NCAA Basketball: Which teams are off to hot starts in 2019 recruiting?

6. Alabama Crimson Tide

Commits – 2: Gary (67), Forbes (92)

Current Rank: No. 9 overall class

Alabama head coach Avery Johnson has been absolutely incredible on the recruiting front since taking over the program. With his NBA pedigree and coaching experience, Coach Johnson has a unique recruiting pitch that he can offer to high school players. In his short tenure at the helm of the program to this point, Coach Johnson has already two consecutive top-25 recruiting classes and has sent one player to the NBA (Collin Sexton).

Alabama is clearly still a football school on the surface but it would be a mistake to overlook what Coach Johnson is building for the basketball program. It might not happen right away but it is reasonable to get excited about two-sport consistency in Tuscaloosa. There are not many programs who can boast high-quality teams in both football and basketball year in and year out. With the right development from the current roster and how well Coach Johnson can recruit, we might add the Crimson Tide to that short list soon enough.

Even though the Crimson Tide are yet to make a deep run in the NCAA Tournament under Coach Johnson, it is clear that the program is headed in the right direction. With regards to the future of the team, the fact that Alabama already has two top-100 commits from the 2019 class is a darn good sign. Juwan Gary and Jaylen Forbes are both versatile wings with plenty of size and strength to play at the college level. Combined, they already make up the No. 9 ranked recruiting class in the nation for 2019.

2018 AAU Circuit Stats

Juwan Gary (21 GP, EYBL) – 19.2 ppg (.427/.259/.694), 5.6 rpg, and 1.2 spg

Jaylen Forbes (19 GP, EYBL) – 19.4 ppg (.335/.320/.692), 5.7 rpg, and 1.6 spg