Alabama Basketball: Awaiting John Petty’s NBA Draft decision

Alabama Basketball is still waiting to hear whether or not John Petty will return to school after declaring for the 2020 NBA Draft.

College basketball players have until August 3 to withdraw from the NBA Draft and return to their schools to be eligible for the 2020-21 season. It seems John Petty is destined to take that decision down to the wire.

Petty’s decision is arguably the most important still pending in the sport. After the Alabama Crimson Tide went 16-15 in Nate Oats’ first season in Tuscaloosa, Petty declared for the NBA Draft, along with guard Kira Lewis Jr. While the latter is sticking in the draft and could be a lottery pick in 2020, the former is still making his decision.

Petty has accomplished plenty at the collegiate level through his first three seasons. As a junior, he averaged 14.5 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 1.1 steals per game, shooting 44.0 percent from three-point range. His play earned him Second Team All-SEC honors.

The guard’s strong shooting and rebounding skills haven’t translated to a high draft stock, though. In most mock drafts, Petty is hanging around the end of the second round, sometimes not even being projected to be selected at all. That’s fueled speculation Petty could return to school for his senior season.

Another factor fueling that speculation is the departure of forward Javian Davis. While Davis doesn’t play the same position as Petty, his late decision to transfer last week suddenly opened up a roster spot, one that can quickly be snatched up by Petty.

If there’s one motivating factor for Petty to return – outside of improving his professional stock – it’s a chance to bring some glory to Alabama’s hoops team. The program did win an NCAA Tournament game when Petty was a freshman, but they haven’t returned to the Big Dance since. Alabama hasn’t been to a Sweet Sixteen since 2004; Petty would be a hero if he leads the Crimson Tide there.

Petty’s return makes that scenario plausible. Losing Lewis Jr. is a serious blow to Oats’ team, but Alabama should still be better than they were a year ago. They are bringing in one of the most heralded recruiting classes in program history, led by four-star guard Josh Primo and four-star power forward Alex Tchikou. According to 247 Sports, it’s currently the No. 12 recruiting class in the nation.

The Crimson Tide also have a strong returning core. The biggest returnee is guard Jaden Shackelford, who was overshadowed during his freshman season. All he did was averaged 15.0 points and 4.5 rebounds per game, setting himself up to be a household name in the SEC in the coming season.

Yale graduate transfer Jordan Bruner is also immediately eligible to play for the Crimson Tide. The small forward was a force in the Ivy League paint last year, averaging 10.9 points and 9.2 rebounds per game. Add Petty to the mix and Alabama could seriously threaten for SEC supremacy in 2020-21.

The decision to go pro or stay in school is deeply personal, especially with so much uncertainty surrounding both college and professional basketball for the coming year. If John Petty returns to school, however, Alabama will be set up to be one of the surprise success stories in the sport next year.