Alabama Freshman Declares for NBA

The NBA has put out the official list of players who declared early for the NBA draft. While many players were listed and were expected, including Alabama guard Mark Sears, one player came as a shock to Crimson Tide fans when his name appeared on the list.

According to the list of draft prospects that was posted by NBA Communications, Alabama freshman forward Jarin Stevenson has declared for the NBA draft, while still maintaining college eligibility.

It's the same decision that Alabama guard Mark Sears made. By deciding to maintain college eligibility, Stevenson and Sears can go through the NBA draft process through the end of May. Both players will have until May 29 if they want to remove their names from the NBA draft and return to Alabama. If not, then they will forgo their college eligibility and enter the NBA draft, which is set to take place on Thursday, June 27, 2024.

Stevenson averaged 5.3 points per game, 2.7 rebounds per game, and 0.4 assists per game. He shot 41.8% from the field and 31.7% from beyond the arc for the Crimson Tide during his freshman season.

Stevenson committed to Alabama over his hometown team, the North Carolina Tar Heels. Stevenson was expected to be a strong contributor to Alabama's 2024 team, and still could, depending on the feedback he gets from the NBA.

BamaCentral's Blake Byler reported that Stevenson is expected to test the draft waters, but ultimately withdraw and return to Alabama.

However, Charles Bediako was expected to make the same decision, but he remained in the draft last season. Stevenson will be faced with the same decision.

Tide 100.9 is keeping a roster tracker of the Alabama Men's Basketball roster ahead of the 2024-2025 season. You can view the roster tracker here.

Wyatt Fulton is the TIde 100.9 DME and Brand Manager, covering Alabama Crimson Tide football and men's basketball. For more Crimson Tide coverage, follow Wyatt on X (Formerly known as Twitter) at @FultonW_.