Nate Oats wasn’t lying when he said he envisioned the 2020-21 roster looking quite different from this past year’s group. After scoring big recruiting wins each of the past two weeks in five-star combo guard Josh Primo and four-star JUCO guard Keon Ellis, Oats has now secured the service of four-star wing, Darius Miles. The 6’7 product from IMG Academy is a bit of a ‘tweener’ when it comes to what kind of players Oats is looking for, as he can qualify as both a big guard and a high-motor, skilled big. Originally from Washington D.C., Miles chose Alabama over Georgetown, Minnesota, and Boston College, although both LSU and Texas A&M had also shown interest.
Miles had this to say regarding his commitment to the Tide:
“From the day they started to recruit me, they pretty much showed me a lot of love. Coach Bryan was talking to another kid at IMG and whenever he saw me play, that’s when my ticket got punched,” Miles said. “The way that Coach Oats runs his system is how I want to play and their structure is perfect. He still gives players a little freedom to make basketball plays.”
Miles is yet another long frame that can handle the ball, shoot, and finish at the rim. He’s considered more of a long-term player for the Tide that won’t have the immediate impact that Primo and Ellis will, but he’ll certainly be in the rotation for Nate Oats’ squad next season. As the fourth, and likely, final member of Alabama’s 2020 recruiting class, Miles’ commitment should move this class into the consensus top-20 in college basketball. Four-star big, Keon Ambrose, is the other player.
Oats now turns his main focus to bringing in Yale grad-transfer, Jordan Bruner. The 6’8 big man is considered one of the biggest prizes available this off-season. He’ll be deciding between Alabama, Baylor, and Maryland, and the expectation is that he should make a decision soon.