Alabama basketball 's 2024-25 roster might be the most complete the Crimson Tide has ever seen.
During a recent appearance on " Hey Coach ," Nate Oats expressed his excitement for the group hitting the floor this season. Entering his sixth year in Tuscaloosa, he set high expectations for the team's six returning Final Four roster members, plus the four transfer additions and four freshman who hope to be part of their own NCAA Tournament run.
"With as much talent and as highly-rated as they are, sometimes you may think that you get a little bit of arrogance and stuff that comes with that, but I really haven't seen that with this group," Oats said.
"We've got the most depth I think we've ever had since I've been here and it's a luxury. … It's also a problem ,because you've got to figure out minutes, but I think we've got great kids that are all about winning."
Here is a breakdown of Alabama's roster for the coming season.
Auburn transfer Aden Holloway would be the shoo-in to start had second-team consensus All-America and first-team All-SEC member Mark Sears not returned to Tuscaloosa for his final year of eligibility. No one ever complained about depth, though, and the Crimson Tide has a whole lot of it with Holloway, who averaged 7.3 points and 2.7 assists per game last season, and four-star freshman Labaron Philon.
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Oats has seen Holloway's shooting skills as being better than expected, so there's potential to see more of him in the No. 2 spot, especially with the exit of Aaron Estrada.
Alabama brings the most experience at this position but probably won't get a big chunk of it back until January. Per Oats, South Florida transfer Chris Youngblood sustained an ankle injury and had surgery that will likely leave him benched until about the time conference play begins. The Crimson Tide has graduate senior Latrell Wrightsell Jr., coming off of a season highlighted by a career-best 44.7% shooting from the arc and another shot-sinking transfer addition in Houston Mallette from Pepperdine. If Wrightsell were to miss time before Youngblood's return, things could get tricky.
The ceiling is high here with two five-star freshmen, but they'll need to get healthy. Both were out on the first day of open practice for the 2024-25 season. Reid is week-to-week with a hand injury, while Cunningham is day-to-day with a groin injury. When they're back in action, relentless rebounding and some electric put-back dunks from the 6-foot-8 Reid and speedy ball-handling skills to go with a smooth jumper from the 6-7 Cunningham will enrich the Crimson Tide's offense.
Should injury continue to threaten the rookies, returning forward Mouhamed Dioubate is a solid answer to make an impact, offering a little more experience as a sophomore and a versatile skillset with a 6-7 frame.
Alabama should see a lot of production in this role this season. The 6-11 Grant Nelson, who was the Crimson Tide's leading rebounder with four double-doubles en route to the Final Four, gets the chance to shine thanks to the arrival of Clifford Omoruyi from Rutgers. Meanwhile, year two of Jarin Stevenson should see one of the team's top NBA prospects turning up the heat to improve his draft stock.
Omoruyi offers the rim protection that Alabama found itself needing time and time again last season. An elite defender with a 7-6 wingspan averaged nearly three blocks and more than eight rebounds per game for a struggling Scarlet Knights team, giving Oats a much-needed piece for the rotation. With Nelson being able to focus on his duties at power forward, minutes open up for freshman Aiden Sherrell, who's listed as a forward, but has the 6-10, 200-pound build to be effective at the No. 5 spot.
Emilee Smarr covers Alabama basketball and Crimson Tide athletics for the Tuscaloosa News. She can be reached via email at esmarr@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Breaking down Alabama basketball's 2024-25 roster
