Alabama men’s basketball is only a few weeks away from the start of the season. The intrasquad scrimmage offered as good of a glimpse as any we’ve seen yet of what this team will look like.
The Crimson Tide held a 24-minute scrimmage Friday night as part of an evening that included a three-point contest, a dunk contest and a banner reveal for the Final Four banner. The Alabama players, coaches and staff who were part of last year’s team also got their Final Four rings.
Some players were missing, and it wasn’t a full game, but there were interesting elements nonetheless.
Here are some notes and what stood out from the scrimmage Friday night. (Stats were only kept for roughly 17 of the 24 minutes).
Alabama basketball scrimmage observations
- The Crimson Tide broke into two teams: Team White and Team Crimson. Team Crimson featured Mark Sears, Clifford Omoruyi, Jarin Stevenson, Derrion Reid and Houston Mallette. Team White included Labaron Philon, Aden Holloway, Grant Nelson, Mo Dioubate and Naas Cunningham.
- Not participating: Aiden Sherrell, Chris Youngblood and Latrell Wrightsell Jr. Youngblood is out with an ankle injury, but he is expected to be back by conference play. Sherrell and Wrightsell are both week to week with lower leg injuries, per a UA spokesperson.
- The scrimmage featured two 12-minute halves.
- Clifford Omoruyi is as advertised. The big man who transferred from Rutgers was a force and asserted his presence early and often. His defense was a big reason why Alabama brought him in so he could be a rim protector that was missed a season ago, but don’t sleep on his offensive contributions. Omoruyi had at least four dunks in the scrimmage, several of which drew audible reactions from the crowd.
- Mark Sears is still Mark Sears. He made multiple triples, tallied assists and more, scoring at least 16 points and tallying at least four assists. Even with a roster full of talent, Sears remains at the top of the list. Oh, and he also won the three-point contest.
- Labaron Philon gets the title of the roster’s biggest sleeper. The freshman might not have the accolades like some of the freshmen on the roster, but Philon is going to help this team in a big way. He plays fast and physical and makes plays. He scored, grabbed rebounds, made free-throws, triples and made plays on defense. Philon scored at least 18 points and grabbed at least four rebounds.
- Aden Holloway is another player to watch at guard. The Auburn transfer made some triples, but he also had several key assists. He could be an assist machine for the Crimson Tide this season. Holloway also knocked down two free-throws late to clinch the game for Team White. He was one of Alabama’s assist leaders in the scrimmage and saw the court well to set up teammates for buckets.
- Grant Nelson had a solid day. He scored and made plays on the glass with at least eight rebounds. When he gets to play with Omoruyi and not against him, watch out.
- Jarin Stevenson is going to be a problem for opposing teams. Even though he’s in his second season with the program, only now was he supposed to be a freshman in college. He’s going to be a scoring threat and a potential mismatch if Alabama wants to use him at the 3 with Nelson at the 4 and Omoruyi at the 5.
- Where Alabama finds minutes for Naas Cunningham remains to be seen, but he showed he can bring some quality shooting from the perimeter. Cunningham hit at least two triples.
- Team White won 61-57.
- Sears, Holloway, Philon, Omoruyi and Stevenson all scored in double figures.
Nick Kelly is an Alabama beat writer for AL.com and the Alabama Media Group. Follow him on X and Instagram.
