Pepperdine transfer Houston Mallette brings dynamic shooting to Alabama Basketball

Houston Mallette was the first transfer to commit to Alabama Basketball for 2024-25, announcing his intentions in mid-March before the the Crimson Tide had played a game in the NCAA Tournament yet

Mallette committed to a much different roster; it was expected that the Crimson Tide would be losing a lot from last season's team, which turned out to be true. Kris Parker, Rylan Griffen, Davin Cosby, Mohamed Wague, Nick Pringle, and Sam Walters all ended up in the transfer portal, and Aaron Estrada exhausted his eligibility.

There were no guarantees that Mark Sears or Grant Sears would use their extra year of eligibility, and freshman forward Jarin Stevenson had flashed enough in the NCAA Tournament to put himself on NBA radars as one of the youngest prospects in the 2024 class.

Mallette was an immedate take by Nate Oats and the staff with the roster in complete flux. Mallette's ability as a shooter was attractive for the staff, and Alabama's wide open offensive system was attractive for Mallette. He didn't envision, and I'm sure Oats didn't envision either, that Alabama's roster would end up this stacked.

Sears decided to come back as well as Latrell Wrightsell in the backcourt. Alabama landed co-AAC Player of the Year Chris Youngblood and Auburn transfer Aden Holloway from the portal, and then signed four-star guard Labaron Philon late in the cycle.

That left Mallette with an uncertain role, and he was away from the team for a little while this summer as a result. But he's back in the fold and practicing now, looking to do what he can to scratch and claw his way into the rotation.

With the injury to Youngblood that will keep the USF transfer out for at least the first month of the season, Mallette will have an early opportunity to prove he deserves to be in the rotation.

He'll wear No. 95 because he understands his role for this team. He won't have the ball in his hands a whole lot, but when he does it should be open looks from three, where he can do a lot of damage.

Mallette is a career 37% three-point shooter and hit 41% of his 145 attempts from behind the arc last season. He was one of the best shooters in the country in fast break situations, averaging an absurd 1.38 points-per-possession in transition, which ranked in the 89th percentile.

At 6-foot-5 with good length, Mallette also possesses the potential to be a good defender on the wing, something that will make or break his ability to be on the floor. With a competitive roster, Oats will be able to mandate defense and know that if someone out there isn't defending properly, there's someone on the bench itching for minutes who will get in there and defend.

Mallette averageed 14.7 points-per-game as a junior, and had a 2-1 assist-to-turnover ratio. He played a decent bit on the ball at Pepperdine showed an ability to get his own shot. With so many capable ball handlers at Alabama, it's unlikely he'll spend much time with the ball in his hands.

When he's on the court, he'll be a floor spacer and spend a lot of time in the corner benefitting from open looks generated by drives from Sears, Philon, Holloway, and others.

When Youngblood is back in the fold, Mallette's role will be uncertain. But having an experienced, accurate shooter on the wings you can deploy at any time is a great problem to have as long as he can stay engaged through potential stretches of limited playing time.

Projected role: Rotational wing while Youngblood is out; TBD after