10. Baylor Bears
12. Auburn Tigers
16. Texas A&M Aggies
19. Indiana Hoosiers
22. Texas Longhorns
25. Miami Hurricanes
28. BYU Cougars
29. Maryland Terps
31. UCLA Bruins
32. Oregon Ducks
34. Florida Gators
35. Ole Miss
36. USC Trojans
39. Mississippi State Bulldogs
41. Memphis Tigers
42. McNeese Cowboys
45. VCU Rams
46. Dayton Flyers
47. St Mary’s Gaels
49. UCF Knights
52. Clemson Tigers
53. New Mexico Lobos
58. SMU Mustangs
60. Nevada Wolfpack
61. TCU Horned Frogs
63. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
65. Syracuse Orange
68. Iowa Hawkeyes
70. Butler Bulldogs
71. Princeton Tigers
74. Oklahoma Sooners
75. West Virginia Mountaineers
76. Georgia Bulldogs
77. UAB Blazers
80. Missouri Tigers
We have reached the final frontier! It is here, the FINAL INSTALLMENT OF OUR 82 IN 72 SERIES. Before we dive into my pick to win the National Championship, I want to congratulate our team who has been working on writing these previews leading up to the tip-off of the 2024-2025 college basketball season, we made it gentleman, 82 in 72 days! Cheers!
Now onto the Alabama Crimson Tide…My pick to win the 2025 NCAA tournament. Nate Oats is 8-4 in the NCAA tournament as the head coach of the Crimson Tide, and after making the Final Four last season, Oats seems poised to return to the Final Four with an improved and more seasoned Bama squad. The 2024-2025 Tide are the deepest basketball roster that Tuscaloosa has ever called their own, and should be the team that takes them to the steepest heights they have ever known…Below are the crew’s rankings for the Crimson Tide heading into tip-off!
| Steven | Maxwell | Kam | Cody |
| 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
Alabama has no weaknesses when you look at their roster purely on paper. Basketball has yet to be played, but this Crimson Tide is one of the more impressive rosters that I have seen this decade…Nate Oats lost players like Rylan Griffen and Aaron Estrada, but reloaded with a treasure trove of talent, Oats brought in high level impact transfers from the portal and hauled in the number two ranked recruiting class in the 2024 cycle. With all the new talent at Oats’ disposal, none is more important than Mark Sears…
Mark Sears is the best guard in college basketball as far as I am concerned, the motor, scoring ability, leadership, grit, selflessness and playmaking ability were on display for all to see in Bama’s run to the Final Four and the months leading up to the postseason. Sears averaged just a hair under 25 points per game in the NCAA tournament last season and was only second to Dalton Knecht in the SEC for points per game last season. A returning second team All American, Sears is a betting favorite for the Wooden Award this season and should build upon his stellar 2023-2024 campaign.
Mark Sears is not the only returner in the Bama backcourt, Latrell Wrightsell Jr. is also returning for the Tide, who were 10-0 last season when Wrightsell scored in double digits. Wrightsell averaged just under 24 minutes per game last season and seems poised to not only up his minutes, but his points and three point volume as well. Wrightsell and Sears will likely be joined by Chris Youngblood in the starting lineup if the Tide go smaller. Youngblood was the co-AAC player of the year last season at USF and is the exact type of guard that Nate Oats covets, Youngblood is no stranger to running in transition or shooting a high volume of threes.
Alabama has arguably the deepest backcourt in the country and we haven’t even gotten to the likes of Aden Holloway or Houston Mallette. Mallette was one of the best mid-major players in the country last season at Pepperdine and was drawing NBA eyes throughout last season. Mallette is a rangy guard who, yes, loves to shoot threes, but it is the advanced skill set inside the arc as a creator(for self and others) that really excites me on this Bama team. Houston Mallette could surely be a starter for the Tide, as could Aden Holloway, a highly touted transfer from Auburn, who has dynamic scoring ability in spurts and is an addiction to watch when his engine is humming. Holloway should benefit from playing under Oats, who has shown an ability to elevate transfer guards in the past.
The swing in the backcourt this season for the Crimson Tide seems likely to come from true freshman Labaron Philon, a former Alabama Mr. Basketball. Philon has been heralded by Nate Oats and teammates leading up to the season, and it seems all but certain that Philon will see some semblance of minutes on the court from the get-go. Labaron Philon is another strong shooting guard on this roster but his ability to penetrate and finish or create for others is what set him up for early success in Tuscaloosa…he can play off ball and be an efficient shooter or be an on-ball offensive spark plug for himself and others off penetration.
Alabama’s heralded recruiting class also brought in two gifted wings to join Labaron Philon, those being Derrion Reid and Naas Cunningham. Derrion Reid has an immediate path to minutes and can play both at the three or four spot, and his defense at the current state is more than ready for the SEC. Reid’s offensive game from high school will look much different than the product we’ll see under Nate Oats, and Reid’s identity on this team remains somewhat of a mystery to me. Naas Cunningham’s identity on this team is even more of a mystery with less clues than Reid’s, but don’t get it twisted, Cunningham is one of the most dynamic athletes in college basketball and can score the rock in a variety of ways. He will see time on the hardwood for Coach Oats, if his defensive activity is consistent and impactful, his path to a consistent role seems all but certain.
The jackpot of the offseason for Nate Oats and the Crimson Tide was landing grad transfer Cliff Omoruyi from Rutgers, one of the best rim protectors in the country. Omoruyi plays with a ferocity on the boards and around the rim, his presence will very much be welcomed for a Tide team that struggled against a UConn last season in the Final Four, a team that exposed Alabama’s previous lack of a dominant rim protector. With Cliff Omoruyi in the fold, Alabama could argue they not only have the best rotational backcourt in the country, but the best rotational frontcourt in the country…
Starting alongside Cliff Omoruyi will be beloved returner Grant Nelson, who led Bama in rebounds and blocks last season…Nelson is a dynamic forward with great positional size and a frame that has room to grow, Nelson can score from all three levels of the floor and thrives in transition when he benefits from other playmakers on the Alabama roster. Watching the Grant Nelson-Cliff Omoruyi frontcourt will be a gift under the tree this season for Alabama fans, and I expect them to complement each other nicely.
The depth up front, as mentioned earlier, is exactly what you would dream of as a top college basketball program. Outside of the aforementioned Derrion Reid, Nate Oats also brought in gifted big man Aiden Sherrell, who will likely back up Omoruyi. Sherrell can score from almost anywhere inside the arc and is a continually improving three point shooter. Sherrell is a long 6’ 10, and his athletic gifts allow him to be a problem on defense, something I predict we see from Sherrell this season off the bench for the Tide, don’t be surprised if Sherrell enters the 2025 NBA draft at season’s end.
I also wouldn’t be shocked if we saw an increased role this season for Mouhamed Dioubate. Dioubate, a true sophomore, played in 33 games last season and seemed to gain comfort on the court as the season wore on, Dioubate’s defensive effort will be valued as he has plus switchability and energy on that end.
The last player I wanted to touch on for this Alabama preview is my favorite player on this Bama roster, Jarin Stevenson, who I currently have 21st on my personal NBA Draft Big Board. Jarin Stevenson is going to be a serious contributor for the Crimson Tide this season, and as we watched his game begin to blossom last season as a freshman, I expect a serious leap from Stevenson as a sophomore. The combination of gifted frame, athletic ability and two-way versatility are a rarity in college basketball, and Alabama is likely reaping the rewards of Jarin Stevenson off of their bench…a testament to their depth in the frontcourt, I expect Stevenson to be the best player of all the aforementioned frontcourt players when it comes to professional-prospects.
I was in attendance for the UConn/Alabama Final Four game in Arizona, and I watched Nate Oats at the end of that game. I watched him, watching UConn humbly celebrate their victory, and there was something about being in that moment as a college basketball fan, with no skin in the game and no rooting interest for either side, that gave me a sense of real clarity when I watched Oats. I saw it when I caught his eyes from a distance, just a couple rows in front of the Turner broadcast set. Nate Oats knew exactly what he needed to do, he was thinking about ‘beating UConn the next time’ and ‘getting back’. While Oats may never admit it, you could see it in his face and then he went out and had the best summer in college basketball. Bringing back Mark Sears, Grant Nelson, Latrell Wrightsell and Jarin Stevenson to pair with the number two recruiting class and one of the top transfer classes in the country was only the start…to what I believe is a National Championship season for the Alabama Crimson Tide.
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