Ad Disclosure
Alabama moves down in ESPN’s way-too-early top-25 ranking for 2023-24 season
Published:
Alabama men’s basketball made ESPN’s way-to-early top-25 on Wednesday. The Crimson Tide are coming off of a Sweet 16 appearance in last season’s NCAA Tournament.
After adding players through the transfer portal and bringing in a solid 2023 recruiting class, Alabama made the cut via ESPN’s Jeff Borzello.
The Crimson Tide come in at No. 22 on the list. Here’s how Borzello justified putting Alabama as the 22nd team in the rankings:
The roster machinations have not slowed in Tuscaloosa. After an NBA draft withdrawal deadline that saw Jahvon Quinerly and Mark Sears return but Charles Bediako depart, Quinerly then opted to enter the transfer portal. Nate Oats responded by landing North Dakota State transfer Grant Nelson and five-star big man Jarin Stevenson — and is still in pursuit of more players in the portal. The Tide will be heavily reliant on transfers and could still use another player up front.
Borzello also had an idea of how Alabama’s starting lineup will potentially look next season:
Aaron Estrada (20.2 PPG at Hofstra)
Mark Sears (12.5 PPG)
Latrell Wrightsell Jr., (16.3 PPG at Cal State Fullerton)
Grant Nelson (17.9 PPG at North Dakota State)
Nick Pringle (3.5 PPG)
The other SEC teams on the list include Texas A&M (No. 19), Kentucky (No. 17), Arkansas (No. 14), and Tennessee (No. 6).
Grant Bricker was a former freelancer for The News TN in his hometown of Nashville, Tennessee. He now freelances for Saturday Football. Follow on Twitter @GrantBricker.
