NCAA Basketball: 15 undervalued players in 2020 recruiting class

#59 Alex Tchikou, PF – Alabama

Fresh off his commitment to the Tide, Tchikou is set to make a big impact in his freshman season. As a result of reclassifying late in the recruiting process, he has not received nearly the same amount of exposure relative to his peers. Furthermore, Oats’s strong class overshadows a guy like Tchikou solely for the position he plays on the court.

Traditional frontcourt players find themselves struggling for offensive touches in this system because the Tide love to get out and run the floor. They take early shots in the possession, especially from the perimeter, and their main production from the post comes off of rebounds. However, Tchikou has the skills to not only survive in this system but to flourish.

At 6’11” he runs the floor seamlessly and is always a threat to score. Much like Azuolas Tubelis mentioned previously, Tchikou will also be able to put the ball on the floor and get to the rim. Add in his ability to stretch the floor and the Frenchman gives Alabama a frontcourt threat, unlike anything they’ve rostered in recent years.

Donta Hall was the closest this program got, but he was not able to stretch the floor much to make this offense more dynamic. The defensive focus for Alabama’s opponents will squarely sit on the backcourt trio of Jaden Shackleford, Jahvon Quinerly and Josh Primo if John Petty decides to keep his name in the NBA Draft. Even if he returns, Tchikou will have the freedom to roam the court on the offensive end and find larger spaces to attack and score.