College basketball is back, and Alabama opens Nate Oats’ eighth season in Tuscaloosa on Tuesday against Sam Houston with a lot of buzz already building around the Crimson Tide.
A big reason for that optimism is sophomore guard Amari Allen, who tested the NBA Draft waters, went through the process, and still chose to return to Alabama despite being projected as a late first-round pick. The Tide are hoping that decision pays off in the kind of second-year jump that Labaron Philon made. At this point, Allen looks like the centerpiece.
On Thursday, the SEC coaches added another layer to that belief by placing Allen on the preseason All-SEC first team. He was joined by Florida’s Thomas Haugh and Rueben Chinyelu, Vanderbilt’s Tyler Tanner, and Mississippi State’s Josh Hubbard.
Allen’s role is clear heading into the season: he’s the point guard. When Aden Holloway returns after serving his two-game suspension, he’ll line up beside Allen as Alabama’s shooting guard. Holloway will still handle the ball some, but Allen is the one who came back looking for more on-ball responsibility, a move that matters for his NBA future considering he is actually 6-foot-5 without shoes and not the 6-foot-8 he was listed at last season.
That doesn’t mean the adjustment will be perfect. Allen will need to clean up some turnover problems that showed up in the three exhibition games.
But Holloway’s return should help stretch the floor and open more room for Allen to attack. Even before Holloway is back, Allen has already looked sharp against Furman, Ole Miss, and Auburn.
In those three games, he averaged 20 points, five rebounds, and four assists while shooting 53/54/84. He used just 36 shots to score 61 points, a clear sign of how efficiently he played.
He got to the rim, drew contact, hit open threes, and stayed under control throughout. He didn’t chase the action or force bad looks.
It also matters that those performances came against real competition, not overmatched exhibition opponents. Furman was the preseason favorite in the SoCon, and Ole Miss and Auburn are SEC teams. That only makes Allen’s preseason run look more convincing.
The sample size is small, but the early returns back up the idea that he could make the same kind of leap Philon did. And if Allen hits that level with the talent and depth Oats has around him, Alabama has a real chance to beat expectations and stay in the hunt for the Final Four.
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Alabama Walks Into LSU With One Distraction Nick Saban Always Warned About
Lane Kiffin has spent the week talking about the kind of challenge Alabama still presents, even in a different era. He called the Crimson Tide a highly talented group and compared them to the Alabama teams that used to set the standard under Nick Saban, which is a reminder that the respect around this matchup still runs deep on both sides.
But there is always another layer when Alabama goes to Tiger Stadium, and Saban long had a name for it. The noise, the buildup and everything wrapped around a trip to LSU can turn into the kind of rat poison he used to warn about, and this time the spotlight also lands on quarterback Keelon Russell, who will be making his first trip there. For Alabama, the game is about more than talent on paper, because in Baton Rouge the distractions can become part of the test. [Read more 🡒]
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Ohio States continued push comes even after losing another recruit, and Newkirks situation has only added intrigue because he has not played this senior season while recovering from injury. He flashed enough as a junior to make himself a coveted target, and now Alabama has real reason to keep watching the recruitment closely as the Buckeyes try to make one more serious run at him. [Read more 🡒]
Alabamas Run Game Problem Just Became A Huge Bye Week Focus
Alabamas ground attack looked like one of the teams early strengths, but the last three games have brought a noticeable dip in both production and efficiency against Georgia, Tennessee and Texas A&M. With the Tide headed into a bye week, the conversation around the offense has shifted toward fixing what has become a glaring issue before the schedule tightens again.
That puts extra pressure on the work being done now, especially with a pivotal road trip to LSU looming and College Football Playoff positioning still very much on the line. Mal Waldrep Jr. and Daniel Hill both addressed the need to improve the run game during the break, and Alabama will be hoping the extra time translates into something more reliable when the season resumes. [Read more 🡒]