What's up everybody?? Whether you're happy to see me back or mad, just know I am excited to be back on Rivals, especially with this new team at Tide Illustrated! Just a little catchup on my life before I dive in on some intel. I no longer am a teacher or coach, as I start work at the University of North Alabama as a recruiter for their College of Business and MBA program! I now have a 2 year old son and a 5 month old girl, and those that say time flies with kids you weren't wrong! I am sorry I left y'all hanging the past several months, but I just needed time away as I was frustrated for the lack of love for basketball on the previous site. That is about to change though as Kelly has given me the full green light on producing as much basketball content as I can! You all are going to love the direction of this site, especially those that love basketball. I know I haven't been here to update on several things that have gone on with the team, but going through the forum I can see the typical people kept everyone up to date like @mr4bama. Let me give you some of my thoughts on the team and a little nugget on a recruit you might be interested in 
.
1) Brandon Miller looks the part of being an alpha as a freshman. At 6'8, he has a complete game being able to finish around the basket, has a near automatic midrange (yes Oats will let him shoot it), and has a serviceable outside game that he has already improved. He is a projected first rounder already, but has a ceiling to move into the lottery with his size and offensive ability. He has a good frame to be an average/ above average defender as well which would be HUGE. He scored 30 points in the open practice the other day and he was scoring from all levels. He will be a force and is a future pro.
2) The newcomer, and fellow Shoals native, Mark Sears has looked really good so far. He has a great inside/out game and is very quick and methodical with his decisions. When I told you all back early in the year that I thought he would end up at Bama, I knew if he did that he would be a perfect fit for the team. I have never seen a jump like he made at Ohio from his freshman to sophomore season going from 8 points to nearly 20 points a game and improved from 3 so much (27% to 40%). He's going to be such a good player and will be the starting PG opening the season, giving Bama a solid PG core of Sears/Bradley until JQ comes back in January (or sooner).
3) Speaking of Jaden Bradley, he has been nagged by a foot/ankle injury since high school that they decided to get some work done on. He is recovering very nicely as he is expected to play in the upcoming foreign tour, although on a minutes restriction. In what I have seen of him in practice, his pace reminds me of someone like Luka Doncic as he does not get sped up and plays his game. He can play fast or slow you down and keep the defender off balance. One thing I thought last years team lacked was ballhandlers. Outside of JQ and JD there was nobody you could trust. Now you have 2 and soon to be 3 pure point guards that you can trust with the ball in their hands. JD last year was a liability and that handcuffed Oats in what they could do. Bradley is a guy that Oats will trust with the minutes he will be playing in as he makes good decisions.
4) Lets talk about the bigs. Charles Bediako has been playing with Team Canada the past month and has shown great improvement. He was already a solid rim protector last year and showed flashes offensively, but as a freshman big guy it is the toughest position to adjust to as a first year player. He took his lumps, but you could see the maturity as the season went along. He averaged 70% shooting from the field and a block and a half per game as a freshman, which is really good. I think he will have a really good season in 2022/23. Noah Gurley is someone that had a somewhat rough first season in the SEC last year as well. He fits Oats' system so well being a 6'8 stretch big and shoots decent from outside, but you could tell the speed of the game in the SEC is different than the Southern conference. That first year he showed flashes of being the guy he was at Furman, but never could find consistency. Look for him to have a bounce back season as well.
5) Now for the recruit I had some intel on. Freddie Dilione, a 2023 6'5 SG from Fayetteville, NC just visited Alabama and the visit was near perfection from Alabama's perspective. He has a video on his Instagram that was pretty sick and he and his family had an awesome time. I would say at this time that I think Alabama lands him based on my intel. He doesn't have a timetable he plans to announce, but would it surprise me if he committed soon? Nope. He may take other visits or he might say Alabama is the only place he wants to visit, but it wouldn't surprise me if it is the latter. He is ranked #113 right now, but I think he will end up being a top 50 guy as he already hold 35 offers and is starting to get noticed by some bigger programs.
Hope you all enjoyed that content and look for a lot more where that came from! Super excited about the direction this site is taking!
.1) Brandon Miller looks the part of being an alpha as a freshman. At 6'8, he has a complete game being able to finish around the basket, has a near automatic midrange (yes Oats will let him shoot it), and has a serviceable outside game that he has already improved. He is a projected first rounder already, but has a ceiling to move into the lottery with his size and offensive ability. He has a good frame to be an average/ above average defender as well which would be HUGE. He scored 30 points in the open practice the other day and he was scoring from all levels. He will be a force and is a future pro.
2) The newcomer, and fellow Shoals native, Mark Sears has looked really good so far. He has a great inside/out game and is very quick and methodical with his decisions. When I told you all back early in the year that I thought he would end up at Bama, I knew if he did that he would be a perfect fit for the team. I have never seen a jump like he made at Ohio from his freshman to sophomore season going from 8 points to nearly 20 points a game and improved from 3 so much (27% to 40%). He's going to be such a good player and will be the starting PG opening the season, giving Bama a solid PG core of Sears/Bradley until JQ comes back in January (or sooner).
3) Speaking of Jaden Bradley, he has been nagged by a foot/ankle injury since high school that they decided to get some work done on. He is recovering very nicely as he is expected to play in the upcoming foreign tour, although on a minutes restriction. In what I have seen of him in practice, his pace reminds me of someone like Luka Doncic as he does not get sped up and plays his game. He can play fast or slow you down and keep the defender off balance. One thing I thought last years team lacked was ballhandlers. Outside of JQ and JD there was nobody you could trust. Now you have 2 and soon to be 3 pure point guards that you can trust with the ball in their hands. JD last year was a liability and that handcuffed Oats in what they could do. Bradley is a guy that Oats will trust with the minutes he will be playing in as he makes good decisions.
4) Lets talk about the bigs. Charles Bediako has been playing with Team Canada the past month and has shown great improvement. He was already a solid rim protector last year and showed flashes offensively, but as a freshman big guy it is the toughest position to adjust to as a first year player. He took his lumps, but you could see the maturity as the season went along. He averaged 70% shooting from the field and a block and a half per game as a freshman, which is really good. I think he will have a really good season in 2022/23. Noah Gurley is someone that had a somewhat rough first season in the SEC last year as well. He fits Oats' system so well being a 6'8 stretch big and shoots decent from outside, but you could tell the speed of the game in the SEC is different than the Southern conference. That first year he showed flashes of being the guy he was at Furman, but never could find consistency. Look for him to have a bounce back season as well.
5) Now for the recruit I had some intel on. Freddie Dilione, a 2023 6'5 SG from Fayetteville, NC just visited Alabama and the visit was near perfection from Alabama's perspective. He has a video on his Instagram that was pretty sick and he and his family had an awesome time. I would say at this time that I think Alabama lands him based on my intel. He doesn't have a timetable he plans to announce, but would it surprise me if he committed soon? Nope. He may take other visits or he might say Alabama is the only place he wants to visit, but it wouldn't surprise me if it is the latter. He is ranked #113 right now, but I think he will end up being a top 50 guy as he already hold 35 offers and is starting to get noticed by some bigger programs.
Hope you all enjoyed that content and look for a lot more where that came from! Super excited about the direction this site is taking!
