The University of Alabama men’s basketball program continued to ride a recruiting hit streak as 6-foot-7 forward Darius Miles of IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., announced that he would sign with the Crimson Tide next week.
Miles, originally from Washington, D.C., is rated as a 4-star prospect and the No. 147 player in America by 247 Sports. He chose Alabama over several Division I offers including finalists Boston College and Minnesota.
He averaged 12.5 points per game for IMG Academy, which is a prep school for elite athletes in football and basketball.
Miles said in a video prepared by All Facts Media and released on his Twitter account that he thought Alabama “showed him the most love” throughout the recruiting process and that he was attracted to UA by Nate Oats’ fast-paced style of play.
“The tempo,” he said. “They’re not really that much of a system/type team. I mean, every college team runs a system, but (Oats) lets his kids play. He lets them get up and down as long as they’re not just taking dumb shots or not passing the ball, stuff like that. I shoot off the dribble, create for others, I love to pass. I’m not that much of a selfish guy,” he said. “And I can rebound and put the ball in the hoop.”
Alabama signed 6-foot-8 wing Keon Ambrose-Hylton in last November’s early signing period and has added commitments from Top 40 prospect Josh Primo, a 6-foot-4 guard from Toronto and Keon Ellis, a 6-foot-6 wing player who was a junior college All-American at Florida Southwestern College.
The Crimson Tide currently has two roster vacancies, three players considering their NBA options and other possible outgoing transfers.
Oats cannot comment on specific unsigned prospects per NCAA rules but talked in general terms about recruiting on the ‘Bama Beat podcast on Tuesday.
“We are still looking at options,” he said. “We still need a big (post player) for next season and we might be interested in a transfer who has to sit out a year and be eligible the next year. We need to get bigger on the perimeter and we’ve recruited big guards that can play.”
Reach Cecil Hurt at cecil@tidesports.com or via Twitter @cecilhurt
