Alabama Basketball: Crimson Tide boosted by John Petty’s return for 2020-21
The Alabama basketball team was already set to be strong for the 2020-21 season, but now it will be even better with the addition of John Petty.
Alabama Basketball was set to have one of its best seasons in program history in 2020-21, but now it appears they will be even better. On Monday, John Petty announced his decision to withdraw his name from the 2020 NBA Draft, meaning he would be returning to Alabama.
In 2019-20, Petty was phenomenal for the Crimson Tide as he averaged 14.5 points, 6.6 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game. In addition to this, Petty held a 46.2% field-goal percentage, 44.0% three-point percentage, and a 67.4% free throw percentage.
These are pretty impressive stats, and in 2020-21, he hopes he can improve upon them with an even more impressive supporting cast, and his second season playing under head coach Nate Oats.
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In his first season with the Crimson Tide, Nate Oats put a huge emphasis on shooting threes, which helped Petty as he is known to be a sharpshooter. In his second year playing under Oats, I would imagine his made three-pointers will only go up.
Alabama was tied for fourth in the nation in total three-point attempts, third in three-point attempts per game, and they were sixth in total three-point field goals made. This fits perfectly into how Petty plays, and with that, I believe Petty’s senior season will be the best of his college career.
Petty will undoubtedly start next season for Alabama, but the question is; with the amazing supporting cast Alabama has in 2020-21, how many minutes will Petty get per game?
Last year, Petty averaged 33.5 minutes per game, but in 2020-21, I think his minutes will be down a bit and a little closer to 30 minutes per game, but this shouldn’t make his production any worse.
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John Petty is a great talent, and he’s got the perfect head coach who’s gameplan fits right into his play-style. In 2020-21, look for Alabama’s John Petty to contend for the SEC Player of the Year Award.