to be 12 legitimate rotational players for him to pick and choose from. That's a luxury, but it will also make playing time hard to come by and lead to some incredibly difficult decisions for Oats and his staff to make with so many guys who deserve playing time.
Let's take a crack at what a full strength Alabama will look like from the starting lineup and rotation:
Alabama's projected starting backcourt:
Starters: Amari Allen, Aden Holloway
Rotation: Qayden Samuels, Anderson Diaz
Bench Depth: Preston Murphy Jr.
When Holloway returns, he and Amari Allen will be the starters in the backcourt for the Crimson Tide. Allen is likely to be the team's primary initiator even after he returns, however, and Holloway has proven in his two previous seasons in Tuscaloosa that he's more than comfortable playing off-ball.
I would expect freshman Qayden Samuels to enter the starting lineup for the first two regular-season games while Holloway sits. He's going to play a lot regardless, and he put his skills on display with some impressive performances during the exhibition games. He's a natural scorer who will add another shooting threat to the perimeter.
It's tough to know what to expect from Diaz without seeing him play yet, but Oats has been adamant that he's a guy who is going to be part of the rotation. He'll likely be the tertiary ball handler behind Allen and Holloway.
Alabama's projected starting wing:
Starter: Cole Cloer
Rotation: London Jemison, Jaxon Richardson, Tarris Bouie
Finding minutes for everyone on the wing won't be easy. Despite Oats spending a lot of time and energy to bulk up the frontcourt, don't be surprised if Alabama plays some smaller lineups again this season because of how talented and versatile the guys on the wing are.
London Jemison might begin the season in the starting five, but it's only a matter of time before Cole Cloer steps into that role. He was one of Alabama's most impressive players during the two exhibition games he played in before sitting out the Auburn game with a minor injury.
Tarris Bouie flashed during the exhibition games, too. He's a bit raw offensively and plays out of control at times, but the talent is obvious. He's got impressive athleticism, a good-looking three-point stroke, and is a walking blue-collar player.
That may be true of Jaxon Richardson, too, though we only saw him play for 10 minutes in the final exhibition game as he sat out the first two. He might be Alabama's best defender immediately, a fact that will get him on the floor.
It's going to be hard to play 12 guys, and Richardson/Bouie could be competing for the same minutes.
Alabama's projected starting frontcourt:
Starters: Drew Fielder, Brandon Garrison
Rotation: Jamarion Davis-Fleming, Keitenn Bristow
Bench Depth: Collins Onyejiaka, TJ St. Louis
I wouldn't be surprised if Alabama's starting group in the frontcourt changes throughout the season and could be matchup-dependent. I would expect Boise State transfer Drew Fielder to start most nights, but Brandon Garrison, Jamarion Davis-Fleming, and Keitenn Bristow could all log starts next to him.
The bigs were inconsistent during the preseason, but there is good depth in the frontcourt that Alabama hasn't had in recent seasons. Effort and energy will be the name of the game for this group, and if you aren't giving it on a given night, then you probably won't play much.
Colins Onyejiaka and TJ St. Louis are bigger bodies that could play some spot minutes here and there depending on the matchup. Oats actually gave St. Louis some surprise early minutes against Auburn to combat Narcisse Ngoy.
But those two will spend most of the season on the bench.
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