Grant Nelson ready to thrive in year two with Alabama basketball

Grant Nelson was the prized transfer portal haul for Alabama basketball last season. After an impressive three year stint with North Dakota State, Nelson chose to transfer to Tuscaloosa where the expectation was he would play the four next to starting five Charles Bediako.

Bediako's unexpected decision to remain in the NBA Draft left Alabama behind the eight-ball on the transfer center market. They managed to land Mohamed Wague, but neither he nor Nick Pringle were very effective.

That left Nelson to log a lot of minutes at the five for the Crimson Tide last season. He played out of position, and unsurprisingly struggled with the physical nature of playing the five in the SEC. He had an up and down season as a result.

He wasn't the star that many fans were expecting, but he was still a major piece of what became a Final Four team. And Alabama doesn't get to the Final Four without Nelson completely taking over down the stretch against North Carolina in the Sweet 16.

Nelson finished with 24 points, 12 rebounds, and 5 blocked shots to propel the Crimson Tide past the Tar Heels. Nelson was the best player on the floor and looked every bit like an NBA player.

Nelson held his own in the Final Four against UConn and Donovan Clingan, finishing with 19 points and 15 rebounds in the loss. I thought for sure his performance in the tournament would cause him to turn pro, but he decided to come back for one final season in Tuscaloosa, and his return is a big reason Alabama is on the short list of national title favorites.

Nelson will still log some minutes at the five this year for Alabama, but they won't be extended minutes or even full games. Along with Omoruyi, Alabama has a talented backup center in five-star freshman Aiden Sherrell. Mo Dioubate can also log some minutes as a small-ball five when necessary, too.

That means Nelson will spend the majority of the time on the court playing the four, where he'll be a matchup nightmare for most opposing PF's in the country. I'm not sure there's a better starting frontcourt in the entire country than what Nate Oats will roll out there.

A big plus for Nelson is if he can improve his three-point shooting. It has gone down every year of his collegiate career thus far. He shot 35% as a freshman, but only 27% on three attempts per game last year. If he can get back to around the 33-35% range, Alabama's offense becomes all the more lethal, especially with three other projected starters (Sears, Wrightsell, Youngblood) all having shot over 40% from distance a year ago.

Nelson shot 81% from the foul line, which is usually a good indication of someone's ability as a shooter. I suspect we'll see an uptick from him this year.

Nelson didn't play in Alabama's first scrimmage, and will miss the second one as well with a minor injury, but he should be good to go for the regular season opener on November 4th against UNC Asheville.