Nate Oats and Alabama got the news it was waiting for on Wednesday night when star freshman Amari Allen elected to exit the NBA Draft and return to the Crimson Tide for his sophomore season.
Allen fills a major hole in the Tide's lineup and likely slots into one of Alabama's starting spots in the backcourt. Oats has frequently called Allen a "guard" and his measurements at the Combine in Chicago earlier this month showed that his future in basketball is there.
Allen will be given a lot more on-ball responsibilities as a sophomore.
With his return, ESPN college basketball expert Jeff Borzello is bullish on the roster Oats has constructed for next season. He believes Alabama may have a Top 10 team next season, listing the Crimson Tide as one of the big winners of the NBA Draft withdrawal deadline with Allen's decision to return to school.
That comes with one obvious caveat, however:
"There are still some moving parts to Alabama's offseason, most notably the status of Aden Holloway. But Amari Allen's deadline-day decision to return to Tuscaloosa gives Nate Oats' team a legitimate shot to be a preseason top-10 team entering next season -- if Holloway is back," Borzello writes.
The outcome of Aden Holloway's legal hurdles will determine Alabama basketball's 2026-27 ceiling
With Allen in tow, Oats will put a good basketball team on the court next season regardless of what happens with Holloway. If Holloway gets cleared off the court, his return to the lineup would make the Crimson Tide a true contender.
It's hard not to be bullish on the roster Oats has built, particularly if Allen is able to take a sizeable year two leap.
Alabama's biggest goal in the Transfer Portal was bolstering the frontcourt, which it accomplished by landing a trio of additions: Brandon Garrison (Kentucky), Jamarion Davis-Fleming (Mississippi State), and Drew Fielder (Boise State).
Those three, along with the return of Keitenn Bristow, give Alabama four legitimate options in the frontcourt before Oats even has to consider playing small-ball.
It's obvious that Oats wanted to get bigger on the wing, too. Alabama landed a trio of intriguing high schoolers in Qayden Samuels, Jaxon Richardson, and Tarris Bouie, along with NC State transfer Cole Cloer, a former Top 30 recruit, all of whom will add length and versatility to the Tide's rotation.
In terms of rotational players, Holloway, and perhaps Anderson Diaz, if the latest Alabama commitment ultimately reclassifies and joins the 2026-27 roster, are the only two who are under 6-foot-6.
Oats learns a lot from failure. Alabama's loss to Duke in the 2025 Elite Eight exposed the flaws of that roster, with the Tide being far too small in the backcourt to combat a team with Duke's length. Beatdowns at the hands of Florida in two consecutive seasons exposed Alabama's need to get bigger and more athletic in the frontcourt.
Oats has accomplished both of those missions and has constructed a roster that should take a sizeable leap on the defensive end of the court, while remaining elite offensively.
Getting Holloway back would go a long way toward ensuring the latter is true.
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