Alabama basketball's season ended on Saturday night with a 20-point loss to Duke in the Elite Eight, finishing a win shy of a second straight trip to the Final Four. Now, Nate Oats' full attention can turn to the wide-open Transfer Portal and building next season's roster.
We'll get further clarity in the coming days and weeks on how many spots the Crimson Tide will have available. As things stand right now, Alabama only has a single spot available. They have four outgoing seniors (Mark Sears, Chris Youngblood, Grant Nelson, and Cliff Omoruyi) and three incoming freshmen (London Jemison, Davion Hannah, and Amari Allen). That only leaves one spot for now.
There will be more roster spots that come available. Star freshman guard Labaron Philon will most likely enter the NBA Draft as a projected 1st round pick.
And then there's always players who enter the Transfer Portal that you may not expect. Last season that was Rylan Griffen and Sam Walters. There will be roster attrition and one or two guys that Tide fans don't want to lose will leave. That's the nature of it.
Several Alabama players reaffirmed their commitments to coming back next season in the locker room after Duke's loss. Aden Holloway, Aiden Sherrell, Derrion Reid, Houston Mallette, and Mo Dioubate all indicated they would be back next season. Those statements are mostly meaningless. You have to take what people say in the heat of the moment after the season ended, surrounded by their teammates, with a grain of salt.
The truth is, Oats and the coaching staff are having conversations with players this week about their futures. Some of those conversations have probably already happened. But they are also not waiting on decisions. They are actively looking to improve the roster immediately and have already been in contact with a handful of players out of the portal.
Let's take a look at some of the early portal targets for Alabama.
Alabama basketball's Transfer Portal targets
Abdi Bashir Jr., G, Monmouth
It should come as no shock that Alabama would contact the guy who led the nation in made three-pointers. Bashir shot 38% from three this past season at Monmouth, connecting on 127 of them. He was woefully inefficient from everywhere else, hitting just 34.5% of a heavy volume of mid-range shots and only 41.6% of his shots at the rim.
According to Joe Tipton, Bashir will have a Zoom meeting with Alabama on Tuesday. He also has a Zoom with Kansas and is setting one up with Arkansas. It would be a bit of a surprise if Auburn didn't get involved here, too, as his twin brother Abdul is committed to Auburn after spending a season at the JUCO ranks.
Jalil Bethea, CG, Miami (FL)
Bethea was a Top 10 player in last year's recruiting class and is in the Transfer Portal after a single season at Miami. The Hurricanes were a disaster last season, going just 7-24 and Bethea is in desperate need of a change of scenery.
Bethea was only a 32.6% three-point shooter as a freshman, but he was billed as a high-level shot maker coming out of high school and hit 41% of his threes at Nike's EYBL camp.
Alabama is one of four finalists for Bethea and he is expected to visit the Crimson Tide sometime this week.
UPDATE: Jalil Bethea is down to FOUR schools in Miami, Alabama, NC State and Kansas State, per @247Sports source.
— Travis Branham (@TravisBranham_) March 29, 2025
Former Top10 recruit and McDonald's All American.https://t.co/NDZ3a45y7e pic.twitter.com/Zf058cFi4S
Taylor Bol Bowen, F, Florida State
The Florida State transfer is one of my favorite targets for Alabama in the portal. The 6-foot-10 forward feels like a perfect stretch-four and "small-ball" five for the Crimson Tide and an ideal replacement for Grant Nelson.
He averaged eight points and five rebounds in a little over 24 minutes per game for the Seminoles this past season. His shooting splits and rim protection make him intriguing. He hit 41.4% of his three-pointers on 70 attempts. He's a good rebounder and an elite shot blocker; his 7.1% block rate ranked 69th in the country.
Bowen is expected to visit the Crimson Tide sometime this week, too.
Corey Chest, F, LSU
Chest seems like an intriguing candidate as a small-ball backup five for the Crimson Tide and a guy who could immediately bring some toughness to Tuscaloosa. He's a non-shooter, but Chest was one of the best rebounders in the country this past season for LSU and a good shot blocker. He's one of the best athletes in the nation, albeit not the most skilled player.
Oats and Alabama got a first-hand look at Chest in Tuscaloosa in January when he scored 12 points and grabbed 18 rebounds and nearly helped the Tigers pull a big upset. He averaged 12 points and 13 rebounds per-40 minutes.
Chest is an elite, switchable defender. If Alabama wants to take a leap from good to great defensively, then a player like Chest makes a lot of sense.
Chest is expected to be in Tuscaloosa for a visit on Monday.
Noah Williamson, C, Bucknell
The Patriot League Player of the Year is the one true center Alabama has targeted so far. With Omoruyi and Nelson exhausting their eligibility, Alabama has a big need in the frontcourt.
Williamson averaged 17 points and 7 rebounds this year for Bucknell and provided solid rim protection as a defender. He's not a great shooter, but hitting 31.8% on 88 attempts from three is more than respectable for a center.
He's got a great back-to-the-basket game and would be a nice compliment next to Sherrell. Alabama could theoretically play a twin-tower line up with the two of them, akin to what Auburn did this season with Johni Broome and Dylan Cardwell, except both Sherrell and Williamson can stretch the floor.
Williamson is expected in Tuscaloosa on Tuesday for a visit.
Adrian Wooley, G, Kennesaw State
The Tuscaloosa native was a revelation for Antoine Pettway at Kennesaw State as a freshman. Wooley scored 18.8 points per game and shot 51% from the floor and 41% from three on 152 attempts.
At 6-foot-5, Wooley is a bigger guard who can handle the ball and it was pretty clear in the loss to Duke the need for Alabama to get bigger in the backcourt.
Things are moving quickly with Wooley, and he has narrowed his focus down to four schools. Along with Alabama, Auburn, Louisville, and Kansas are competing for his services. The Crimson Tide is hoping to get Wooley on campus this week and bring him into the fold.