What I am watching for During Alabama's exhibtion Vs Florida State

Fans will get their first look at this season's Alabama Basketball team when Alabama tips off with Florida State at 7 p.m. tonight for the Ballin in Boutwell Scrimmage. You can watch it live on the Hibbett Sports YouTube Channel here.

I have a few things I will be watching for when Alabama takes the floor.

1. Front Court Defense - Nate Oats talked about challenging those interior players at Media Days because he knows that the success of his team will hinge on defense. Nate has stated many times that his 2 teams that won both the SEC Regular Season and Tournament Titles were top 5 in defensive efficiency, and his last teams were much worse than that. Alabama has a new look front court this season with Aiden Sherrell taking the lead role, and transfer Noah Williamson looks to provide additional depth down low. Collins Onyejiaka also reclassified to this class and should be able to provide another huge body down low with his massive frame.

2. Backcourt Identity - Alabama should have one of the deepest back courts in the entire country with the return of Philon and Holloway, getting Wrightsell and Mallette back from medical redshirts, and the addition of transfer Jalil Bethea. Bethea will miss this game due to his foot surgery he had, which looks to sideline him until at least December. With the other 4 guys, I will be looking to see what roles they fall into because Alabama is replacing Unanimous All American Mark Sears, meaning even the returners will be playing much different roles than they did last season. I expect their shooting to be elite across the backcourt, but seeing them all take the next step post-Sears will be something I want to see.

3. Defensive Potential - Nate Oats’ teams are often discussed as the team who leads the country in scoring, and that is accurate, but how he wants you to think of his teams is as one who plays hard on defense, allowing them to flow in transition on offense. We have already mentioned how Nate felt it important to challenge his interior, but defense is a full team component. Alabama's ability to affect the ball on the perimeter and force their opponent into the shots they want them to take is a staple of the defense Oats wants to see. Nate mentioned freshman Davion Hannah as being potentially the best perimeter defender since Herb Jones. I want to see how he performs as well as the defense as a whole because that may give us some insight into what is to come.

Finally, one thing I want everyone to remember no matter what happens in this scrimmage DO NOT overreact. There will be takeaways sure, but at the end of the day this is a glorified practice and Nate will for sure do things with lineups and such that he would not do were it an actual game. Enjoy that basketball season is upon us but do not expect scrimmage to be reality.