Alabama Basketball: Mohamed Wague rounds out rebuilt frontcourt for 2023-24

Mohamed Wague is the latest addition to the frontcourt for Alabama Basketball for next season. What does he offer to the Crimson Tide?

It’s been a long offseason for Alabama Basketball when it came to the frontcourt. Because for the longest, the team had next to no depth on its roster. After departures such as Noah Gurley and Charles Bediako, only Nick Pringle was the lone veteran returning for the Crimson Tide.

But Pringle isn’t the only former Junior College transfer on the roster. The latest addition is Mohamed Wague, a 6’10 big man from the Bronx. He was part of the roster exodus at West Virginia during the Coach Bob Huggins saga, entering the portal in the past month.

Teams that were reportedly involved for Wague included DePaul and Kansas State. In the end, Alabama Basketball won out and landed a needed center. He averaged 4.1 ppg and 3.1 rpg in 11 mpg off the bench this past season, including 10 points and 10 rebounds in 27 minutes against Kansas State.

Landing Wague gives the Tide a primary backup center for next season or even potentially a starter. That’ll depend on the other incoming transfer, Grant Nelson. He was a 20 and 10 guy at North Dakota State and has plenty of potential but it’s unknown as to whether he’s a center or power forward at the SEC level.

There’s also another key pickup to monitor in Jarin Stevenson, a five-star power forward prospect that reclassified from the 2024 class to join the roster. It’s unknown what kind of impact he’ll have as a true freshman next season, along with incoming four-star stretch forward freshman, Sam Walters.

In a way, Wague is arguably the surest frontcourt player on the roster because he can give Alabama Basketball 15-20 mpg of production in an SEC that’s loaded with big men. What the others do will determine the ceiling for this team for this specific newcomer helps raise the floor in terms of impact.