An ideal Nate Oats target took himself out of the transfer portal market

When a high-volume three-point shooter who connected on 43.8% of his attempts as a true freshman entered the Transfer Portal, it didn't take much of a leap to believe that Nate Oats and Alabama would express interest.

Jake Hall, the Mountain West freshman of the year at New Mexico, was instantly coveted by high-major programs across college basketball after he decided to enter the portal. He averaged over 16 points per game in his first season and seemed more than ready to take the step up in competition.

However, on Thursday, Hall made a move that few saw coming. He announced his decision to remove his name from the Transfer Portal and return to New Mexico for his sophomore season:

Alabama target Jake Hall is returning to New Mexico for his sophomore season

Hall's return might have seemed out of nowhere, but it makes sense when you see what the Lobos did to help facilitate it.

On Wednesday, New Mexico announced the signing of his younger brother, Dax. That made Hall's return to Albuquerque more and more likely.

Alabama's interest in the MWC Freshman of the Year was never more than surface-level. He was an obvious fit with his shooting ability, but with how Oats is building next year's Crimson Tide roster, Hall may not have been as clean a fit as originally thought.

Right now, only Aden Holloway and Preston Murphy Jr. are listed at a height under 6-foot-5 on next year's roster. Oats has made it a point to get longer and more versatile across the roster, and while Hall is an excellent player, his 6-foot-4 stature could have made him more of a defensive liability than Oats would have preferred.

Oats is serious about Alabama taking a major step forward on the defensive end of the court next season, which likely means that Hall was never a realistic target to begin with.

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