CBB Rank 2025: No.13, Alabama Basketball

Alabama basketball brings in a ton of new faces, hoping to continue this historical run under Nate Oats.

The tradition continues! It’s another year of our countdown of the top 100 preseason teams in college basketball until the start of the season. Each day, we will reveal the next team until we reach the team slotted at number one. Up next: Alabama basketball.

Oats brings in loads of talent and has said many times throughout the offseason that this can be the best shooting team in all his years at the Capstone.

Sometimes the best gets are the ones you already have, and that news was Labaron Philon, who withdrew at the last minute on the NBA draft deadline to return to Tuscaloosa for his Sophomore campaign.

Alabama fans have never seen a stretch like this in the history of Alabama basketball, with three straight second weekend appearances, including a Final Four and Elite Eight appearance in back-to-back seasons.

Head coach: Nate Oats (7th season at Alabama, 12th season overall)

2024-25 record: 28-9 (13-5)

2025 postseason finish: Lost to Duke (85-65) in Elite 8 of NCAA Tournament

Notable departures: 

• Mark Sears (18.6 PPG, 5.1 APG, 2.9 RPG)
• Grant Nelson (11.5 PPG, 7.6 RPG, 1.6 APG)
• Chris Youngblood (10.3 PPG, 2.3 RPG, 0.9 APG)
• Mouhamed Dioubate (7.2 PPG, 5.9 RPG, 1.1 APG)
• Clifford Omoruyi (7.9 PPG, 6.5 RPG, 0.9 APG)

Notable non-conference games: 

• at St. John’s (Nov. 8)
• vs. Purdue (Nov. 13)
• at Illinois (Nov. 19) – Chicago, IL
• vs. Gonzaga  (Nov. 24) – Players Era Festival
• vs. UNLV (Nov. 25) – Players Era Festival
• Players Era Festival (Nov. 26-27)
• vs. Clemson (Dec. 3)
• vs. Arizona (Dec. 13) – Birmingham, AL
• vs. South Florida (Dec. 17)
• vs. Yale (Dec. 29)

Projected Rotation

PG: Labaron Philon (6-4, 185, So.)

2024-25 stats: 10.6 PPG, 3.8 APG, 3.3 RPG, 1.4 SPG, 45.2 FG%, 31.5 3P%

SG: Latrell Wrightsell Jr. (6-3, 195, Gr.-Sr.)

2024-25 stats: 11.5 PPG, 2.0 APG, 1.8 RPG, 0.5 SPG, 50.0 FG%, 42.2 3P%, 85.0 FT%

SF: Houston Mallette (6-5, 202, Gr.-Sr.)

2024-25 stats: 3.2 PPG, 3.2 RPG, 0.2 APG, 0.5 SPG, 58.3 FG%, 50.0 3P%, 7.8 MPG, 6 GP

*Missed rest of season due to injury

PF: Taylor Bol Bowen (6-10, 202, Jr.)

2024-25 stats: 8.0 PPG, 5.2 RPG, 0.8 APG, 1.5 BPG, 1.0 SPG, 47.7 FG%, 41.4 3P% (Florida State)

C: Aiden Sherrell (6-10, 255, So.)

2024-25 stats: 3.4 PPG, 2.8 RPG, 0.4 APG, 0.4 SPG, 0.2 BPG, 51.1 FG%, 46.3 FT%

6: Aden Holloway (6-1, 180, Jr.)

2024-25 stats: 11.4 PPG, 1.9 APG, 1.9 RPG, 0.6 SPG, 46.5 FG%, 41.2 3P%, 77.6 FT%

7: Keitenn Bristow (6-10, 205, So.)

2024-25 stats: 11.3 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 1.4 APG, 1.1 SPG, 0.9 BPG, 46.1 FG%, 79.6 FT% (Tarleton State)

8: Amari Allen (6-8, 205, Fr.)

247Sports Composite #102-ranked recruit

9: Davion Hannah (6-6, 190, Fr.)

247Sports Composite #46-ranked recruit

10: Noah Williamson (7-0, 255, Sr.)

2024-25 stats: 17.6 PPG, 7.6 RPG, 1.6 APG, 53.8 FG%, 31.8 3P%, (Bucknell)

Alabama Basketball team MVP: Labaron Philon

While Tide fans got the news about Philon coming back for year two, on the court, the Tide will need the Mobile native to step up vocally as a leader and be the alpha to take the team to the next level. If Philon can get the three-point shooting percentage up, he could hear his name called early next season in the NBA draft.

Alabama has been known under Coach Oats as a destination spot for guard play, and that will not change with the addition of one of the best guards in the country. Philon was named to the preseason All-SEC first team and could compete for the SEC Player of the Year award.

Alabama Basketball make-or-break player: Taylor Bol Bowen

After success at Florida State in what was a very tough season that did not include a lot of winning, Bol Bowen makes the move to the Crimson Tide, where he brings a prolific outside shooting game with a very good inside presence who can stretch the floor and do it all as a 6″10 wing.

If Bol Bowen can be a big success on both ends of the floor, that will bring the Tide’s ceiling as a team to a whole different level.

Key analytic: Defensive Efficiency

“Defense. We have to get our defense back to the Top 5 or Top 10. That’s the answer,” said Oats on what Alabama needs to do to win a national title.

Under year two with defensive coordinator and assistant coach Brian Adams the Tide hopes to use its length and size to its advantage in hopes to be a top 20 in defensive efficiency will be the key to the Tide’s success where in years past it was in the 40s and in the near 80s in the past two seasons where the Tide were able to make second weekends still and appear in Phoenix for the Final Four in 2024.

Alabama Basketball 2025-26 projections

Projected conference finish: 3rd in the SEC

Projected postseason ceiling: NCAA Tournament Elite 8 Exit