re: Tide Hoops | Recruiting

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Brandon Miller not in dunk contest due to tweaked ankle.

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Arkansas should be the hands down favorite to win the SEC next year. That's not even considering the damage they'll likely do in the portal.

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This is just my opinion

Jaden Bradley:
I think Bradley is a really good game manager. The type of player you want at the end of a game. He will make the right pass at the right time. He is a strong, smart PG. I think, because he is smart/strong, he will be a good defensive player. He reminds of Collin Gillespie (Villanova). He does not shoot the ball as well as Gillespie, but you get the same sense that he is controlling the game when the ball is on his hands. Bradley prefers to finish at the rim, through contact.


I think going to IMG was perfect for his game. He learned how to contribute to the game even when he had scorers around him.

Rylan Griffen:
I watched Griffen more than any other signee. They were a fun team to watch.
Griffen is a scorer. I do expect him to be a shooter more than a scorer in his freshman year. He plays with the same effort as Jusaun Holt but is a more confident shooter. Holt became a better shooter his senior year, Griffen developed into a good shooter his sophomore year in high school. So, by his senior year, Griffen become a really good ‘contested’ shot maker. He is really good with the pull-up midrange shot.


Griffen plays with a chip on his shoulder, which I love. And he takes pride in playing defense. I’ve watched him lock down really good high players. The most difficult player for him to guard was Anthony Black (6’7 PG), who can be wiz with the ball. I know my next statement goes against coach Oats. I think Keon Ellis was a decent defensive player. IMO, Ellis relaxes after the first move is made. I think Griffen is in that same mode, but I think he can be better Ellis on defense.

Brandon Miller:
Miller has the more natural scorer ability of all of the recruits. He shoots the trey with ease, has good handles to get to the rim, and shoots the ball high on his pull-up. Bama has not had a lot of players that can score easily from all 3 levels, Collin Sexton, Mo Williams is the 2 that come to mind… Miller’s skills remind me more of Mo Williams. When Mo wanted to score, you expected the ball to go in… There were times when Sexton took a shot and you felt it was a bad shot, but it went in.


Similar to JD, his high school team did not push Miller to play on ball defense. Many of the teams that Cane Ridge played were not good. I watched the final game closely to see if Miller has the skills to play good on-ball defense. I can away with mixed reviews. He hasn’t developed the discipline to play good on-ball defense from half court, but I think he will be a good defender below the 3 point line. If I had to guess, I think Herb played 75% of his defense below the 3 point line. So being solid in this space will be good for Miller . Similar to Herb, Miller’s length will be a problem for most players.

Noah Clowney:
I watched Clowney at least 5 times (full games), and I am still not sure how to categorize him. He is not a “take over the game” type of player, but he is not lazy. He runs the floor well. He has good shooting form, and he can put the ball on the floor. He reminds me of Jaylin Williams (Arkansas). The difference is that Williams is became accustomed to have the ball in his hands and running the offense. I’m curious to see how Coach Oats plans to use him. He is a good player. For those who only watch Alabama basketball, He has Chuck Davis type of skillset, without the chip on his shoulder...

He plays good defense on the perimeter. He moves really well for a long kid. He did not commit foolish fouls.

Nick Pringle:
He is an around the rim type of player, but has a nice jump shot. Very explosive off of 2 feet, which means he can block-out a player and still get high for the rebound. As with all junior collage basketball, it’s difficult to get a feel for a post player. Based on his form, I think he can be more than a dunker. The “good” is that he very active around the rim on offense and defense. He slides well to get into rebounding position. He will need more discipline when blocking out. He seems to be looking forward to making the effort plays..


Defensively, he can do a decent job on the perimeter, and he has hops… lol.

If you haven’t picked it up, I’m not sure what Coach Oats will ask of his post players next years. In the final game, even Gurley changed how he typically plays. When Clowney committed to Bama, I think he mentioned that Oats told him that he hasn’t had a post player of his skillset since he came to Bama, which is why Bama has relied of guard play so heavily.

One thing is clear, Bama will have more length on the wing which should translate to being a better defensive team…

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West Virginia transfer Jalen Bridges has set two visits and is likely two set a few more. Here’s his Top 4:

Michigan State
Alabama
Baylor
Ohio State

Bridges has already had an in home visit with Michigan State. A big time transfer.

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3. Kentucky
6. Tennessee
16. Alabama
21. Arkansas (with Black)
22. Texas A&M
39. Mississippi State
41. Auburn
43. Vanderbilt
54. Ole Miss
67. Florida
77. LSU (without Phillips and Miller)
83. Missouri
180. Georgia
184. South Carolina


Top 40 NBA Draft prospects presumed gone, no one (who hasn’t announced differently) presumed to be taking a super senior year, freshmen who have committed/signed added in. This is updated pretty much daily and you can play around with it to add uncommitted guys, transfers, guys from other rosters, etc. and see where you’d be.


UK leads the way in the SEC. Projected #3 nationally with Wheeler, Oscar T, Brooks and Toppin all presumed back and adding Wallace and Livingston among others.

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Torvik has his preliminary 2022-23 projections out. You can go in and add transfer guys too and see how it changes the projections. Awesome.

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