Which Alabama Players Must Step in for Jalil Bethea? Just a Minute

The Crimson Tide guard will likely miss a good chunk of the season with a foot injury, and freshmen Davion Hannah and Amari Allen could fill in for him.

Mar 29, 2025; Newark, NJ, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Nate Oats reacts to a call during the first half against the Duke Blue Devils in the East Regional final of the 2025 NCAA tournament at Prudential Center. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

Welcome to BamaCentral’s "Just a Minute," a video series featuring BamaCentral's Alabama beat writers. Multiple times a week, the writers will provide their take on a topic concerning the Crimson Tide or the landscape of college sports.

Watch the above video as BamaCentral staff writer Hunter De Siver discusses Alabama basketball freshmen Davion Hannah and Amari Allen.

Alabama basketball guard Jalil Bethea is expected to miss some time after suffering a foot injury during a practice in mid-September.

After the injury occurred, Crimson Tide head coach Nate Oats shared that "While there is no timetable for Bethea’s return, we do not anticipate this injury is season-ending and we expect him to return this year.”

Fast forward to this past Monday, Oats said, "Hopefully he comes back soon, because he was starting to figure it out when he got hurt. Hopefully we get him back, because he's super talented." That said, Oats will be relying on a couple of freshmen to step in for Bethea.

"Amari [Allen] has been pretty good when he's been healthy," Oats said. "Really good at times. Davion [Hannah] has been elite, particularly on the defensive end. He's a super coachable kid. ... When Jalil does come back, if he gets back to where he's one of our better guards, he's 6-5 and rebounds it well. Amari is 6-7. Davion is 6-6. We've got some big guards."

Hannah is a consensus 4-star guard who played at Link Academy in Branson, Mo., during his senior year. This is the same athletic boarding school that fellow Crimson Tide guard Labaron Philon attended, and it's one of the nation's premier basketball prep teams.

Philon has previously called the incoming freshman a two-way player on social media, and that showed during Monday's practice viewing. Hannah guarded the ball-handler on a couple of defensive sets and assistant coach Brian Adams told Hannah to "blitz" a few times.

Alabama has four freshmen eyeing roles on the 2025-26 team. As these players arrived on campus, Oats was extremely impressed with Allen.

"I think the guy that maybe stood out as a surprise based on where he was ranked and where he's going to end up playing is probably a guy like Amari Allen," Oats said. "I don't pay that close attention to the rankings, but I'll say this: he's going to be a lot better than where he was ranked."

Allen was the No. 2 ranked player in the state of Wisconsin and the 13th small forward in the nation at the time of his commitment. But he wasn't even placed inside the top 100 among all prospects. Allen is a lengthy perimeter player with the ability to score at will and also has the physical prowess to press teams defensively. He has all the tools to succeed in Oats' system.

Of course, Allen (officially listed as a forward), Hannah and Bethea aren't the only guards on the team. Oats explained, "We weren't thin in the backcourt to begin with," as four of the Crimson Tide's five returners from last season are guards: Labaron Philon, Aden Holloway, Latrell Wrightsell Jr. and Houston Mallette.

Nevertheless, expect to see more of Allen and Hannah as Bethea recovers.