3. Alabama Crimson Tide
Like Coach Musselman at Arkansas, Nate Oats has become a powerful recruiter since arriving at Arkansas. The biggest prospect he landed was Brandon Miller, a five-star wing prospect that ended up being the SEC Player of the Year and All-American, leading the team with 18.8 ppg and 8.2 rpg.
Miller was the top freshman last season and now is the top college prospect in the 2023 NBA Draft. It’s perfect timing for Coach Oats and the Crimson Tide when it comes to future prospects, including the top perimeter player in the 2024 class. It also helps that the program has consistently been one of the best offensive units in all of NCAA Basketball and is the ideal destination for offensive-minded players.
Looking at the roster, Alabama has two senior guards that’ll be gone after next year in Jahvon Quinerly (if he returns from the draft process) and Hofstra grad transfer Aaron Estrada. Starting guard Mark Sears is also in the process and there’s a decent chance that he’ll be gone a year from now too.
That would just leave Cal State Fullerton transfer Latrell Wrightsell on the roster, meaning that Johnson would come in and be the star of the entire roster. He can easily replicate what Miller did at this stop but will the Tide be good enough to compete for a national title?