Texas Tech transfer and five-star guard Nimari Burnett will join Alabama men's basketball program next season, he told The Athletic's Shams Charania on Thursday.
Burnett — the first McDonald’s All-American to sign with the Red Raiders — played just 12 games in Lubbock before he left the program due to personal reasons, sources told Charania in January. He averaged 5.3 points and 1.8 rebounds, shooting just 28 percent from the floor.
The 6-foot-4, 190-pound combo guard will join an Alabama program (26-7) that earned a No. 2 seed in this year's NCAA Tournament and suffered an overtime loss to UCLA in the Sweet 16.
Burnett is slotted as No. 15 in The Athletic's 50 best available college basketball transfers and high school recruits.
What didn't click for Burnett at Texas Tech?
Brian Hamilton, senior college basketball writer: Burnett joined a team with a glut of guards, thanks to Mac McClung and Jamarius Burton receiving immediate eligibility waivers. And former Red Raiders coach Chris Beard isn't handing minutes or roles to anyone who can't produce at both ends of the floor, even if they're a five-star prospect. You kind of had to earn a rhythm with Beard's Texas Tech teams, and Burnett never did, so he pulled the plug early on his freshman season.
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How can he succeed at Alabama?
Hamilton: He'll join another program with a bunch of guards. But this time those guards play in an offense based almost entirely on pace and space, so there should be a lot of shots to go around. Coach Nate Oats' general philosophy is that if players work on skills diligently behind the scenes, he should give them total freedom and confidence to use those skills during games. Burnett will have to guard at Alabama, too, but he'll probably feel more comfortable on the offensive end.
Big picture for Alabama
Hamilton: Well, our own Seth Davis slotted the Crimson Tide at No. 8 in his way-too-early Top 25 for 2021-22, and that was before Oats and Co. landed the commitments from four-star center Charles Bedaiko and Burnett. This was a No. 2 seed ousted in the Sweet 16 by the hottest team in the NCAA Tournament, with overtime required to do so. They're now certainly the favorites in the SEC and a legitimate contender for a No. 1 seed next March.
(Photo courtesy of Burnett family)