NCAA Basketball: Updated early top-25 power rankings for 2020-21 season

NCAA Basketball power rankings – Alabama Crimson Tide

The biggest departure on the team was Kira Lewis Jr., their leading scorer and passer (18.5 ppg and 5.2 apg) as he heads to the NBA Draft. He and 6th man James Bolden are gone, along with outgoing transfers Galin Smith and Javian Davis-Fleming. The good news though is that both John Petty and Herb Jones are set to return after exploring the draft process themselves.

The player that no one is talking about heading into next season is Jaden Shackelford, who averaged 15.0 ppg and 4.5 rpg as a freshman. Once he was inserted as a starter in SEC play, the 6’2 guard reached double figures in every game and had a number of 20+ point performances. He’ll be an All-SEC candidate and likely the leading scorer for the Tide in 2020-21.

There are two big questions that will determine how good Alabama will be for next season. The first is at the point guard position, which will be split between incoming four-star guard Josh Primo and Villanova transfer Jahvon Quinerly, who sat out this past year. He had plenty of struggles as a freshman with the Wildcats but a change of scenery could help him break out as a sophomore.

Defense is also a concern, as they ranked as one of the worst teams in the country on that end. They were ranked top-5 on offense, which equals out to having a .500 record. They have to get better on that end in order to truly be top-25 good, which is where Jordan Bruner comes in. The 6’9 Yale grad transfer forward who is a quality defender and can provide good offense as well. He can play both forward positions and defend some of the top SEC frontcourt opponents as well. A big year from him will be big for the Tide to move up the conference ladder.