re: Tide Hoops | Offseason

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Gonna need one of y’all to go to the game and stream it for us

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"Darius Miles, had to get a lot more consistent, he's gotten stronger. Consistency starting to get around. Great day of practice is becoming great days in a row. Turnovers have to come down, playmaking ability and shotmaking is all there."

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BREAKING: 18 former NBA players have been arrested and charged federally for defrauding the NBA’s Health and Welfare Benefit Plan out of approximately $4,000,000, law enforcement officials say. Reported by @jonathan4ny and me. - Tom Winter @TomWinter

- Milt Palacio
- Sebastian Telfair
- Antoine Wright
- Darius Miles
- Ruben Patterson
- Eddie Robinson
- Gregory Smith
- Glen Davis
- Jamario Moon
- Terrence Williams
- Alan Anderson
- Tony Allen
- Shannon Brown
- William Bynum
- Melvin Ely
- Christopher Douglas-Roberts
- Tony Wroten

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Such bullshite that Tide Tip-off is in Foster Auditorium instead of Coleman due to a “scheduling conflict”, right?

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Nate Oats explains how Alabama is competing with pro leagues for players

Alabama men’s basketball coach Nate Oats landed a commitment last week from his second five-star prospect in as many years, beating out some of the sport’s power players in Kentucky and Gonzaga.

But as Alabama continues to show it can be competitive in recruiting some of the best in the country, a new competitor has emerged in recent seasons: professional leagues that accept players directly out of high school.

The NBA G-League’s Ignite team began play last year as a paid alternative to college basketball for players who have not yet reached the NBA’s minimum age of 19. Two players from Ignite were chosen in the first seven picks of July’s NBA draft.

“It’s definitely a lot different,” Oats acknowledged Wednesday. “I was at Buffalo three years ago, we obviously didn’t deal with any of that there. Even in high-major basketball, you didn’t deal with this much three years ago.”

Another professional league, Overtime Elite, was created this year and the Atlanta-based operation has successfully offered six-figure salaries to five-star players out of high school.

“Overtime Elite, I’m not quite sure the whole business model on that whole deal, but they’ve got pretty good contracts they’re offering kids,” Oats said.

The first commitment of Alabama’s 2022 class was Jaden Bradley, a five-star guard from IMG Academy in Florida and the No. 18 overall prospect in 247 Sports’ rankings. The Tide hosted Bradley and his IMG teammate, five-star forward Jarace Walker, on a visit in Tuscaloosa last week. Walker is the No. 13 overall prospect by 247 Sports and currently not committed.

Alabama has also been recruiting five-star Tennessee forward Brandon Miller, the No. 11 overall prospect in the 2022 class. Miller was initially set to commit Sept. 27 and choose between Alabama, Tennessee State and G-League Ignite. However, he indefinitely postponed his commitment and is now considering Kansas, too.

Oats spoke Wednesday about the decision players make between going to college and playing in a pro league before trying to get drafted.

“I think the selling point to the kids is once you go be a pro, you’re a pro. You’re not coming back to college. Can’t play in college,” he said. “There’s something to be said for having a college experience. There’s also something to be said for preparing yourself to go play in the NBA. I still think college can do that better than anywhere.”

Oats continued his pitch by saying college gives players a chance to compete for a championship instead of “playing exhibition games,” and that NBA scouts Oats has spoken to value that competition.

“There’s nobody that’s an alum of whatever G-League team it is,” he said. “There’s real passion behind Alabama basketball and Florida basketball, Kentucky basketball. You walk into Rupp [Arena] or Florida or Arkansas or Auburn’s arena -- you’ve got a hostile environment, you’ve got to play in a high-pressure, high-stakes game with a lot on the line.”

Alabama transitioned to an up-tempo system under Oats after his hire in 2019 that focuses on three-point shooting. He has long touted the appeal of that style to high school recruits, which has played out in Alabama landing guard Josh Primo, a four-star guard in 2020, and five-star guard JD Davison in its most recent recruiting class.

Primo became the No. 12 overall pick in the 2021 NBA draft after one season, while Davison is No. 11 in ESPN’s player rankings for the 2022 draft.

Oats believes playing at Alabama has helped prospects move up in the draft -- including Kira Lewis in 2020 and Herb Jones this year -- and ultimately earn more money in pro contracts than they would have received up front by playing immediately in a pro league.

“I think there’s value but you may have to put off that money for a year or two or whatever it may be, depending on what options you’re looking at,” he explained. “But I still think it can be a solid, sound financial decision as well as a sound decision just for helping a kid grow up.

“I think we got a lot more resources here to help young boys grow into young men, young men grow into men that are ready to now go be a professional somewhere.”

A poll of college coaches by CBS Sports this week found that 43 percent are “not concerned at all” about pro leagues, which generally are only competing with high-major schools for top prospects. However, it was noted there can be a trickle-down effect in which high-major programs losing out on recruits to pro leagues will fill those openings with lower-rated prospects that otherwise would have gone to less prominent programs.

Oats said timing is part of the issue with the new reality.

“There was a kid we were recruiting pretty hard and we lost out to another school, but he was committed a college for a while and then all the sudden decides to go to G-League at the last minute,” he said. “All the sudden his team needs to figure out how to replace him. There’s no replacing kids that late.

“I’d rather you see them do it early, us get out of the recruiting early, then them stringing you along the whole time. I also think if you’re going to recruit high-level players we’re trying to recruit, you’re going to have to deal with that.”

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“Our marketing folks talked to our basketball staffs and decided they wanted to go to Foster this year,” athletics director Greg Byrne said during a Tuesday interview with Crimson Tide Sports Network. “I said that’s a great idea, let’s give it a try. I think it will be a little more student-focused because of that.”

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I wonder if he’s a take or a fallback option?

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