NCAA Basketball Recruiting: Analyzing Nimari Burnett’s final five

Alabama Crimson Tide

Official Visit: Sept. 27

Alabama’s basketball program is entering a new phase of its development with a coaching change this offseason. Even though Avery Johnson had his fair share of success with the Crimson Tide, newly acquired head coach Nate Oats could be the one that takes the program up a couple of notches on the national stage. Coach Oats was remarkably successful on the court while leading the Buffalo Bulls and his recruiting was often underrated as he brought in some top-level talent to the MAC.

With regards to this particular recruitment, Burnett stated to 247Sports that “[Texas Tech’s staff] felt like they couldn’t get me at Buffalo so when they got the job at Alabama they reached out to me immediately and we built a relationship. They see me coming in and playing point guard and doing multiple things on the floor to help the team win.” That pretty much sums up the pitch that Alabama is likely giving to Burnett and it could easily work. He is a top-25 prospect with the ability to immediately change the future for the program. This is especially true if you trust that Coach Oats would also be able to bring other recruits in to pair along with him, which I definitely believe.

Alabama, in my opinion, is one of the most dangerous contenders in this recruitment. Even though the Crimson Tide are not regarded on the same level nationally as some of the other teams in this battle, the coaching staff is tremendous when it comes to building relationships and Burnett would have the opportunity to be a program-shifting recruit. That could definitely be appealing as the team, looks to climb up the national rankings.