Nate Oats and the Alabama Crimson Tide will lose a key member of their basketball squad on Friday, as Rylan Griffen revealed his decision to join the transfer portal.
The sophomore from Dallas, Texas has played for the Tide for the last two seasons and started 33 out of 36 games this season.
He averaged 11.2 points per game to go with 3.4 rebounds and 1.9 assists and shot nearly 40 percent from the three-point line.
Just over a week ago, Griffen praised head coach Nate Oats and called him the G.O.A.T.
“He’s the GOAT, in my opinion. He hasn’t got a Natty yet but trust me, he’ll get a Natty. He’s the GOAT, seriously. Everybody’s gonna think that’s a hot take…there are a lot of good coaches out there but he’s unique. He finds a way to win.”
Griffen and Mark Sears were the only players left after several Bama players departed via the transfer portal or went to the NBA, thus Griffen’s decision to leave the team is surprising given that he was one of the team’s leaders this season.
Griffen has become the third player on the Tide’s roster to enter the transfer portal. He joins walk-on Max Scharnowski and guard Kris Parker as he other two.
This year’s team had only one senior, transfer Aaron Estrada. No word yet on what Mark Sears or forward Grant Nelson, who is also a transfer, want to do.