The Crimson Tide lost some key veterans after Alabama basketball‘s second straight run to the Elite Eight.

All-American guard Mark Sears has made his last March Madness run. USF transfer Chris Youngblood‘s season-long return to his hometown of Tuscaloosa is done. The days of dunks from Rutgers big man addition Clifford Omoruyi are done, not to forget returning Final Four starter Grant Nelson.

Alabama looked for rim protection in the transfer portal last off-season after guys like Johni Broome left the Crimson Tide vulnerable on the glass, and finds itself in a similar position while building its 2025-26 roster with the exits of 6-foot-11 bigs Omoruyi and Nelson.

While the absence of two bigs from the starting five is hard to miss, it’s hard not to argue that Alabama could have some work to do recruiting guards for the program. Potential first-round pick in the 2025 NBA Draft Labaron Philon could declare, and there’s an obvious hole left by losing a playmaker and shooter like Sears to the league.

There could be more, too.

Need for bigs is glaring, but don’t forget about guards for Alabama basketball

Latrell Wrightsell Jr. isn’t confirmed to return to Alabama, and a cryptic Instagram story featuring the back of his jersey with a peace sign emoji didn’t help any cases being made for the graduate spending his sixth year at UA after rupturing his Achilles tendon against Oregon in November.

Expected to return, Aden Holloway will be an experienced option to start for the Crimson Tide. Granted, he’s leaps and bounds ahead in his development compared to his freshman season at Auburn, there’s always the chance that he may not heat up until the second half like he did against BYU, or be easier to shut down at 6-foot-1, much like Sears against Duke. After coming off the bench for Alabama for a year, he could also run into some growing pains readjusting to a role as a starter like he was in 26 games for the Tigers, although he averaged a minute more in the 2024-25 season with UA.

Among Alabama’s four incoming signees, including 7-footer Bucknell center transfer Noah Williamson, only one is a guard. Four-star 2025 commit Davion Hannah, who will arrive from Philon’s alma mater Link Academy, is at his most productive with space and in transition, which bodes well for the newcomer. But he entered his senior season making just 29% of three-pointers, and that’s a clear mismatch for Oats’ style of offense.

Brayden Burries, a 6-foot-4, 200 pound combo guard, would be a huge win for the Crimson Tide’s 2025 recruiting class, which lacks a five-star like the No. 11 player in the nation, per 247Sports.

Should Crimson Tide guards be less productive scorers, freshman signees Amari Allen and London Jemison would be big-time support off the bench for impact forward Mouhamed Dioubate, who was seen developing his three-point shot in the latter half of his sophomore season. Dioubate isn’t a guarantee to return, but he told the Tuscaloosa News after the loss to Duke that he plans on coming first in the leg race at the team’s annual boot camp in the next couple months, which is a promising sign that he’ll be back to compete for a starting role.

All around 6-foot-8, Allen, Jemison and Dioubate still lack the height that Nelson offered. However, freshman Aiden Sherrell, who says he’s nearing 7-feet and a half-inch, will add significant size, and can impact scoring, regardless of if he’s playing in the No. 4 or No. 5 spot. Six-foot-eleven Jarin Stevenson could also re-emerge from his sophomore slump as the NBA Draft favorite he was as a freshman, but that’s given he doesn’t choose to leave after a tough season stacked against criticism.

Looking at who the Crimson Tide is reportedly reaching out to in the portal, like rebound-grabbing LSU forward Corey Chest or 6-foot-10 Taylor Bol Bowen from FSU, it seems like Alabama has keeping a big frontcourt figured out. It seems like now it’s a question of how the Crimson Tide could put together a three-guard lineup with two creators that can score the ball, or how much depth they’ll have should guys like an injury-prone Wrightsell find themselves sidelined.

As disappointing as it was for locals who wanted to see the Paul W. Bryant alum return to his native Tuscaloosa, Alabama could afford to miss Kennesaw State transfer guard Adrian Wooley, who committed to Louisville on Monday. If the Crimson Tide doesn’t win over Miami freshman standout Jalil Bethea on his visit, or Monmouth transfer Abdi Bashir Jr., the twin brother of Auburn commit Abdul, the weeks leading up to the closing of the transfer portal window on April 22 will be critical.