Cole Cloer is making it awfully hard for Alabama to keep him on the bench.
That’s the clearest takeaway from the Crimson Tide’s first two exhibition games, where a player who entered college with plenty of intrigue has already looked much more polished than expected. Cloer was originally part of the 2026 recruiting class before reclassing, enrolling at NC State in January after a season-ending high school injury, and then transferring to Alabama.
By the time he arrived in Tuscaloosa, he had already been rated a Top 30 player in that 2026 class. Still, he came in with the label of a near-true freshman who had missed most of last season.
Growing pains seemed like a reasonable bet.
They just haven’t shown up.
After opening with 14 points on 4-of-10 shooting from deep against Furman, Cloer stepped up again Thursday night against Ole Miss. In Alabama’s 92-84 win in the Ballin in Boutwell event, he scored 18 points, handed out four assists and hit 4-of-8 from three. Through two exhibition games, he’s averaging 16 points on 50/44/100 shooting splits.
The scoring is nice. The shooting is expected. What’s jumping off the page is everything else.
Cloer looks comfortable creating off the bounce, reads the floor well and has a feel that doesn’t usually belong to a freshman, even one with his pedigree. One sequence late in the first half against Ole Miss captured it well: a pump fake, a drive, then a pass to finish the possession. He wasn’t just standing around waiting to shoot.
That kind of versatility matters for an Alabama team that has projected starting lineups with Amari Allen, Aden Holloway, London Jemison, Drew Fielder and Brandon Garrison. Alabama also has some frontcourt flexibility with Jamarion Davis-Flemming and Keitenn Bristow, but Cloer is the one who looks capable of crashing that group and forcing Nate Oats to rethink the rotation.
Jemison has been solid on both ends through the exhibitions, but Cloer is bringing a different kind of problem for opponents. He can bury open looks, and he can make something happen when the ball leaves the set and the offense needs a creator.
Oats made it clear after the game that he sees the talent, but he also wants more than just made shots. He pointed to rebounding, defense and extra playmaking as areas Cloer can tighten up.
“He obviously shot it well. We knew he was an elite shooter," Oats said.
"I think there’s a lot more in him. I think he only had two rebounds tonight.
I think he’s a way better rebounder when he puts his mind to it. He was smart.
He didn’t have any turnovers. He does play sound that way.
But I think he can be a better defender, a better rebounder. He can be a little bit better playmaker for us.
"But, yeah, we want him to make shots. We’d like to get him doing a little bit more playmaking if possible.
I thought there was the one he brought up before. He kind of waved Qayden up the floor of the corner and created and got Qayden the open three.
So, yeah, I think he could do a little bit more of that for us.”
That’s the balance with Cloer right now: Alabama has a player who already looks capable of helping immediately, while Oats is still seeing room to push him even higher. If this level holds, Cloer won’t just matter to Alabama this season. A 6-foot-8 wing with this kind of shooting touch and this much skill is going to start drawing real attention as an NBA Draft prospect, too.
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Tennessees defense spent Saturday night making Alabama look unsteady in all the ways that matter, forcing four turnovers and holding the Crimson Tide to just 201 total yards in a 26-10 loss in Knoxville. DeSean Bishop led the way for the Vols with 159 rushing yards and two touchdowns, while Alabama was stuck all night trying to find any rhythm against a defense that kept the pressure on and the Tide off schedule.
Kalen DeBoer was left to sort through the offensive breakdown afterward, and his halftime message pointed straight at the emotional side of the meltdown. Alabama needed more composure and better decisions, but those fixes were easier to identify than to find once Tennessee had taken control of the game and turned every mistake into a bigger problem for the Tide. [Read more 🡒]
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Nick Saban Sees One Real Threat In Alabama's Trip To Neyland
The buildup to Alabamas Week 7 trip to Neyland Stadium is centered on more than just the rankings, because Tennessees defense has given the Crimson Tide a real reason to pause. Former Alabama coach Nick Saban singled out the Volunteers on College GameDay, pointing to a group that can limit scoring, defend the pass and pressure the quarterback, all traits that tend to make life difficult for even the most polished offenses.
For Alabama, that means every possession could matter in a matchup that already carries plenty of weight. The Tide are headed into one of the SECs louder environments with a defense on the other side that looks built to make the game uncomfortable, and how Alabama handles that pressure may go a long way toward deciding whether the afternoon in Knoxville turns into a statement or a struggle. [Read more 🡒]