Alabama basketball landed its first edition from the transfer portal just two days after it opened. Tuesday, the Crimson Tide secured a commitment from Pepperdine guard Houston Mallette, who announced his decision over social media.

Mallette entered the portal after Pepperdine fired head coach Lorenzo Romar. He has one season of eligibility remaining.

The 6-foot-5 junior averaged 14.7 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game for the Waves last season. He shot 43.1% from the field, 41.5% from 3 and 81.7% from the free throw line and earned All-WCC honorable mention honors. Mallette has been a consistent scorer throughout his Pepperdine career, averaging 13 points per game as a sophomore and 13.6 points in his freshman campaign.

Alabama has now filled the spot of its only confirmed departure after this season, with Aaron Estrada out of eligibility. Mark Sears and Latrell Wrightsell Jr. both have a year of eligibility remaining. Sears could potentially head to the NBA after an outstanding campaign saw him earn second-team All-America honors. Sears tested the NBA Draft waters after the 2023 season but opted to return to Tuscaloosa. Should he choose to depart, the Crimson Tide will likely search for even more guard depth in the portal.

Tide Illustrated basketball analyst Jordan Harper provided his take on Alabama’s latest commit:

Mallette is a terrific leader on and off the court. He is an elite 3-point shooter with a 37.5% career total. Standing at 6-foot-5 with long arms, he will bring much-needed height and length to a backcourt that could be replacing both Sears and Estrada. Estrada is out of eligibility, but Sears has a COVID year remaining that he could potentially use.

Offensively, Mallette is a do-it-all guard who can make shots off the bounce, spot up, and finish great around the rim. He ranks in the 81st percentile of all college basketball players in off-dribble shooting, 74% in spot-up and 89% scoring in transition. Alabama likes to play three to four guards at the same time. Adding Mallette added to next year’s backcourt would secure more elite shooting that Oats requires out of his guards.

How does Mallette fair against solid competition? Really good. He had 31 points, five assists, five rebounds against Indiana State earlier this year. He also scored 22 points against BYU and Gonzaga during conference play a season ago. He has averaged 13 points or more all three years at Pepperdine and averaged 14.7 points per game this season. He is an adequate defender, but he brings length that can make up for a lot of errors on defense, which is something Alabama’s backcourt this year didn’t have.

Overall, this is a very strong start to the portal season for Alabama and the staff hasn’t even be able to actually get out and recruit. It seemed that Mallette knew what kind of system he wanted to play in and when Alabama reached out, he knew that it was a place he would love to be.