TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — The Brandon Miller era of Alabama basketball began with a bang. Actually, it started with a missed 3-point attempt that clanged off the iron. However, the five-star freshman was there to calmly collect his missed shot and follow it up with a layup.

Miller didn’t get the opportunity to show off his dunking ability or many of the highlights that have him projected as a lottery pick in next year’s NBA Draft. Instead, he quietly led No. 20 Alabama to a 75-54 victory over Longwood, demonstrating the poise of a seasoned veteran rather than that of a freshman making his first start.

“I can’t lie, I was a bit nervous,” Miller admitted after the game. “But after a while, I came up with the pieces. I had a great time. I thought we played really hard, just crashed the defensive glass and just got out and run. Just really happy to get a win.”

Miller finished his debut with a double-double, recording 14 points and 13 rebounds. After starting slow in both the preseason scrimmage against TCU and the exhibition against Southern Illinois, the freshman forward wasted no time making a difference against Longwood, tallying eight points and eight boards by the break.

It wasn’t a perfect debut by any means. Miller hit an offensive lull in the second half, missing his first six shots coming out of the break. He also finished 0-for-6 from deep, contributing to Alabama’s frigid 3-point shooting performance as the Crimson Tide made just 3 of 28 shots from beyond the arc.

Still, there weren’t many complaints from his head coach.

“He could have got frustrated for stuff not going great for him early, but I thought he stayed in it, kept competing,” Nate Oats said. “He had a few highlight plays there late in the game. I thought he did a good job.”

Miller was one of four freshmen to make their Alabama debuts in the opener as each of the Crimson Tide’s newcomers shined in their college debuts.

Forward Noah Clowney also earned a start, recording 9 points and 11 rebounds to go with a pair of blocks. Meanwhile guards Rylan Griffen and Jaden Bradley both came up big off the bench as Griffen tied Miller for the team lead with 14 points while Bradley tallied 11 points and six rebounds. Junior college transfer Nick Pringle put up 4 points and four rebounds to go with a team-high three blocks, rounding out a stellar night for Alabama’s recruiting class.

In total, the five members of this year’s class combined for 52 of Alabama’s 75 points and 36 of its 67 rebounds on the night.

“Some people had us as the third-ranked class in the country, and it’s showing,” Oats said. “Brandon’s obviously really talented. He had 13 and 14 and didn’t make a 3. He can actually shoot the ball really well. He’ll have a lot better nights than he had tonight.

“Jaden Bradley showed why we liked him. He’s tough gritty, had some tough finishes on offense but really guards, kind of knows how to play the game. You kind of saw we went with him more in the second half when we needed to get some stops.

“Rylan Griffen just has no fear. He goes in and he’s going to make shots at a way higher clip than he did tonight, but he plays hard and gets the O-boards. Scored 14 points. We kind of needed a boost from him in the first half and he gave it.

“Clowney’s starting. We obviously expect a lot out of him. He had double-digit rebounds. We almost put all four freshmen in double-digit scoring… I was happy with the freshman class. They’re going to play a lot for us this year.”

Alabama’s newcomers will look to feed off the momentum of their positive debut later this week as the Crimson Tide hosts Liberty on Friday night at 7 p.m. CT.