Nate Oats and Alabama may have found something special in Cole Cloer

It was difficult to know what to expect from Cole Cloer. While he's technically a transfer after spending a semester at NC State last year, Cloer was initially part of the 2026 recruiting class before classing up and enrolling at NC State in January after suffering a season-ending injury during his high school basketball season.

Prior to the reclass, Cloer was a Top 30 overall player in the 2026 class.

So he's essentially a true freshman, and one who missed the majority of last season with an injury. There should be growing pains.

We haven't seen them yet.

After scoring 14 points on 4-of-10 shooting from three in his exhibition debut against Furman, Cloer was even better with increased competition on Thursday night against Ole Miss. He was one of the Crimson Tide's best players in a 92-84 win over the Rebels in the Ballin in Boutwell event, scoring 18 points and dishing out four assists while knocking down 4-of-8 from three.

In two games, Cloer is averaging 16 points on 50/44/100 shooting splits. We knew he was a good shooter coming in, but he's also incredibly skilled, and his feel for the game is far beyond what you would expect from a freshman. Look at this pump fake and drive and then pass to finish the first half last night:

Cole Cloer looks like one of Alabama's best players through two exhibition games

Most starting projections for Alabama have had Cloer coming off the bench. The consensus has been a starting five of:

Amari Allen
Aden Holloway
London Jemison
Drew Fielder
Brandon Garrison

Alabama has some versatility in the frontcourt with Jamarion Davis-Flemming and Keitenn Bristow, too, but the main threat to snatch a spot in the starting five appears to be Cloer. It's going to be hard to keep him out of the lineup.

Jemison has played well on both ends through the two exhibition games, but Cloer is just moving differently. His ability to knock down open shots, while also being a playmaker off the bounce, is a huge asset for Oats' offense.

It's pretty obvious that Oats knows he has something special in Cloer. He coveted him out of high school, and his decision to go to NC State instead was a tough pill to swallow, but all's well that ends well.

Oats was careful in his postgame comments not to praise Cloer too much, instead focusing on some things he wants to see more of. He doesn't need to pump him full of confidence; Cloer already has it. He wants to keep him focused on improving because his ceiling is so high.

“He obviously shot it well. We knew he was an elite shooter," Oats said. "I think there’s a lot more in him. I think he only had two rebounds tonight. I think he’s a way better rebounder when he puts his mind to it. He was smart. He didn’t have any turnovers. He does play sound that way. But I think he can be a better defender, a better rebounder. He can be a little bit better playmaker for us.

"But, yeah, we want him to make shots. We’d like to get him doing a little bit more playmaking if possible. I thought there was the one he brought up before. He kind of waved Qayden up the floor of the corner and created and got Qayden the open three. So, yeah, I think he could do a little bit more of that for us.”

If he continues playing at this level, not only will Cloer be a huge part of what Alabama does this season, but he'll also start to be taken seriously as an NBA Draft prospect. A 6-foot-8 wing with that skill and that shooting ability isn't going to fly under the radar for long.

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