Over the past week, Alabama’s basketball roster has seen a lot of movement. After being knocked out of the NCAA Tournament by San Diego State, the Crimson Tide has had players enter the NBA Draft, graduate, enter the transfer portal, and even added a player via the transfer portal. The offseason is young, but it is safe to say that next year’s team is going to look much different.
As expected, the SEC Freshman of the Year, Brandon Miller, declared for the 2023 NBA Draft, officially making the announcement on March 30. Miller is coming off a remarkable freshman campaign where he averaged 18.8 points, 8.2 rebounds and 21 assists per game. Miller’s 696 points in his lone season at Alabama was the second-most points in a single season in program history. Miller is expected to be a top five pick in the upcoming NBA Draft and the first college player taken.
Joining Miller in the NBA Draft is another freshman standout for the Crimson Tide, Noah Clowney. Clowney made his decision official on Saturday, April 1. The freshman forward averaged 9.8 points and 7.9 rebounds for the Crimson Tide in his one and only season, finishing the season as the Tide’s third-leading scorer and second on the team in rebounds. While Clowney has increased his draft stock over the course of the year, he still grades out as a second round pick needing to develop a bit more, especially at the free throw line.
Another duo of players from Alabama, Charles Bediako and Jahvon Quinerly, are also entering their names into the NBA Draft, but they are doing so while maintaining their college eligibility. NBA teams can now give them feedback and the players are able to return back to school if they choose to do so. Bediako is most likely in need of another year to develop on the college level which would be good news for coach Nate Oats. Quinerly leaving the possibility of returning on the table is a good sign, but coming off a hot stretch during the postseason, he might decide to try and ride it into the NBA Draft.
Along with Brandon Miller entering the NBA Draft, the departures from Noah Gurley and Dominick Welch were also expected as both seniors have used up all of their college eligibility.
Alabama so far has had two players enter the transfer portal, Nimari Burnett and Jaden Bradley. Burnett was the first to enter the portal and two days later made an official commitment to Michigan, his third college in four years. Bradley entered his name in the portal April 4 with no commitment so far.
There is much more offseason left, but as it stands now, Alabama will only be returning four players from the 2022-2023 season: Rylan Griffen, Nick Pringle, Mark Sears and Davin Cosby. In addition to the four returning players, Alabama also made their own move in the transfer portal, picking up a commitment from Jaykwon Walton, Wichita State’s leading scorer last season. With all the departures, Nate Oats will most likely explore options from the transfer portal in the upcoming weeks.
Don't miss out! Subscribe to our newsletter and get our top stories every weekday morning.
