Alabama basketball is set to kickoff the 2026-27’ campaign tomorrow night with a matchup against Sam Houston at Coleman Coliseum.
The Tide were able to reload both through recruiting and the transfer portal this offseason, and a handful of new faces are expected to make an instant impact. Star point guard Aden Holloway will be sidelined to begin the year, and Amari Allen will look to take a massive leap in year two after an elite start to his freshman campaign last season.
Crimson Tide head coach Nate Oats met with the media earlier today ahead of Tuesday’s opener. When asked who he’d like with the ball in his hands with the game on the line, Oats instantly thought of Holloway before pivoting to a handful of other talented options.
“If I could get a wide open shot with anyone on the team, Holloway doesn’t miss.” Oats said. “He can make some tough shots too, but I don’t think there’s one guy on the team this year that we can say is getting the ball. When we had Brandon Miller we kind of knew, game was on the line at South Carolina, go to overtime. Come in start to draw something up and Brandon just says like ‘just give me the ball.’ Yes sir, we can get you the ball, he sends it to overtime. We do have guys that don’t shine away from the big moments. Holloway is one of the best shooters in the country, Amari is going to be one of the best overall players in the country. Qayden Samuels is extremely tough to guard coming down with the ball in his hands, Cole Cloer’s got decent size and can knock down shots. So kind of depending on what the opponent has for defensive guys, we play some of these teams with those quick jitterbugs so you may want to run something different. It’s good to have different options.”
Holloway averaged 16.8 points and 3.8 assists across 28.4 minutes per game last season. The talented sharpshooter could take his game to an even higher level when he returns this season considering Labaron Philon Jr.’s departure, and the veteran has proven to shine in the clutch on countless occasions in the past.
