Two different lineups Alabama basketball has experimented with

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — No. 2 Alabama is set to tip off the season in just a few days, but Monday won’t be the first time this team has taken the court together against an opponent. The Crimson Tide played two public exhibitions this month, one against Wake Forest and one against Memphis.

During those two lineups, Alabama got to experiment with a host of different lineup combinations. The Crimson Tide has a deep team this year, but was still missing four players during those exhibition games in Grant Nelson, Latrell Wrightsell, Aiden Sherrell and Chris Youngblood.

“We were missing four guys, hoping to get three of those back by Monday. We’re definitely gathering data for our analytics based on the lineups in those two games,” Alabama head coach Nate Oats said. “We’ll use those two games just like we’ll use the real games. After we’re done with these first three home games we’ll have a 5-game database to use for lineup analysis.”

Oats and his staff frequently use analytics to track the efficiency of lineups, and how players play within those lineups. While there isn’t enough data yet to draw larger conclusions, Oats mentioned two different lineup wrinkles that he’ll be aiming to utilize this season.

Mo Dioubate at the five

Sophomore Mo Dioubate has had two excellent exhibition games, making a significant impact with his defense and blue-collar plays. He’s shown why he’s going to be a real competitor for minutes, and even with his 6-foot-7 frame, Oats thinks he can be used as the five in some lineups.

“I think we are going to be able to use Mo Dioubate as a change-up at the five some,” Oats said. “Other teams may not necessarily view him as a five when you put him on the floor with, like, Grant Nelson. But maybe he’d play him more like the five, Grant more like the four, but Grant guards the five. I think he’s good, I think he’s really good.”

Dioubate isn’t necessarily a great shooter, though he has hit a three in each of the two exhibition games. His offensive game is best suited in the paint, where Alabama could use him as a small-ball five even with taller players like Grant Nelson or Jarin Stevenson in the game who are capable of playing on the perimeter offensively.

In those lineups defensively, Dioubate is strong enough to defend opposing fours, and even fives if the situation calls upon it. It’s clear Dioubate is going to be an extremely versatile tool in Oats’ bag this season.

Three guard lineups

Oats has never been shy to run three guards at one time before. He did it last season with Mark Sears, Aaron Estrada and Latrell Wrightsell. He did it in 2023 with Sears, Jahvon Quinerly and Jaden Bradley, and he even did it in 2022 with Quinerly, Jaden Shackelford and JD Davison.

That trend looks to continue this year. Against Memphis, Oats started Sears, Aden Holloway and Labaron Philon all at the same time, and played them together frequently.

“I think you saw we can put three guards out there even though they’re a little small,” Oats said. “We started Philon, Sears and Holloway against Memphis and our defense was a .67 in the first half. Sometimes your worries with going small and playing more guards is that you’re not gonna be as good defensively, well we started those three guys and we were .67 in the first half.”

It’s clear how much of an offensive mismatch it is to play that many guards at once, due to the pace and shooting Alabama plays with. It’s understandable to be concerned about how a lineup like that would defend, but Oats spoke very highly about the defensive capabilities of those guards, particularly Sears.

“Sears’ defense has significantly improved this year,” Oats said. “In practice, in those exhibition games, when he stood up Hildreth, a tough, physical driver at Wake Forest. He stood him up on the drive, stripped him, went the other way. I think you saw it against Memphis. I think he did a better job guarding the ball than anybody on the team. I think he knows that’s what he’s got to do to get to the next level, he got feedback when he went to all these NBA teams, and he’s doing a really good job of improving on it.”

Sears’ defensive effort has noticeably increased, and it helps when he shares the floor with an incredibly active and energetic defender like Philon. Oats didn’t hold back his praise for Philon, either.

“I do think you saw Labaron Philon is one of the best two-way guards in all of college basketball,” Oats said. “Upperclassman, freshman, he’s been really good on both side of the ball. Holloway’s been better than he was last year … I think you saw we can put a guard lineup out there and still have a very good defensive team.”

It’s clear Alabama won’t be scared to use three guards whenever Oats deems it necessary, and the group has the defensive ability to do it without sacrificing too much on that end of the floor.

There are plenty of other lineups Oats and his staff will be able to utilize with the depth and versatility of this team, many of which we will have to wait until the team is fully healthy to witness.