BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Alabama basketball added four blue-chip prospects in the Class of 2024. The class was made up of five-star talents Derrion Reid and Aiden Sherrell, along with four-star guard Labaron Philon and forward Naas Cunningham.

Cunningham picked up a redshirt after arriving at Alabama as the No. 50 overall player in this year’s class out of Southern California Academy in Santa Clarita. Though he has not appeared in the regular season, Cunningham did play in Alabama’s exhibition games against Wake Forest and Memphis. He combined for three points and two rebounds in 16 minutes against the Demon Deacons and Tigers.

When initially announcing that Cunningham would redshirt, Alabama coach Nate Oats cited a need for the forward to gain weight and get more physical. Oats gave an update on Cunningham’s development when speaking to reporters at the Birmingham Tip Off Club on Monday and said Cunningham has suffered some setbacks after initially putting on weight at the start of the season.

“Naas got a little sick, got a little hurt himself,” Oats said. “He’s trying to gain the weight back that he had gained that he then lost. He’s got to gain weight, that’s No. 1. We’re trying to get him to gain weight again. He shows explosiveness at times. He’s gotta get a motor, a sense of urgency if you will.”

Before his arrival at Alabama, the 6-foot-7, 175-pound forward averaged 13.4 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game for Rolling Loud in the Overtime Elite League in 2022-23. At one point, Cunningham was ranked as the No. 1 player in the Class of 2024. Oats remains a fan of Cunningham’s upside but wants to see him continue to dedicate his time to getting stronger in order to unleash his potential.

“When he’s at his peak, it looks like he should be an NBA player. Can we get that every time or a lot more consistent than what it is? It’s hard for me to say right now just because he’s been out with illness and injuries so much. So right now we’re just trying to get him to continue to gain weight because he kind of lost a lot of what he gained when he got sick. So, kind of where that’s at.

“Great kid though — love him. Best teammate. Teammates love him. Coaches love him. Just gotta get him stronger, more consistent — his upside’s gotta show up more consistently.”

Alabama does not have a midweek game before it hits the road for a matchup against Arkansas on Saturday. As Cunningham continues putting weight back on, Oats is hopeful that the extra time off will allow the Tide’s active players who are also dealing with injuries to get healthy as Alabama prepares for the back half of SEC play.