Alabama enters the mix with several powerhouses to land touted guard in the portal

Following a breakout freshman season at New Mexico, 6-foot-4 guard Jake Hall has entered the Transfer Portal with a ‘do not contact’ tag. While that tag implies his destination is predetermined, On3’s Joe Tipton released a list of programs that are showing interest in Hall, and it included Nate Oats and the Crimson Tide. 

Unsurprisingly, Alabama was one of many top programs to show interest in the lights-out three-point shooter, and the fit would be so perfect in Tuscaloosa that he may just be Oats’s next addition. 

Jake Hall would be the perfect Alabama portal pickup

Kentucky center Brandon Garrison was Alabama’s first official transfer portal move. He can provide the rim protection the Tide desperately need with Aiden Sherrell leaving the program. However, he doesn’t possess the knockdown jump shot that Oats so obviously covets, at least not yet. 

With Labaron Philon Jr. heading to the NBA and Aden Holloway’s future status still in doubt, adding more shooting must be an offseason priority for Alabama, and Hall would provide it in spades. 

Last season, 62.7 percent of Hall’s shots came from beyond the arc, and even with 7.2 attempts a game, he still shot 43.8 percent from three. He’s over 40 percent both above the break and from the corner. At 6-foot-4, Hall has size to hold up defensively and enough length to get his shot over SEC defenders, especially with his quick release. 

One of Hall’s greatest strengths as a spot-up shooter is that he doesn’t need to bring the ball down to start his motion. When he has time, his set shot takes a bit longer, but if he’s under duress, he can catch at his head and go straight up into his shot without sacrificing any accuracy. 

With the number of threes Oats wants to shoot every game, a player like that is vital. However, Hall doesn’t always need to use his quick trigger because he’s just as good at attacking a closeout and scoring inside. Hall has an elite shot-fake and is crafty inside the three-point line, creating contact to get to the line, scoring out of the post, or using his pristine footwork and repertoire of pull-ups and floaters to finish at or near the rim. 

For not being a supreme athlete, Hall shot 61.9 percent at the rim and 57.5 percent in the paint, which is 92nd percentile in college basketball (per CBBanalytics.com). So, he fits Oats’s analytical style. Yet, much in the way Aaron Estrada was able to score efficiently from parts of the floor Alabama doesn’t often utilize during the Tide’s Final Four run, Hall could fill in the gaps of their shot diet without sacrificing any efficiency. 

Hall’s recruitment appears to be a bit of a mystery with the ‘do not contact’ tag looming over the proceedings, but it makes sense why Oats has thrown his hat in the ring for one of the most underrated players on the market.