Alabama Basketball: Crimson Tide rebuilding after Collin Sexton
Collin Sexton’s departure for the 2018 NBA Draft will set the Alabama Crimson Tide back after an NCAA Tournament run.
Collin Sexton was easily the best player to suit up for the Alabama Crimson Tide in recent memory. He was also always destined to be a one-and-done collegian.
That reality arrived Friday, when Sexton declared for the 2018 NBA Draft. He didn’t leave any doubt, announcing that he would be hiring an agent, ending his college eligibility.
Last season, Sexton averaged 19.2 points and 3.6 assists per game for a Crimson Tide team that won their first NCAA Tournament game in 12 years. It’s safe to say he was the best player on the team by a country mile.
There’s a chance Alabama doesn’t fall off too far without Sexton. The Crimson Tide aren’t losing any seniors who logged minutes last season and Riley Norris only played in nine games, at that (he’s receiving a medical redshirt). Leading rebounder Donta Hall will be a senior next year.
John Petty is also set to return. Sexton often obscured his fellow freshman, but Petty had a solid rookie season in his own right, averaging 10.2 points per game while shooting .372 from three-point range.
Avery Johnson’s 2018 recruiting class lays in the middle of the road, though. 247Sports ranks them 40th in the nation – fine overall, but lower than ideal for a major program with big aspirations. Point guard Jared Butler is the lone four-star recruit.
Idealists are also ignoring just how important Sexton was to the squad last year. Take the Second Round loss to the Villanova Wildcats, a 23-point drubbing. Sexton scored 17 points in the losing effort – no other member of the Crimson Tide even reached double figures.
While it wasn’t always pretty – Alabama had a losing record in SEC play, after all – the Crimson Tide still managed to scrap to a No. 9 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Next: Way-too-early 2019 bracketology
Without Sexton, the Crimson Tide will find themselves more squarely in the bubble conversation in 2018-19.