Any dreams of Aiden Sherrell backtracking on his initial decision to enter the Transfer Portal and staying at Alabama for his junior season went up in smoke on Thursday. The talented Crimson Tide big man officially entered the portal with a "do not contact" tag, and his days in Tuscaloosa appear to be over.
It's time for Nate Oats to flip the page and start aggressively pursuing replacements. Luckily for him, there's an obvious replacement with a similar profile and higher athletic upside.
San Diego State sophomore Magoon Gwath, the 2025 Mountain West Defensive Player and Freshman of the Year, is in the portal and would be the perfect fit in Alabama's system in place of Sherrell.
San Diego State's Magoon Gwath would be a perfect Aiden Sherrell replacement for Alabama
Gwath, like Sherrell, is a stretch-five. But he's an even better three-point shooter.
In two seasons at Alabama, Sherrell knocked down 41-of-122 (33.6%) from three. Gwath has hit 34-of-85 (40.0%) at San Diego State, including 43.2% as a sophomore on 44 attempts.
Alabama would hope that Gwath's percentage would translate to a higher volume of attempts.
Along with being an excellent three-point shooter, Gwath would bring even more defensive versatility to the Alabama frontcourt. Sherrell made major strides from his freshman to sophomore seasons as a rim-protector, upping his block percentage from 2.0 to 8.5. But Gwath was at 14.1 as a freshman and 10.9 as a sophomore.
Gwath only played 19 minutes per game this year after averaging 25 as a freshman. The Aztecs had an increase in tempo from last year to this year, going from 245th in the country to 104th. That tempo would increase even more in Alabama's system, and he would have to be committed to getting in even better shape to be able to hold up.
Alabama will be looking to rebuild its frontcourt pretty much from scratch with Sherrell and Taylor Bol Bowen in the portal, along with Noah Williamson exhausting his eligibility. Keitenn Bristow's future remains up in the air, but regardless of his decision, Alabama needs several bodies in the frontcourt.
One of those could be Tennessee transfer - and Alabama legacy - Cade Phillips, but they'll need an even more impactful player to replace Sherrell's production.
Gwath can be that guy, and Oats should make a significant push to try to bring him to the Capstone.