Amari Allen has had an up-and-down NBA Combine performance so far. His measurements to open the week in Chicago raised a major red flag as he came in at just over 6-foot-5 without shoes, significantly shorter than his listed height at Alabama of 6-foot-8.
He made up for that a bit, however, with a 42.5-inch vertical leap, which was one of the top numbers among all those testing this week.
Allen isn't participating in 5-on-5 scrimmages at the Combine, and is searching for a first-round promise from a team to stay in the NBA Draft. While he has been consistently mocked as a first-rounder by so-called draft experts, it's important to remember that isn't always representative of how players are viewed in NBA circles.
And just because Allen might be drafted in the first round, it also doesn't mean that a team would give him the promise he covets, either.
At Allen's actual height, he projects more as a guard at the next level instead of a wing. There's a reason Nate Oats called him a guard throughout his freshman season in Tuscaloosa, and it's that fact that is influencing the pitch Oats has made to try to bring Allen back to the Crimson Tide for a second season.
Nate Oats is promising Amari Allen more time on-ball at Alabama as a sophomore
Alabama’s Amari Allen weighing his stay-or-go decision. He told me he’d need a first-round promise to stay in this year’s draft. Alabama has told him he’d “have the ball in his hands a lot” next year with more reps as a PG/ball screen playmaker. pic.twitter.com/aB4fhUbbCS
— Kevin Sweeney (@CBB_Central) May 13, 2026
There's a method behind Oats' madness with Alabama's roster construction this offseason. The Crimson Tide has not aggressively pursued any guards in the Transfer Portal, which has been an obvious sign that Plan A for Alabama has always been Allen and Aden Holloway returning next season.
By keeping the guard rotation clear, he's got the obvious pitch for Allen: come back to Alabama, we'll put the ball in your hands even more with Labaron Philon gone, and you can learn and grow your game for next year's NBA Draft, where everyone will view you as a big guard coming in instead of a wing.
Allen's all-around game has been his biggest selling point, but he could certainly use further development with the ball in his hands. He was Alabama's tertiary ball-handler last season behind Philon and Holloway, and there's an argument he could be the primary for the Crimson Tide in 2026-27 with how good Holloway is off-the-ball.
If Allen returns, he'll likely slot into Alabama's starting "shooting guard" position, though Oats' system is frequently positionless.
If Allen and Holloway both return, they'll make up Alabama's starting backcourt, and Oats' vision of a bigger, more versatile team will be fully realized. Holloway would be surrounded by nothing but 6-foot-6 and above players at all times.
The deadline to exit the NBA Draft and return to school is two weeks from today on May 27th at 11:59 pm ET.
A year ago, Philon made his decision at the last possible minute. Alabama fans will hope for clarity on Allen to come quicker than that, so Oats has as much time as possible to pivot, especially with Holloway's future more up in the air and no set timetable on when it will be resolved.
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