NCAA Basketball: Top 25 preseason power rankings for 2021-22 season

There has been a ton of offseason news for the Crimson Tide, both good and bad. The most consequential for the team’s aspirations was leading scorer Jaden Shackelford electing to return, after originally entering the transfer portal after coming back from the NBA Draft process.

That gave Alabama a star to lead the way, alongside Jahvon Quinerly, the second-best bench player in the SEC after averaging double figures and over three assists off the bench. He and five-star freshman prospect JD Davison will be the primary ball-handlers, while Keon Ellis and Darius Miles rounds out the backcourt.

Unfortunately, Texas Tech transfer guard Nimari Burnett won’t be part of the rotation after suffering a season-ending injury in practice recently. That’s the second injury the program has dealt with in the offseason, as forward James Rosas also got hurt and is likely done as well. The depth will now be tested, putting some pressure on Furman transfer Noah Gurley to be an impact player at the forward position. He was a consistent double-digit scorer and good defender but the SEC is a big leap from the Southern Conference.

Also in the frontcourt is Charles Bediako, a five-star center prospect that is an elite rim protector and overall athlete but is raw on the offensive end. The concern for Alabama is that there won’t be enough balance offensively from inside but the elite scoring potential from the backcourt shouldn’t make it a deal-breaker for the Tide’s hopes of a postseason run.