Bama Officially Announces Basketball Additions

Nate Oats and the Alabama Crimson Tide spent a large portion of their time after the Final Four hunting for additions to the roster in the transfer portal. Alabama put a lot of emphasis on defense, with Nate Oats and the Tide asking every player about defense during the recruitment.

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Alabama made out like a bandit in the transfer portal, but they made another addition as well via the high-school ranks. Mobile native Labaron Philon was released of his letter of intent to Kansas, and shortly after, committed to the Alabama Crimson Tide.

Alabama officially announced the transfer portal additions on Friday. Here are the players announced by the Univesity of Alabama and Nate Oats on Friday, as well as what Oats had to say about each player.

Aden Holloway - Transfer Portal (Auburn) 6-foot-1, 178 pounds.

- 2024 SEC All-Freshman
- 2023 High School McDonald's All-American

Oats statement on Holloway:

Coming out of high school as a McDonald’s All-American, Aden was one of the best shooting point guards in the country, all throughout his high school career. He has the ability to shoot it from deep while being able to get into the paint and make plays. Defensively he can guard and keep people in front of him. He has a very special brand of skill, talent, and hard work.

Houston Mallette - Transfer Portal (Pepperdine) 6-foot-5, 185 pounds.

- 2024 All-WCC Honorable Mention
- 14.7 points per game

Oats statement on Mallette:

Houston is such a versatile guard with length and has unique play-making skills. He can guard one through four and is a knockdown shooter. He can make the open shots, get his teammates involved being a combo guard, and make a multitude of plays due to his IQ on the court. Like all of our signees, he has a great team-first mindset and will be a great two-way player.

Clifford Omoruyi - Transfer Portal (Rutgers) 6-foot-11, 240 pounds.

- Big-10 First Team All-Defense
- 2023 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award Finalist (Given to the nation's best center)

Oats statement on Omoruyi:

Cliff has arguably been one of the best shot blockers in the country and in the Big Ten over the last 25 years. He is a guy that will anchor our defense and has a great offensive skillset that we will be able to showcase. He is an exceptional athlete with a 7’6 wingspan and overall an elite athlete that will be a great addition to our team.

Chris Youngblood - Transfer Portal (South Florida) 6-foot-4, 218 pounds.

- 2023 American Athletic Conference Co-Player of the Year
- 15.3 points per game

Oats statement on Youngblood:

Chris is a proven winner who was the American Athletic Conference Player of the Year who is a knock down shooter and an unbelievable shooter of the catch. He is an exceptional downhill driver who can make explosive plays at the rim and is a relentless worker.

Labaron Philon - Recruit (Link Academy. Mobile, Alabama) 6-foot-4, 177 pounds.

- Mr. Basketball at Baker High School before finishing his high school career at Link Academy in Missouri.
- Two-time Class 7A Player of the Year

Oats statement on Philon:

Labaron is an explosive combo guard that is dynamic in the open floor and can play above the rim. He shot over 40 percent from three in his high school career and is a tenacious competitor and we are excited to have him in our program.

Here is what Alabama's scholarship count currently looks like:

Available scholarships - 0

Players currently on scholarship

Mark Sears*
Jarin Stevenson*
Clifford Omoruyi
Grant Nelson
Latrell Wrightsell Jr.
Houston Mallette
Chris Youngblood
Aden Holloway
Mouhamed Dioubate
Derrion Reid
Aiden Sherrell
Naas Cunningham
Labaron Philon

*The player is still in the NBA Draft process but is maintaining college eligibility. The player has until May 29 to withdraw from the draft process.

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