Nate Oats and Alabama basketball are looking to fill the remaining two open roster spots for the 2025-26 season. The team officially received clarity on Labaron Philon this week, with the star guard opting to remain in the NBA Draft instead of returning for his sophomore season in Tuscaloosa.
With several quality options remaining in the Transfer Portal, Oats and the Crimson Tide have zeroed in on one of the best players remaining. USC transfer guard Desmond Claude is expected to be in Tuscaloosa on Sunday to visit Alabama, per On3's Joe Tipton.
According to Busting Brackets, Claude is the No. 5 overall player remaining in the Transfer Portal.
Claude is a 6-foot-6 combo guard who is capable of playing on or off the ball. He would be another big body at guard, something that has been an obvious priority for the Crimson Tide this offseason.
Claude has played three seasons of college basketball and will be entering his final year of eligibility. He spent his first two seasons at Xavier before transferring to USC last season. For the Trojans, Claude averaged 15.8 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 4.2 assists per game. Claude was Top 15 in both points and assists in the Big Ten.
Claude is a career 27.1% shooter from three, which could make him a bit of an odd fit in Oats' system. However, Claude shot a career-high 30.7% for the Trojans last year.
Oats recently commented that this could be the best shooting team he has put together at Alabama. With three-point shooters everywhere else, taking a swing on a playmaking guard who can get to the rim and distribute the ball is a worthwhile gamble.
Claude converted 55.7% of his attempts at the rim and hit 47.7% from mid-range.
Desmond Claude's game is similar to a former Alabama guard
Claude's all-around game is similar to former Alabama guard Aaron Estrada. Estrada wasn't a great shooter - he hit 31.3% of his threes with the Crimson Tide - but he was still a productive player on both ends of the court and a major piece of a Final Four team.
The big difference between the two is that Claude is listed as three inches taller than Estrada.
The one area of concern with Claude will be on the defensive end of the floor. He graded out poorly on the defensive end last year at USC and had a negative Defensive BPM (box plus-minus). USC ranked 88th in KenPom's adjusted defensive efficiency metric last season.
Oats stresses defense and it'll be that end of the court that would determine how big of a role Claude would play in Tuscaloosa if he chooses to join the Crimson Tide.