Soon, Preston Murphy will finally get to take a breather. Maybe.

For more than a month, the Alabama men’s basketball assistant coach and essentially general manager of the roster has been working the phones and trying to piece together a group of players for the 2025-26 season. In about an 11-hour period on March 27, during the NCAA Tournament, Murphy had fielded 73 calls and countless text messages.

Maybe not everyday since has brought 73 calls considering that was during the early part of the transfer portal opening; the portal is now closed for basketball. But Murphy has had his hands full nonetheless for weeks now.

Alabama saw four of its starters exhaust their eligibility from the 2024-25 roster in Mark Sears, Chris Youngblood, Grant Nelson and Clifford Omoruyi. Meanwhile, a handful of returners decided to enter the transfer portal: Mouhamed Dioubate, Jarin Stevenson, Derrion Reid and redshirt Naas Cunningham. Plus, Labaron Philon declared for the NBA Draft.

That left Murphy and head coach Nate Oats with a roster of only a few returners: Aden Holloway, Aiden Sherrell, Latrell Wrightsell Jr. and Houston Mallette, and neither Wrightsell nor Mallette played much of this past season because of injuries.

So, Murphy and Oats and company have been busy trying to fill all those spots. Now a month later, they’re close.

Former Tarleton State forward Keitenn Bristow committed to the Crimson Tide from the transfer portal Wednesday, moving Alabama’s scholarship roster to 11 players. That includes the four returners, four transfers (Noah Williamson, Taylor Bol Bowen, Jalil Bethea and Bristow) as well as the three freshmen (London Jemison, Davion Hannah and Amari Allen).

That leaves about two scholarships open. We say about because the expected House settlement might allow more, but Alabama doesn’t necessarily have to fill all those spots. It’s tough enough to keep 12 or 13 guys happy with playing time and opportunities, much less 15.

Who will get the last spot(s) on the Alabama roster?

Right now, it’s a safe assumption Alabama adds at least one more scholarship player.

As of Wednesday, April 30, Rylan Griffen remains in play for a spot. The former Alabama guard who helped the Crimson Tide reach the Final Four in 2024 is back in the transfer portal after a season with Kansas.

Griffen visited UA this past week; Nothing seems to be a done deal yet on this front, but he’s certainly still firmly an option.

Let’s say Alabama and Griffen come to an agreement and he commits. That would put the Crimson Tide at 12 scholarship players for the season.

There’s a plausible scenario where Alabama doesn’t fill a 13th spot automatically. Each of the past two seasons, the 13th spot has gone to a guy who redshirted the entire season then transferred (Kris Parker in 2023-24, then Naas Cunningham in 2024-25). Do Oats and company want to do that again? Maybe. Maybe not.

Unless that 13th roster spot is used for Philon.

What about Labaron Philon?

Of course, Philon would not be the 13th guy in the lineup. But for the purposes of determining final scholarship usage in this exercise, Philon would be the 13th guy.

Philon didn’t announce he was maintaining his college eligibility when he declared for the NBA Draft, but it seems he did.

“I would say yeah, kind of, but like I said I’m 100% on the draft” Philon said earlier this week when asked if he maintained his college eligibility.

So, the door for a return to college basketball doesn’t seem to be completely slammed shut.

“I would say 100% draft, but you know, things can change,” Philon said. “You never know.”

Say Philon goes through the draft process and does not get a guarantee of any kind, or a guarantee to his liking. Or, he doesn’t get feedback he’s seeking, such as being a first-round pick. He has until May 28 at 11:59 p.m. ET to withdraw and maintain his NCAA eligibility.

That doesn’t seem out of the question at this juncture.

So, Alabama would be wise to leave a scholarship spot open in case Philon decides to come back. Waiting to complete your roster isn’t ideal, but it’s worth waiting if Philon is the option.

Say he stays in the draft and doesn’t come back to Alabama; the Crimson Tide could either decide not to fill that spot, or go find another guard to add, even if the timing isn’t ideal to try and land another guard.

There’s a possibility one of the final scholarship roster spots goes to someone not named Griffen or Philon, but another name has not yet emerged.

Nick Kelly is an Alabama beat writer for Follow him on X and the Alabama Media Group. Follow him on X and Instagram.