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The Alabama men’s basketball team had a good month of workouts, according to head coach Nate Oats. The Crimson Tide has focused more on 5-on-5 team concepts than it usually would this time of year due to the upcoming foreign tour to Spain and France from Aug. 5-14.

The summer training sessions have given Oats and his staff a look at the seven newcomers in Alabama uniforms, and Oats, speaking to Crimson Tide Sports Network, had rave reviews.

Below is what Oats said about several of the freshmen and transfers that joined the program.

F BRANDON MILLER, FRESHMAN

“Brandon Miller’s really talented. Smooth, got length, athleticism, great body control, can really shoot it, high basketball IQ. He’s a highly-rated kid and deservedly so. He’s a guy that I feel like is gonna be in the NBA for a long time. He’s the type of player they’re looking for with that size and skill level. He’s been a great kid. He’s all about Alabama. He’s worked hard. He’s endeared himself to his teammates. But he’s definitely established himself as one of the better players on this team and more talented kids that we’ve had come through this program.”

G MARK SEARS, JUNIOR

“Mark’s been really good. I knew he could score it well at Ohio. He’s been a lot better point guard than what I thought maybe he was gonna be coming in. He’s gotten really good at making reads. He’s an Alabama kid that’s really all about Alabama basketball, and you can tell. He wants us to be good. He’s eager to learn. And then he’s been making shots. He shot 42 percent at Ohio from three. We needed shooting. (Jahvon) Quinerly and Jaden Bradley have not been able to practice yet, so he’s been getting tons of reps at the point. We’re gonna be able to play him on the ball and off the ball both with how well he shoots it. But I think it’s been good for his development to have to play the point every day in practice with those two out, and he’s gotten really good. He’s learning our offense quickly, and I like the kid a lot. He’s strong, tough, shows some tenacity on defense, too. So he’s gonna add a lot to our program.”

G DOMINICK WELCH, GRAD STUDENT

“Dom’s giving us exactly what we needed when we signed him – shooting with size with experience. He knows how to get his shot off, he knows how to get open and he knows how to play. He’s got a high IQ on the defensive end. He’s got size and toughness, and he’s strong. And he’s been making shots. He’s exactly what we needed him to be.”

F NICK PRINGLE, JUNIOR

“Nick is finishing up a class he had to finish up to get here. He has not been here yet. I do think he’s working out hard at home. We’ve watched videos, stayed in touch with him. I like him as a person a lot, but we haven’t had a chance to coach him here yet.”

F NOAH CLOWNEY, FRESHMAN

“Clowney’s been really good. Like better than what I even thought, more athletic than what I thought. He just plays super hard. He doesn’t move as much like a guard as Herb (Jones) does, but he’s gonna be able to impact the game on the defensive end in a lot of ways like Herb did. Like block shots, getting hands on balls for steals, react to plays quickly and get over to block the shot, cover for his teammates well. Then he’s making shots in practice, too. He can make a three as a 6-10 kid. So we’re super happy with him.”

G RYLAN GRIFFEN, FRESHMAN

“He’s making shots. He had a day in practice, he went 5-of-6 from three on live stuff. So he’s learning the game. He needs to learn how to play defense better, but he’s a sponge. He wants to get better. He’s working hard and he’s athletic and can make shots, and our shooting needed a lot of help this year. Between Sears and Nimari (Burnett) and Dom Welch and Rylan, we’re gonna be a better shooting team. We’ve got more efficient shooters and that’s what we needed to do, and Rylan’s gonna be a big part of that. Nimari had a day he went 7-of-8 from three. Rylan had a day he went 5-of-6. Now, you can’t do that every day, but if we can get some consistency out of some of those guys on shooting, we’re gonna be a lot better.”
 
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