Alabama Redshirting Freshman Forward and Senior Guard

During pregame warm-ups, Alabama senior guard Houston Mallette and freshman forward Naas Cunningham were spotted in street clothes, not warming up with the rest of the team. Among them was senior forward Chris Youngblood.

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Youngblood is dealing with an ankle injury, but Mallette and Cunningham are not according to Alabama head coach Nate Oats. However, Oats did say in the CTSN Pregame show that Mallette and Cunningham will be redshirting during their first season in Tuscaloosa.

Mallette is a senior guard who transferred to Alabama from Pepperdine. Mallette averaged 14.7 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 2,4 assists per game in his fourth and final season at Pepperdine.

Mallette started Alabama's first exhibition game against Wake Forest.

Naas Cunningham is a freshman forward from SoCal Academy in Castaic, California. He was rated as the No. 44 overall prospect in the class of 2024, and the No. 5 player in the state of California. Cunningham shot 34% from beyond the arc in high school, averaging 13.4 points per game in high school.

Oats said earlier in the week that Cunningham was a redshirt-candidate, stating he needed to gain a little more weight and muscle. When asked about Mallette, Oats mentioned knee injuries that forced him to miss most of the summer for Alabama.

Wyatt Fulton is the TIde 100.9 DME and Brand Manager, primarily covering Alabama Crimson Tide football and men's basketball. For more Crimson Tide coverage, follow Wyatt on X (Formerly known as Twitter) at @FultonW_.