Alabama Crimson Tide forward enters the transfer portal

According to Matt Zenitz of On3, Alabama Crimson Tide forward Alex Tchikou has entered the transfer portal. Spending just two seasons with head coach Nate Oats in Tuscaloosa, Tchikou will be looking for a new home during his redshirt sophomore season.

Tchikou did not play often this past year, recovering from a ruptured Achilles tendon before the 2020-2021 season began. He was forced to take a medical redshirt before appearing in three games early in the year for the Crimson Tide against Iona, Miami, and Oakland.

In those three games, Tchikou only played six minutes and attempted two shots. He missed both but was able to add four total rebounds, with three coming against the Hurricanes over the Thanksgiving holiday.

Coming out of high school, Tchikou was a four-star prospect according to the On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average that utilizes all four major recruiting services. He ranked as the No. 85 overall player in the 2020 recruiting class and the No. 11 power forward.

Tchikou had eight other offers before eventually committing to Alabama during his recruitment. The Arizona Wildcats, Illinois Fighting Illini, and Oregon Ducks were some of the biggest names, with fellow-SEC member Mississippi State involved as well. Now, Tchikou could reopen his relationship with those programs as he enters the transfer portal.

Nate Oats reveals disturbing fact on Alabama Crimson Tide

Following Alabama’s 78-64 upset loss against Notre Dame, head coach Nate Oats addressed the media on a number of different topics about his team. From Jahvon Quinerly’s health concerns to subtle shots at the SEC, one answer stood out with an alarming fact about his 2021-22 roster.

When Alabama’s coaching staff offered a voluntary shootaround on Thursday night, just hours before the NCAA Tournament game, only one player showed up. To make matters worse, at a Friday morning shootaround, three players made their way to the gym.

After subtly dropping the fact Quinerly was the only player in attendance last night, AL.com’s Mike Rodak pressed him further on what he meant.

“We had one this morning,” Oats said about the voluntary shootarounds. “We had three guys come this morning. He was the one last night.”

On a team that features eight former Herb Jones teammates, that fact probably surprises most fans. The leadership within Alabama’s locker room was called into question multiple times this season from the benching of Jahvon Quinerly to the suspension of Darius Miles, and the mysterious one-game absence of freshman Jusaun Holt.