Alabama Basketball Newcomer Breakdown: Latrell Wrightsell Jr.
This is the second in a multi-part series where BamaCentral's Blake Byler will crunch the numbers and break down the film to give you everything you need to know about each of Alabama basketball's newcomers.
Once again, Alabama basketball and head coach Nate Oats are going to have not only one of the most talented backcourts in all of college basketball, but one of the deepest.
Oats made that a premium while recruiting in the transfer portal this offseason. Just a day after the Crimson Tide landed Hofstra transfer Aaron Estrada a few months ago, Oats secured the commitment of another guard with scoring capabilities in Latrell Wrightell Jr.
Wrightsell, originally from Omaha, Nebraska, began his playing career out west at Cal State Fullerton. He spent three years playing for the Titans, before entering the portal at the conclusion of last season.
The 6-foot-3 guard got pretty significant playing time early in his career, averaging over 24 minutes per game as both a freshman and a sophomore, but saw a substantial scoring uptick in his junior season.
As a junior last year, Wrightsell saw a points per game jump from 6.7 to 16.3, aided by nearly seven more field goal attempts per game. Not only did he score more, but he was more efficient from the field as well, converting a career-high 42 percent from the floor.
In addition to leading the Titans in scoring, Wrightsell also averaged 4.5 rebounds and 2.4 assists en route to a First Team All-Big West selection.
One of Wrightsell's biggest strengths last season was his 3-point shooting, something that, of course, translates seamlessly into Alabama's high-volume shooting offense. Wrightsell attempted 6.3 threes per game last year, and converted on 38 percent of them. For his career, he is a 35 percent 3-point shooter.
Playing next to more ball-dominant guards like Aaron Estrada Mark Sears, Wrightsell will likely get a lot of catch-and-shoot opportunities in the Crimson Tide offense. He posted an effective field goal percentage of 62 on catch-and-shoot situations last tyear, ranking him in the 92nd percentile.
Against a zone in the clip below, Wrightsell easily relocates to the top of the key and knocks down a deep three without hesitation. He has plenty of range from outside, having hit 13 threes from deeper than 25 feet last year.
In the second play, he takes a dribble handoff which turns into a screen, and the defender makes the mistake of passively sitting under the screen, allowing for Wrightsell to rise and fire.
He also has no problem pulling the trigger in transition, something Oats gives the green light for constantly:
Shooting will be one of Wrightsell's primary roles offensively, but he also serves as a capable shot creator in his own right if the offensive isn't flowing properly.
There were times last season when Alabama's offense became stagnant, and when late-in-the-shot-clock situations came around, the Crimson Tide's role players weren't great at creating looks for themselves if need be.
Wrightsell has a weapon in his arsenal that helps solve that problem, being a very effective push shot in the lane as shown below:
Working around a low ball screen, Wrightsell recognizes the space he has and instead of driving into unnecessary contact, rises up and throws up a push shot with one hand, off the dribble.
He does something similar in the below clip, this time utilizing a true floater off two feet after breaking down his defender off the dribble.
Looking at Wrightsell's shot chart from CBB Analytics, it's clear to see how effective he was shooting around the middle of the lane. It's striking how efficient he was 8-12 feet from the basket, compared to being incredibly below average as a finisher once he actually got to the rim.
There is reasonable cause for concern with his finishing struggles, shooting below 50 percent at the rim in the Big West, and the SEC won't be easier by any means. Still, his ability to generate looks for himself on top of his shooting stroke make him a threat on the offensive end of the floor.
Regarding Wrightsell's full role on offense, the expectation is for him to be the third guard in the pecking order behind Sears and Estrada. Most of his looks will unlikely be initiated himself, but he has the ability to create if needed.
His potential role reminds me of Keon Ellis in his first year at Alabama, where he was lower on the totem pole than the other talented guards on the team, but was efficient in picking and choosing his spots. That should be Wrightsell's recipe for success in the coming year on offense.
On the other end of the floor, Wrightsell is a more than capable defender, and while he doesn't have the biggest frame, has good lateral quickness and plays disciplined and fundamentally sound both on and off the ball. His defensive impact showed up on the stat sheet too, as he logged 1.5 steals per game.
While it would be unreasonable to expect Wrightsell to play 25 minutes a game, the good news is that he still has two years of eligibility remaining. I would expect his minutes somewhere in the 15-20 range, and for him to be able to make an impact on the game in the minutes he does get.
Wrightsell is one of six fourth-year-or-more players on this Alabama team, and having that type of experience as a bench piece is invaluable. He is a talented piece to have playing a bench role, and should help make the 2023-24 squad one of the deepest in the conference, if not the country.
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