Points in the Paint: 2023 SEC Basketball schedule kicks Alabama square in the teeth
The Alabama Crimson Tide Basketball team has a completed schedule for the 2022-2023 season.
Alabama has secured an official visit from Davin Cosby, a 4-star shooter for the 2023 NSD class. Cosby is a solid spot-up shooter with decent range. He's comfortable from taking shots almost anywhere on the perimeter.
The Alabama coaching staff wants to sign a guard and a forward in the 2023 recruiting class. Cosby is a scorer who can also drive and create for others.
The NCAA has passed new portal rules regarding transfer and eligibility. The new rules allow players to transfer without penalty. Subsequent transfers require a player to sit for a year. The NCAA rejected a model that would permit players who transfer multiple times and retain immediate eligibility, which was a must for the NCAA. It was an invitation to tampering and a de facto free agency. In the era of NIL, multiple transfers were an invite to tamper.
The new rules on transfer eligibility apply to football, basketball, baseball and softball. The transfer must be done within 45 days of the announcement of NCAA tournament field and 60 days after the start of a new season. Subsequent transfers require a player to sit for a year.
The finalized schedule for the 2022-2023 basketball season was released yesterday. It's more difficult than expected for Alabama. The schedule is set up to prepare the team for some tough stretches. For the second year in a row, Alabama will end the season on the road at Texas A&M. Alabama is going to earn everything it gets this season. For coach Nate Oats, the schedule was unfair. He will need to especially prepare his team. for tough stretch this spring. Florida is thrown in there as an afterthought. They are also played in four-game span where Alabama also plays LSU, Auburn, and Tennessee.
Alabama's schedule for the 2023 season is tough. Alabama plays Kentucky once, LSU, Arkansas, Auburn and Tennessee, and Vandy and Mizzou twice.
The 2023 SEC Basketball schedule is difficult. It's on par with other schedules.
