TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Following arguably its biggest win of the season, the best might still be yet to come for No. 5 Alabama basketball.

The Crimson Tide enters this week’s SEC tournament coming off a victory at previously top-ranked Auburn last weekend. While the Tide competes to earn a No. 1 seed in Nashville, Tennessee, there isn’t a contender in college basketball with a higher ceiling.

Alabama could receive a boost this weekend, as Nate Oats announced Wednesday that injured forward Derrion Reid could return in time for Friday’s SEC quarterfinal matchup. The five-star freshman has missed the past six games while nursing a lingering hamstring injury. Before suffering the setback, Reid was averaging 7.1 points and 3.2 rebounds over 16.3 minutes per game.

Reid’s return would serve as a shot in the arm for Alabama as it opens play in the SEC tournament on Friday. However, he won’t be the only freshman push the Tide receives heading into postseason play.

Alabama reinserted freshman guard Labaron Philon into the starting lineup following its loss to Auburn on Feb. 15. Since then, the former Rivals100 recruit has averaged 13.0 points and 2.5 rebounds while shooting 50.8% from the floor and 39.1% (9 of 23) from 3.

Along with his offensive production, Philon has also improved on the other side of the ball, averaging two steals over his past six games. That included a vital takeaway that led to a layup on the other end during overtime of Alabama’s 93-91 win at Auburn last weekend.

“I think he’s got both sides of the ball going right now,” Oats said. “We need it to keep going that way. … He’s one of those guys that can move well. He’s got size. He can guard off-guards, wings, run off screen action. He can also guard point guards and pressure the ball and take it from them. I think it’s a big reason why NBA teams are really high on him because he’s such a great defensive guard in addition to being really talented on offense.”

Sherrell didn’t play during Alabama’s first meeting against Auburn but has seen his role heighten since then. The 6-foot-10, 240-pound forward is averaging 5.2 points and 2.3 rebounds over 9.5 minutes per game during his last six outings. During that span, he’s shooting 78.6% from the floor while hitting 4 of 7 shots from beyond the arc.

“This year’s been a learning experience for sure,” Sherrell said. “Definitely coming in as a freshman, you’ve got to learn a lot, you’ve got to get adapted and everything. It’s been great overall. I feel like I became a way better player.”

When asked about his team’s high ceiling, Oats also pointed out that sophomore Jarin Stevenson reclassified last year and is the same age as Philon, Reid and Sherrell. In addition, sophomore forward Mo Dioubate averaged just 7.7 minutes per game last year and is in his first season with a significant role.

Stevenson was recently bumped from the starting lineup to make room for the insertion of Philon. Since then, the 6-foot-11, 215-pound guard has averaged 4.7 points and 3.7 rebounds over Alabama’s last six games. During that span, he’s shot 9 of 16 (56.3%) from the floor, including an impressive 6 of 11 (54.5%) from 3. While Stevenson is better known for his defensive ability, Oats views the sophomore as someone who can provide more of an offensive boost moving forward.

“I think Jarin Stevenson is one that’s got a lot more than he’s been giving us,” Oats said. “I got to do a better job getting it out of him, putting him in positions to succeed. … Jarin’s a guy that’s guarded RJ Davis, he’s guarded [Josh] Hubbard, he’s guarded some of the best guards in the country. He can guard the one through four, even one through five, depending on who your five is. Offensively, he’s got a lot of upside, he’s been shooting it really well since December, driving it downhill, finishing at the rim.”

If Alabama can get Stevenson clicking on offense while maintaining the recent momentum from Philon and Sherrell, it will be a tough out in tournament play. Add in a return from Reid, and it's easy for the Tide to begin dreaming of a repeat run to the Final Four.

There isn’t a team that enters the postseason with more potential than Alabama. Now the trick is translating that to wins over the next month.

“I like our ceiling,” Oats said. “At this point in the year, nobody’s really talking about ceilings. It’s your production as to what you’re getting done now. So yeah, do we still have room to improve? 100%. But there’s no time to talk about potential and ceilings anymore. We’ve got to win or we’ll be sitting at home.”