Alabama Women's Basketball: 2022-23 Season Preview
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Kristy Curry's 10th team has a chance to be special.
In early February of last season, though, no one would have expected that to be the case. Following a massive loss to then-No. 1 South Carolina, the Crimson Tide sat at 11-10 on the season and an abysmal 2-8 in the SEC.
From that point on, a switch flipped.
Alabama proceeded to win four of its final six regular season games, then won two games in the SEC Tournament — advancing to the quarterfinals — and won three games on a run to the WNIT quarterfinals. When it was all said and done, the Crimson Tide finished the 2021-22 season with 20 wins and lots of momentum.
On the heels of this momentum, multiple Alabama players decided to return to school for their fifth years of eligibility, including starters Brittany Davis, Megan Abrams, Hannah Barber, and Jada Rice. All five starters from 2021-22 are returning for this upcoming season, which amounts to 95 percent of scoring coming back.
On top of the retuning talent riding a wave of momentum, Curry hit the transfer portal as hard as any program in the country. Alabama brought in five new transfers and a top-100 recruit in the 2022 class to add to all the returning talent.
There is a mixed reaction to how good people think the Crimson Tide will be this season. In the preseason SEC media poll, Alabama was voted to finish 10th. In the preseason SEC coaches poll, however, the Crimson Tide was picked fourth. A six-slot difference in preseason projections is not typical, and could signify that Alabama is being underrated by the media.
There are a lot of new faces and possible contributors to talk about, though, so let's take a look at the 2022-23 Alabama roster.
Returners
When talking about the returners on the Alabama roster, the first place you have to look is graduate student Brittany Davis.
Davis was named All-SEC second team a year ago behind her stellar season averaging 17.7 points and 7.0 rebounds while shooting 35 percent from beyond the arc. She made 93 three-pointers a season ago, good enough for the SEC lead.
Down the stretch Davis was consistently Alabama's go-to scorer and was able to do it all whether shooting the lights out or maneuvering her way into the paint for a tough bucket. She will undoubtedly be Alabama's top option again this season, already being named to the preseason All-SEC first team by the coaches.
Next to Davis, graduates student guard Megan Abrams will be of nearly equal importance to the Alabama backcourt. Abrams was second behind Davis in scoring averaging 15.2 points per game and was one of Alabama's best presences scoring in the paint, despite her 5-foot-9 frame. He strength allowed her to impose her will on the drive and finish difficult shots at the basket consistently. She will likely be another starter next to Davis barring anything unforeseen.
Graduate student Hannah Barber and Senior JaMya Mingo-Young will be two of the most important members of the Alabama backcourt whether they start or serve in depth roles coming off the bench. Both started a season ago, with Barber pacing Alabama in three-point percentage at 38 percent while Mingo-Young was one of the most ferocious defenders in the entire SEC, averaging 2.4 steals per game.
Graduate student Jada Rice and junior Khyla Wade-Warren rotated starting at center for much of the season last year, and both have different capabilities that will benefit the team in 2022-23. Rice is more of a physical big who can go to work down in the post, while Wade-Warren has a very capable shot from beyond the arc and can serve more as a stretch big.
Junior guard Myra Gordon rounds out the returners. She played sparingly last season at just around 10 minutes per game, but contributed nicely with hard-nosed play when she did find time on the court. With the depth of this season's team, though, she may only been seen in games that are already out of hand unless injuries force her into the lineup.
Newcomers
Georgia Athletics
Alabama has six newcomers for the 2022-23 season, five of which are transfer and four of which were starters at their respective schools a season ago. For those counting, that makes nine players on Alabama's team that have been Division-I starters in their careers.
One of the best in terms of last season's production was Aaliyah Nye, a 6-foot guard from Illinois who averaged 12.4 points per game and shot nearly 37 percent from three-point range.
Joining Nye is another 6-foot guard in Sarah Ashlee Barker, daughter of former Alabama quarterback Jay Barker. Barker went to Spain Park high school in Hoover, Ala. but chose to go to Georgia to begin her college career before transferring to Alabama this offseason.
Barker started every game for the Bulldogs last season, averaging 7.7 points and four rebounds while being one of Georgia's best defenders all season.
“We’re so happy she’s back home," Curry said of Barker. "She’s a competitor, she’s tough, brings a hard-nosed, old-school mentality to the defensive side of the ball.”
Loyal McQueen is a speedy guard from Georgia Tech who joined the Alabama program in the middle of last season but had to sit out until this year to be eligible to play. She averaged eight points a game and started in 21 games for the Yellow Jackets as a freshman in 2020-21, but only played in three games last season before transferring to Alabama.
“[McQueen] brings a lot of energy, Curry said. "She gives us a presence at the rim which I feel like we lacked a lot last year in terms of finishing.”
Ryan Cobbins of North Dakota State adds yet another 6-foot guard to the fold for the Crimson Tide. She started every game for the Bison last season, averaging double figures and nearly five rebounds. Curry described her as "big and physical," which are two qualities any team wants to see out of its guards.
West Virginia transfer JeAnna Cunningham provides much-needed depth at the forward/center spot for Alabama. She stands at 6-foot-4, tied for the tallest member of the team, and will be more of a developmental prospect rather than an instant contributor.
“[JeAnna has] a ton of potential," Curry said. "She has only scratched the surface of what she could be.”
The final newcomer is freshman Karly Weathers. Weathers is a 5-foot-11 guard who was names Ms. Basketball in the state of Tennessee as a senior in 2022. She has reportedly had great practices since coming to Tuscaloosa and is one of the best shooters on the team.
“Karly has an IQ like no freshman I’ve coached in a long time,” Curry said.
Conclusion
Alabama Atletics
This team is deep.
There is a possibility that the rotation could go nine, 10, even 11 players deep if necessary. Davis is an obvious starter, and it would be fair to assume Abrams will be as well, but Curry would not divulge her plans regarding who will be in the mainstay starting five.
“If you asked me today who my starting lineup is, it’s interesting because we have a lot of different lineups based on who our opponent might be," Curry said. "We really like our depth and practices are competitive.”
When it comes to the schedule, there are a whole lot of winnable games, especially in the non-conference. Alabama only plays two high-major teams in the non-conference — Utah and Wake Forest — both in the Pink Flamingo Championships in the Bahamas over Thanksgiving week.
While the opponents aren't all high-profile, there are still multiple road games that could prove to be tough. Before SEC play even begins, Alabama travels to Tulane, South Florida, Mercer and Southern Miss all for true road games. Those games will provide very important road experience before playing a rigorous 16-game SEC schedule.
The Preseason AP Top-25 features three ranked teams from the SEC — No. 1 South Carolina, No. 5 Tennessee and No. 16 LSU. Alabama received votes in the poll, but was not ranked.
Alabama has to travel to Tennessee, but will get LSU and South Carolina at home in Coleman Coliseum, which could both be huge games if Alabama performs to its capabilities.
It's already been said before, but the depth and talent of this year's Alabama team has the potential to be one of Curry's best. The coaches of the SEC agree by ranking the Crimson Tide fourth, and all of the potential is there for Curry to make her second NCAA Tournament appearance in Tuscaloosa if everything goes well.
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