The headline for Alabama’s basketball roster was the return of guard Mark Sears but coach Nate Oats offered a little more insight into the players and coaches who’ll be in Tuscaloosa next spring.

The Crimson Tide as of Tuesday has three open scholarships, Oats said at the SEC spring meetings in Destin. He said Sears received good feedback in the NBA draft process but made the right decision returning for a final season with Alabama.

“He’ll form one of the best backcourts in the country with him and we anticipate (Jahvon) Quinerly coming back,” Oats said.

Quinerly, who began his college career in 2018, was testing the NBA waters along with a handful of teammates. Oats said the guard worked out with the Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday but is hopeful he’ll be back for a third season with the Tide.

The frontcourt will be the focus for filling the other scholarships with Noah Gurley graduating, Noah Clowney and Brandon Miller projected first-round picks and center Charles Bediako announcing he’s staying in the draft.

“With Charles’ decision, I mean he’s a great kid and we love him, but that surprised us a little bit with the feedback we got,” Oats said. “You didn’t really pursue bigs in the portal because you anticipate (his return) but now you have to figure out another option.”

Oats suggested Alabama would have a lineup more like the one used in the 2020-21 SEC title run with less size and more quickness.

He also said he’s not overly concerned with using all 13 available scholarships but anticipates adding one or two more players before the season opens.

There’s also the matter of filling his coaching staff after an almost unprecedented run on his assistant coaches. All three from last season were hired to head coaching jobs and after hiring Ryan Pannone from the Pelicans and Austin Claunch from Nicholls State, there’s still one spot to fill. There’s been no shortage of interest, he said, but they haven’t yet settled on a hire.

Michael Casagrande is a reporter for the Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @ByCasagrande or on Facebook.