Alabama makes for a statement win, lands Alex Tchikou
Alabama has seemingly worked every avenue possible in filling out its roster for the upcoming season with the latest being the reclassification route. Alex Tchikou, a top-40 forward that recently made the move into the 2020 class, gave his verbal commitment to Nate Oats and his staff on Sunday.
“Three things: The relationship that I had with the coaches, that is the first thing” Tchikou told Rivals.com. “Second thing is the style of play fit me the best. Lastly, I had a couple of conversations with players that played there and they all told me that the head coach (Nate Oats) lets you play through your mistakes."
Tchikou selected Alabama just a week after making his reclassification decision. He chose the Tide over a number of national suitors including Arizona, Florida State, Mississippi State, Oregon and USC. The French forward is rated as the 36th best prospect in America and as the sixth best power forward in his class.
A tremendously versatile prospect, Tchikou has received Jon Isaac comparisons throughout his upbringing and was a standout at February’s Basketball Without Borders Camp, held during NBA All-Star Weekend. What the Tide will be receiving is a long and rangy forward that can play many spots in the frontcourt, make shots to the perimeter and even lead the break off the defensive glass. He sports great potential on the defensive end and massive upside to tap into within the coming years.
Alabama now sits with the ninth best class in America and if the pieces meld together properly, a dark horse Final Four team. Keon Ambrose-Hylton, Josh Primo, Darius Miles and junior college stat Keon Ellis will enroll, as will Yale graduate-transfer Jordan Bruner, giving the Tide ample talent to mesh with the returns of Jahvon Quinerly, Herb Jones and Jaden Shackelford.