Crimson Red Sports

Despite the loss of two seniors -- Retin Obasohan, who carried much of the load on a struggling offense a year ago, and guard Arthur Edwards, the team's best perimeter shooter -- Johnson seems bullish, too. In mid-June, in an interview with Tide 99.1, Johnson rightly cited "decision-making and scoring on offense" as the 2015-16 team's biggest flaw, before listing a coterie of new guards he believes will improve that aspect of 'Bama's attack. Among them: Dazon Ingram, who missed much of his freshman season with an injury; Corban Collins, a graduate transfer from Morehead State; junior college transfer Armond Davis, who should bring shooting; and, perhaps most impactful, transfers Nick King (Memphis) and Avery Johnson Jr. (Texas A&M), who are both eligible to take the floor this season. (Update: Senior forward Shannon Hale was listed among the departures in an earlier version of this post; he will be on the roster next season.)

It's a much, much deeper backcourt. It's also complemented by emerging talent up front. Johnson has signed two top-100 players in his two recruiting classes. Forward Donta' Hall got reserve minutes as a freshman and should be up for a bigger role, while newcomer Braxton Key, the No. 8 small forward in the 2016 class, should offer positional versatility and athleticism from the wing as soon as he steps on the floor. Meanwhile, rising junior Riley Norris -- at 6-foot-7 -- is a genuine stretch-four, and center Jimmie Taylor is one of the SEC's better rim protectors.

"We feel we're deeper," Johnson told Tide 99.1. "We only had about a five-and-a-half or six-man rotation last year. We're looking to have maybe 10-and-a-half or 11 guys we feel comfortable putting on the floor, so that we can play faster, score more points, and not put as much pressure on our defense."

T Ferg, who shunned Alabama for Arizona, is not going to enroll at Arizona. Instead he will pursue a pro career being overseas.

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/16643333/terrance-ferguson-enroll-arizona-wildcats-heading-overseas-pros

Ferguson had long been rumored to be considering a move overseas, following in the footsteps of Emmanuel Mudiay, who played for one season in China before entering the NBA draft. Ferguson attended Dallas' Advanced Prep International, formerly known as Prime Prep -- where Mudiay also went to high school.

It is all about money whether they are ready or not. RTR!

Yea, but can you blame the kids?

No, I blame poor parental guidance, if they have any. These kids get the money & then it's blown away with little to show for it. It's a shame.

Alabama 2017 Basketball targets. 247 Sports put this list together. This class could be one of the best ever for Alabama Basketball.

http://alabama.247sports.com/Season/2017-Basketball/Targets

Collin Sexton  PG 5* Mapleton, GA
19 National (N) 2 Postion (P) 2 State (S)
Heavy Alabama lean (Considering UGA and Duke)
MVP of National Team that just won the world championship.

John Petty SF 5* Huntsville
25 (N) 8 (P) 2 (S)
Kentucky or Alabama with UK most likely

Alex Reese PF 4* Pelham
86 (N) 17 (P) 3(S)
Alabama or Vandy with Bama heavy favorite

Luke Garza C  4* Washington DC
131 (N) 14 (P) 2(S)
Louisville leads with Iowa second and Bama a distant 3rd. He visited Bama last week and it was reported a very good visit.

Herb Jones SG  4* Moundville
96 (N) 28(P) 4(S)
Alabama heavy favorite

Jamal Johnson G 3* Spain Park
166 (N) 5 (P) 6(S)
Auburn in lead over Bama
Buck Johnson's son. He is a secondary target for Bama if a scholarship is still available.

Take a look at the link for more info. We are recruiting at a very high level. We may not get them all but recruits are listening to what CAJ is saying. The notes I provided are from the link and other sources I have read or heard about.

If he could reel in the heavy leans, that would be a good recruiting class in itself. Fingers crossed!

Sexton, Reese and Jones as very likely at this point I think we will take at least 4 in this class.

The two names that every Alabama fan has been watching are guard Collin Sexton from Pebblebrook, Georgia, and guard/forward John Petty of Huntsville.

Those aren't the only two players Alabama is recruiting. The Crimson Tide would probably like to sign five players in November, if it can get the right five. Maybe even six. UA is recruiting Pelham's Alex Reese, a forward, and skilled center Luka Garza from Washington, D.C., and on Saturday night, the staff again gave four-coach attention to the Alabama Challenge team's game, featuring inside player Rayshaun Hammonds and Hale County's Herb Jones. This has been a very productive week for Jones. The guard from nearby Moundville has been impressive offensively and likely pushed himself up the recruiting charts as well.

Before going down with the season-ending injury, Ingram had started every Alabama game. His 5.9 rebounds per game led the team while he scored 7.7 points and handed out 3.3 assists a game.

"You could see he missed some time," Johnson said. "But every day, he's getting better. The great thing is, all of the terminology, he knows what we're trying to do. And also, we have more decision makers on the floor than we did last year."

Ingram said he wasn't exactly sure what his role would be in 2016-17 when he returns to full speed. Alabama added graduate transfer point guard Corban Collins from Morehead State while Avery Johnson Jr. is eligible after sitting out last season because of transferring.

"Sitting on the sidelines, I learned a lot," Ingram said. "I learned a lot of things I need to do on offense to be able to help my team."

Ever since Alabama hired him last April, Avery Johnson has consistently talked about the importance of upgrading the Tide's 3-point shooting.

Alabama was better last season than it was the year before under former coach Anthony Grant, up from 12th to 7th in the SEC in 3-point field goal percentage.

Four-star junior college recruit Ar'Mond Davis should help the Tide be even better going forward with long-range shooting ability that was on display in a video he posted Thursday night.

Davis has a rangy frame with long arms and fairly broad shoulders. He is a good athlete that can slash his way to the rim in transition. He has has a smooth shooting stroke with a quick release, a nice floater, and his perimeter handle is pretty slick.