Make it make sense! At one point in the offseason, ESPN's Jeff Borzello had the Alabama Crimson Tide as his No. 8 team in the country. He believed that getting Amari Allen back would given the Crimson Tide a top-10 roster in the sport, regardless of Aden Holloway's status... But somehow, some way, he was able to drop Nate Oats' team down significantly all the way to No. 15 in his latest rankings.
Despite all of the nice things Borzello has written about the Crimson Tide, this does seem a bit much...
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This excerpt from Borzello's blurb about ranking Alabama at No. 15 has us all scratching our heads.
"Two key questions faced Alabama after the transfer portal entry deadline: Amari Allen's stay-or-go decision, and Aden Holloway's status for next season. The Crimson Tide received good news on the former, with Allen withdrawing his name from the NBA draft and returning to Tuscaloosa. Now, they wait for an update on Holloway. For now, we'll project him to be on the team."
So with Allen withdrawing from the 2026 NBA Draft and retutrning to Tuscaloosa, that should not have Alabama plummeting in these rankings. To be frank, Alabama should have been able to hold serve, or possibly move up further in the top 25. The fact Borzello has Holloway projected to return to Alabama should be another feather in Oats' team's cap. Instead, the Crimson Tide are only at No. 15...
Perhaps he had them ranked too high to begin with, but this is not how water typically finds its level.
Amari Allen's return somehow hurts Alabama in offseason CBB rankings
Because Borzello does not give a good reason why he dropped Alabama some seven spots from one ranking to another, it has Crimson Tide fans totally perplexed... How good is this team really? Alabama may be looking up at the likes of Florida, Tennessee, and debatably Arkansas in the SEC standings, but how is getting back one or potentially two key contributors from last season not good enough?!
If Alabama is only a top-15-to-20 team at this stage of the game, we may just have to come to grips with it. What is so strange is this feels like the twisted logic of the College Football Playoff Selection Committee we all love so much. Only that collection of individuals could look at a team beating the brakes off another, only to drop them a few spots in their rankings. Thankfully, it is only the offseason.
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Overall, Alabama getting Allen back for sure, and possibly Holloway, for next season only makes them better. Although Labaron Philon Jr. is off to the NBA, maybe his decision to turn pro has created more uncertainty surrounding the team than anyone? If he came back for one more year, maybe we would be viewing Alabama as a lesser version of what Florida has going with them right now at this juncture?
Either way, all signs point to Alabama coming out of the summer better than they entered it in hoops.
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