It didn’t take Noah Clowney long to know Alabama was the school he wanted to attend. He was offered on October 23rd, and he committed to Alabama just 9 days later while holding several high major offers. Clowney then signed with Alabama 9 days after that in the early signing period to make it official.

Clowney is from South Carolina and held offers from Indiana, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Xavier, but he loved the chemistry he had with the staff at Alabama the most. While he is a top 100 prospect, he is still a diamond in the rough kind of player. If he reaches his potential, he is a potential NBA Draft pick with his size, skill, and versatility as a big man.

Clowney is a 6’9 (closer to 6’10) 210 lb PF/C who was the #71 ranked recruit according to Rivals in the 2022 class. He is a long, athletic stretch forward that is mobile and has great footwork and good hands for a big guy. Clowney is a good athlete and has really nice right-handed jump hook in the paint that he used a lot in AAU and high school. He is the prototypical pick and pop big man that coach Nate Oats loves to put on the floor. He will be like Gurley once he gets time to develop his outside game in the sense that he can pop off a screen and shoot the three.

One thing that is impressive about Clowney at his size is he can dribble the ball well, and he has a very quick first step. That will allow him to play around the perimeter on screen and rolls, but also handle the ball well enough to make moves in the paint.

In his first action with Alabama during the foreign tour earlier this month, Clowney showed the upside that everyone was hoping to see. He was flying to the basketball, having highlight dunks, and even showed some defensive promise. He averaged 14 points per game in three games overseas, including a 24-point 11-rebound game that was quite impressive. While it was weaker competition, outside of the Chinese National Team, it was very encouraging to see him step up and fill a void in the front court that Alabama has behind Charles Bediako and Noah Gurley.

One area that Clowney needs to improve is his size. He is long and lanky, but if he is going to play in the paint in a high major conference then he must get bigger and stronger to hold his own. As I mentioned in my previous Brandon Miller article, most high schoolers need to get stronger to adjust to the college game, especially at a power 5 school. If he can gain some mass and strength, he will develop into a good rim protector as well.

Noah Clowney oozes potential and has tremendous upside, which is why he is a great get for the Alabama staff. He is a potential X-factor for the Tide this year, because if he becomes a big contributor then this team just got even more dangerous.