BigBird09
| Favorite team: | Alabama  |
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| Number of Posts: | 6085 |
| Registered on: | 5/20/2012 |
| Online Status: | Not Online |
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Andersen Diaz may be smaller than we'd like, but man does his tape look impressive and the numbers he's posting in EYBL is backing it up. He's the shiftiest HS guard I've watched in a while. Also seen quite a few clips of him being disruptive defensively which is one way he can compensate for his lack of size on that end. Excited to see what he looks like at this level.
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I met Houston in person. He’s slightly taller than me I’m 6’2”
Listed height for basketball players is in shoes which adds about 1.5 inches.
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I checked. It's with both of them. But we also only have 10 players listed, the rest are either walkons or Collins.
If we're being honest, that is the kind of projection I would expect with our full roster currently. Really hoping we're not done and add a legitimate guard, but if we've never been more reliant on freshmen showing out and a near guaranteed FRP being a draft drop out (as well as hoping legal issues don't hurt us). Our freshmen class (including Cloer in this group) is where our additions really stand out. Our portal class solves some of our needs, but it's been pretty underwhelming, especially considering the rumors of us being a top player this cycle came out. It just seems that NIL-wise, we are one cycle behind on what it takes to compete for top players for the second year straight.
Having said that, last time we were close to this reliant on freshmen was the year we were the #1 overall seed.
re: Alabama Basketball 2026-27 roster tracker
Posted by BigBird09 on 4/21/26 at 8:34 am to BamaBravesPackers
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Don’t want to derail the thread with my Holloway is bad on defense rant, especially since he may not even be on the team, but it is 100% definitive that Biz caused our defense and rebounding to be materially worse than any of the other guards that took his playing time, including Bethea. That is causation.
ETA: I’d like to get back to 2023 style defensive and rebounding intensity if possible. Top 5 defense and let the offense take care of itself given Oats system.
You mean the team that started Mark Sears for 37 games as basically the 2-guard? And Sears that year was nowhere near the offensive player Aden was this year. One negative defender doesn't mean you can't have an elite defense. The key is to surround those guys with lengthy defenders like we did in 2023 and 2021 (JQ and Shackelford) and seemingly like we're trying to do this year.
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Samuels is far and away the best all around scorer Bama has had since Brandon Miller. How people forget that Amari Allen was a fringe top75 prospect that most fans are now banking the 2027 on, but are dismissive of a guy like Samuel’s is mindboggling. Same with several of these guys just 1-year removed from their TF season.
Huge Samuels guy and always thought he was the clear standout from our freshmen. Having said that, I'm going to assume you meant he's the best FRESHMAN scorer since Miller. Otherwise, that's a scalding hot take.
re: Alabama Basketball 2026-27 roster tracker
Posted by BigBird09 on 4/19/26 at 10:18 pm to mistaken4193
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This years draft is one of the strongest ever. Next years is much weaker. Amari should come back, improve his stock, and enter next years weaker draft.
I think he comes back, but unfortunately for us the "weak" spot in this draft is the wings after the top 3.
re: Alabama Basketball 2026-27 roster tracker
Posted by BigBird09 on 4/18/26 at 4:25 pm to mistaken4193
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I don’t understand letting Davion hit the portal if we weren’t getting Wilkins. Davion is a lot better than a lot of options left.
Kind of makes me think we took Hunter's commitment (was supposed to visit this weekend) instead of waiting on Wilkins and we're taking some of the money we're saving to spend on someone else? I don't know. Unless we are in on someone I haven't heard about, I would have much rather gotten Wilkins. Dude is a stud (Pope will find a way to make him look bad though).
re: Alabama Basketball 2026-27 roster tracker
Posted by BigBird09 on 4/18/26 at 4:11 pm to Bryant91092
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Wilkins to Kentucky. I wonder what our plan is for a guard?
Camren Hunter? This one hurts really bad.
Kentucky insider said that Alabama was barely talking to Wilkins before he committed. Honestly don't understand that...
re: Alabama Basketball 2026-27 roster tracker
Posted by BigBird09 on 4/16/26 at 5:51 pm to ChauvinisticPigAttit
If we end up with Freeman and Wilkins, this portal class goes from a little underwhelming to one of the best classes in the country. Still a little bit of a question at the five spot but between Collins, Garrison, and JDF I'm fairly confident that two of them can hold their own and do the dirty work we need from them for 40 minutes.
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If Amari comes back he will be playing the point a lot. You can tell by the recruits and transfers we’re bringing in.
I think his point was that he can play a good bit more with the ball in his hands. Wilkins being one of our top targets would likely mean either Aden isn't coming back or that Amari will serve as more of a point forward than an actual PG. Not against him playing there more but we are after other guards.
re: Alabama Basketball 2026-27 roster tracker
Posted by BigBird09 on 4/16/26 at 11:25 am to mistaken4193
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Trilly put in an official for Cloer to Bama. It’s a big time pickup. I think he was ranked top 20 in his original class and then reclassified and redshirted last year
Could be wrong but I thought he was just a 2026 kid who signed which makes him a portal prospect. Regardless I like the pickup. Really would like to add Wilkins and an established 4 but the potential of this group could be really good as is. Unfortunately, the inverse is also true with so many upside with uncertainty plays.
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That group is wildly undersized for what we need a 4 to do. Our most efficient teams had 4s that could guard 2-5 (Clowney, Nelson, Dioubate). I don't feel good about anyone in that lineup trying to guard a true big.
I definitely think we should add another 4, but if Oats doesn't trust Jemison at the 4 he shouldn't keep him around and Allen certainly has the size and defensive ability to play there.
My point wasn't to say those should be the guys playing there but more-so that there is at least some depth at the 4 covered in that group of 6.
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who? that bama team was ranked 24th preseason. most thought that team would be solid but not final four good, and that certainly includes on this board. the usual undersized, not athletic enough, low major type stuff. the team the season after was the only one i remember having tons of national hype on.
You're right in terms of national hype. That was the year after. But the lower ranking was because of the lack of returners not because of the portal class. Who here was disappointed with that portal class? It was considered a great class nationally speaking. We landed one of the best guard transfers and best big transfers on the market as well as quality depth pieces.
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So assuming Allen returns and we get Cloer, we'd have more wings than a Baumhower's:
- Amari Allen
- London Jemison
- Cole Cloer
- Qayden Samuels
- Tarris Bouie
- Jaxon Richardson
Interesting
Positions covered in that group are 2-4 though, essentially meaning a starter/backup at each spot. I actually think that's an appropriate number and wouldn't be shocked if they add one more proven guy (since 4 of those are freshmen)
re: Alabama Basketball 2026-27 roster tracker
Posted by BigBird09 on 4/16/26 at 9:40 am to RollTide33
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Yeah the #3, #20, #24, and #103 ranked players in the portal in their respective years would be a terrible transfer class.
Sears, Estrada, Trelly, and Nelson would likely be the top rated transfer class in any year. I get what your post is trying to say but come on.
Yeah, I wasn't going to say anything because I've learned to trust Nate too, but that portal class had even national analysts putting us into that Final Four conversation preseason. I think the problem is kids then were willing to turn down thousands for development, but now kids are having to sacrifice millions for development. Alabama fans are grilling Sherrell right now, and I get it, but I also understand taking money made in one season that you could reasonably live the rest of your life off of especially when you're not on NBA draft radars.
re: Alabama Basketball 2026-27 roster tracker
Posted by BigBird09 on 4/15/26 at 8:36 pm to Allthatfades
I swear, after every strikeout, Pope looks at who our next top target is and starts throwing money at him.
Really liked Wilkins but going to be really hard to convince a Furman freshman to not take the money and national spotlight he'll get at UK.
Really liked Wilkins but going to be really hard to convince a Furman freshman to not take the money and national spotlight he'll get at UK.
re: Alabama Basketball 2026-27 roster tracker
Posted by BigBird09 on 4/15/26 at 7:48 pm to Chadaristic
Joka was essentially this board's little brother. We couldn't stand him with his sunshine pumping but whenever a random FOG popped in after a loss we had his back.
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So we're set at the 5. Now need a dynamic 4 and a couple guards.
I'm not one to panic but if we're going into the season with one of Garrison and JDF needing to replace Sherrell, I'm going to be pretty nervous, especially considering what teams with size already did to our frontcourt with Sherrell.
re: Alabama Basketball 2026-27 roster tracker
Posted by BigBird09 on 4/15/26 at 9:47 am to RollTide4Ever
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Not sure he has a choice if the sure things are getting snatched by the likes of big ten schools. There's a reason why schools are looking overseas for talent.
And that's not something we should be afraid to explore.
I'm not saying the NIL is enough to compete for all the big fish but when the two biggest NIL offers you make in the portal are on a high potential big with raw defensive tools and an inconsistent motor (Bol Bowen) and a 5-star guard who did not play well their freshman year (Bethea) and you follow that up with striking out on the same 2 archetypes the next season (Garrison and Johnson respectively) then you are at least partly to blame. I also think part of the problem is that Oats is trying to spread out the NIL to prevent locker room issues.
re: Alabama Basketball 2026-27 roster tracker
Posted by BigBird09 on 4/15/26 at 7:52 am to Robot Santa
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Just because we offered him more money doesn't mean we offered him enough more to keep up with the increase in the "market" this offseason. If we increase payroll by 50%, which is a lot, and the cost of doing business increases by 65% we are actually worse off despite a 50% increase in payroll.
This is the truth. Oats signed because he was okay with the number given (underestimating the market again). It seems like the past two seasons, we've been surprised as to what players are now going for.
Not going to lie, Watts saying that Oats feels like Garrison is a big fish scares me a bit. Makes me think he views him as the starter and we paid a premium simply for potential again (similar to Bol Bowen and Bethea last year). Oats has earned trust with roster choices overall, but taking your biggest swings on potential (Bethea and Bol Bowen last year; Garrison, and Jasper Johnson this year) and it not working out two years in a row would not just be an NIL number problem but also a misuse of the NIL he has.
re: Oats top 3 in coaches?
Posted by BigBird09 on 4/5/26 at 7:43 am to BamaBravesPackers
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I might not trade him for Golden due to Golden’s personality, but impossible to argue that Nate is a better coach than Golden right now.
You can argue for Golden, but there is absolutely an argument for Nate over Golden. Golden has made it to the 2nd weekend once and his entire success so far has been done with the same core of players. Nate has 4 consecutive Sweet 16s, including a Final 4, and 2 Elite 8s in that stretch, .
Golden has his number H2H, but the same thing can be said of Oats and Sampson. But Sampson is one of two coaches whose recent success should have him clearly ahead of Nate currently.
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