NCAA Basketball: Updated early top-25 rankings for 2021-22 after NBA Draft deadline

The Crimson Tide knew they were going to lose several senior graduates on the roster, including versatile guards and double-digit scorers Herb Jones and John Petty. Them leading was tough enough but there were still a couple of NBA Draft decisions that needed to be made.

Freshman guard Joshua Primo averaged 8.1 ppg this past season and entered the process but he became one of the biggest winners of the draft combine and eventually opted to stay in as a projected first-round pick. The other was leading scorer Jaden Shackelford (14.0 ppg), a 6’3 guard that wasn’t projected to be a first-round pick.

He did decide to come back to college but not to Alabama as Shackelford entered the NCAA Basketball transfer portal. That was unexpected and hurts the Tide, as they likely won’t be able to replace his production this offseason. The good news is that there’s still some depth to work with, including Texas Tech transfer Nimari Burnett and Keon Ellis. And guards Jahvon Quinerly and five-star freshman JD Davison will be leading the backcourt next season as one of the better perimeter duos in the SEC.

Alabama also has to deal with the injury to James Rojas, which affects the frontcourt. There will be pressure on Furman transfer forward Noah Gurley, as well as top-30 center recruit Charles Bediako and redshirt freshman Alex Tchikou. Losing the leading scorer drops the Tide a bit in the power rankings but there remains plenty of talent to be formidable.