NCAA Basketball: Top 25 impact transfer pickups from 2023 offseason

No. 2 Grant Nelson (Alabama)

North Dakota State and the Bison are usually known for their phenomenal football program, but Grant Nelson brought huge attention to their basketball squad this past season.

Nelson is one of those unicorns at 6’11 who can score very effectively for someone at his height, he put up 17.9 points and 9.3 rebounds per game for the Bison this past season and put himself on the map as someone who could put himself in the transfer portal.

After an impressive season, Nate Oats and Alabama had to get to work, he was able to pick up the previously mentioned Aaron Estrada and also was able to add the elite Grant Nelson to this transfer class. It is tough to replace a guy like Brandon Miller but to add Estrada along with a guy that is the size of Nelson and can move and score the way he does is something that could be just good enough to keep Alabama at the top.

If Nelson is the elite talent that the country thinks he is, then he may be one of the more talked about players in the nation this upcoming season as he gets more national attention playing in the SEC. The question that arises with himself and most transfers from smaller conferences is the adjustment to SEC Basketball, but Oats and the Crimson Tide trust his ability.

Alabama will nonetheless still have high expectations, and expectations for Nelson may be even higher than the teams’.