re: Tide Hoops | Recruiting

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2023 Alabama Recruiting Update: October Edition

Alabama’s 2023 basketball recruiting class is off and running. The Tide now sits with three commitments and don’t seem to be done yet. With point guard RJ Johnson, guard Davin Cosby, and wing Sam Walters, on board, what will the Tide look for next? Let’s take a look.

Kaden Cooper

Kaden Cooper hails from Ada, Oklahoma and ranks 42nd overall in the On3 Composite rankings. Cooper played on the Adidas 3SSB circuit for Team Trae Young with Dink Pate. Alabama freshman, Rylan Griffen, also played for this program. The 6’5” wing has explosive athleticism and an improving jumper. His jumper mechanics continue to improve the release is becoming much more consistent. As he continues to develop a jump shot it only enhances his offensive potential to go with his physical tools. One area where he excels is cutting and playing the above the rim. Cooper beats lousy defenders back door with a long, quick stride and can rise for an alley-oop finish or catch a bounce pass and finish at the rim. His ability to consistently hit three-pointers will only create more problems for opposing defenses. Defensively, Cooper possesses elite physical tools and an incredibly high motor. It is easy to see why a culture like Alabama’s who values blue collar effort would be high on Cooper. He has long arms that can lead to deflections and jumping passing lanes, he excels with pace, he doesn’t take possessions off, and makes winning plays on each end. He fits well with what Nate Oats is building in Tuscaloosa and compliments each of the current commitments in this class well.

Rivals and On3 have both published articles in the last few days hinting that Cooper remains focused on an October decision and signing during the early period in November. The schools I hear the most when asking around about Cooper are Alabama, Kansas, and Gonzaga. LSU and Oklahoma are also in the mix. This one seems to be very close and we should have clarity soon.

Kris Parker

Kris Parker is a wing who has been listed between 6’6” and 6’8” from Quincy, Florida. He played both on the Under Armour circuit as well as finishing his summer of AAU on the EYBL circuit at Peach Jam with Nightrydas. Parker is an incredibly long wing who has immense upside. He is an incredible shot maker who has a high release which makes it hard for defenders to affect him once he is in his shooting motion. Shot selection could improve, but when he isn’t looked at to be the go-to scorer each possession that will lead to high efficiency. He has creation ability to get looks off for himself and has the feel to get the ball to teammates when they have a better look than he does. As he adds strength this will only help him around the rim and on the defensive end. His length gives him an edge defensively, and as he starts to get stronger and play harder it will help him a good bit.

So far, Alabama and UCF are the only two schools to host Parker on a senior official visit. This leaves him with three more remaining. Parker keeps his recruitment close to the vest, so it is hard to get too good of a read here. From the little bit I have been told, it doesn’t seem like Parker is very close to a decision.

Mouhamed Dioubate

Mouhamed Dioubate is a big 6’8” wing from Flushing, NY. He played on the EYBL circuit for Pro Scholar Athletics (PSA). Dioubate currently ranks 101st overall in the On3 composite rankings and is an intriguing wing/forward prospect with loads of potential. Dioubate is a high-level defender who makes a huge impact on that end of the floor. He possesses great length and athleticism which allows him to alter shots at the rim, get into passing lanes, and shrink the floor. In the 2021-2022 season Alabama desperately lacked length which was a theme in the 2022 recruiting class for the Tide. Dioubate certainly offers this for the 2023 class as well. Dioubate offensively is not a three-point shooter at this point in his development, but that is not to say that his jumper can’t continue to improve and extend out to the three-point line. In EYBL this summer, he was primarily utilized offensively around the rim, as a roller in PNR, and a cutter. A player like Juwan Gary, who was a fan favorite for his defensive energy and doing the dirty work on offense, is a type of player I can see Dioubate resembling for Alabama.

Dioubate is slated to visit Alabama this weekend (10/8) for the Texas A&M football game. This will be his fourth senior year official visit as he has already visited Wake Forest, Maryland, and Virginia Tech. The only school in his final five to not yet receive a visit or have an announced visit date is Kansas State. Dioubate is another recruitment that is kept close to the vest and is hard to get a good read on from the outside. Alabama fans should continue to monitor this recruitment and see how the upcoming official visit goes and what the next steps are for Dioubate.

In summary, these look to be the main three options for Alabama in the 2023 class at this moment. It has been nice to see commitments start to pickup with Alabama landing two since the last time we wrote about basketball recruiting, and we are hopeful that more good news could be on the way.

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I don’t know if he’s lucky, a genius, or the collective checks finally cleared… but if we get Cooper too, quite frankly, I don’t care.

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