After declaring for the 2024 NBA Draft and going through the evaluation process, forward Jarin Stevenson will come back to the college level and return to Alabama for his sophomore season with the Crimson Tide, his father announced.
All college players who declared for the upcoming NBA Draft had until 11:59 p.m. ET on Wednesday, May 29 to decide on a return to college basketball and retain their eligibility. A decision that Stevenson has now made after receiving feedback from the league’s evaluators and decision-makers.
He participated in scouting events like the NBA G League Elite Camp and Excel Sports Management Pro Day in front of scouts, but did not receive an invite to the NBA Combine that featured the upper echelon of potential prospects in Chicago a few weeks ago. A status he could potentially reach after spending more time developing at the college level.
Stevenson appeared in 37 games in his true freshman season last year for Alabama and made five starts. Averaging 5.3 points and 2.7 rebounds per game as a versatile 6-foot-11, 210-pound forward. Testing the NBA waters this offseason as a former highly-touted high school prospect and the youngest college prospect amongst all players that declared for the 2024 NBA Draft.
His stats may seem underwhelming in his 16.6 minutes per game in his first college season, but Stevenson did score in double figures six times last year which included three of the first four games of his college career and in breakout performance in the NCAA Tournament. Scoring a career-high 19 points in the Elite Eight in a win over Clemson where he drilled five of his eight three-point attempts. Playing a crucial role in Alabama’s first Final Four team in program history.
Stevenson may lack experience, but did receive quite a bit of action on college basketball’s biggest stage during Alabama’s NCAA Tournament run, logging 78 total minutes during March Madness and recording 28 points, six blocks, and 14 rebounds.
Stevenson played high school basketball at Seaforth High School in Pittsboro (NC) where he was a four-star prospect. Ranked the No. 24 overall recruit and the No. 4 power forward in the country along with being the top player in the state for the 2023 cycle according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.
There’s no question that Stevenson’s return to Tuscaloosa further strengthens Alabama’s roster, a team that some may regard as the best in the country ahead of the 2024-2025 season.
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