The University of Alabama announced four additional signees for the 2020-2021 men’s basketball program, joining fall signee Keon Ambrose-Hylton to give UA a five-man recruiting class for Nate Oats’ second season.
The four signees announced on Wednesday include Yale graduate transfer Jordan Bruner (6-foot-9, 205 pounds) and junior college transfer Keon Ellis (6-6, 175) as well as freshmen Josh Primo (6-6, 180) and Darius Miles (6-7, 185).
Alabama’s class was ranked No. 18 nationally by 247Sports.com although rankings from the various recruiting services vary depending on how they calculate Primo (as a prospect from outside the United States) and graduate transfer Bruner.
Oats had comments about each prospect in the UA release.
Josh Primo: “Josh gives us that other ball-handler in the backcourt to play alongside our other guards,” Oats said. “His size at the guard position allows us to play multiple guards on the floor together as we like to do. He’s a big-time gym rat that’s shown great improvement recently. His play in February showed he’s ready to immediately contribute heavily for us as we compete for an SEC title. We love Josh’s overall versatility, play-making ability, shooting and his experience playing on Canadian national teams. He’s a proven competitor on both ends of the floor on an international level of play.”
Darius Miles: “Darius has tremendous upside as a big wing that can play multiple positions,” Oats said. “He’s exceptionally skilled for his size on the perimeter. One of the best aspects of his game as I watched him was his passing ability from his position. His outlet passes and ability to handle the ball in the break will enable us to play even faster than we had before. He has all the tools to be a great defender and rebounder as well. Playing his last year as a post-grad has given him a head start on what will be required of a freshman at (the) high major D-I level. We think once he’s fully into our program he can contribute to our overall culture of winning up-tempo basketball and play multiple positions for us.”
Keon Ellis: “Keon is a dynamic scorer that’s proven he can score at a high-level while being efficient as well on offense,” Oats said. “He plays the defensive side of the ball as well, being a long perimeter defender with quick instincts. While his offensive production has us really excited, we’re equally excited for his defensive contributions he will provide. He’s a proven winner having played on the top-ranked junior college team in the country this season. He led them in scoring while shooting over 40 percent from three-point range. He’s exactly what we’re looking for in a scoring guard in both our offensive and defensive systems.”
Jordan Bruner: “We felt like Jordan was the best grad transfer available this season based on what we needed,” Oats said. “He provides us with a big (inside player) that impacts the game tremendously on both sides of the ball. Offensively, he’s capable of being a playmaker on the perimeter while also providing a presence inside. His basketball IQ and overall skill level are exactly what we needed to put us in a position to contend on a nationally-relevant level. Defensively, he can provide rim protection, move well enough to switch and guard perimeter players, rebound the ball and then push the ball in the break to help our transition game. He’s played in multiple NCAA tournaments and pushed Yale to unprecedented heights in his time there. We’re looking for him to do the same in his year with us.”
Reach Cecil Hurt at cecil@tidesports.com or via Twitter @cecilhurt. UA Sports Information contributed to this report.
