NCAA Basketball: 10 best players from state of Alabama of last decade

5. John Petty – Alabama

A highly-touted recruit from Huntsville, Petty played an important role for an Alabama program that found itself in transition. He was recruited by Avery Johnson but had his two best seasons at the end of his career under new coach Nate Oats. Petty averaged double-digit points in each of his four collegiate seasons and spent most of that career in the starting lineup for the Crimson Tide.

He endeared himself quickly, making ten 3-pointers to score 30 points in a win over Alabama A&M in his third career game. Later during his freshman season, he scored 20 points in an NCAA Tournament victory over Virginia Tech, a number he’d match in a second-round win over Maryland three years later. His junior season was perhaps his best, averaging 14.5 points and 6.6 rebounds per game before the season was shortened by the pandemic.

Petty received All-SEC honors in those final two seasons, named to the Second Team in 2020 and the Second Team in 2021. He was one of Alabama’s most talented shooters in program history, sitting atop the school records in 3-pointers made, while also leading the entire SEC in that category during his senior season. He was an invaluable member of an Alabama team that won regular season and conference tournament titles in 2021 before a run to the Sweet Sixteen. Nowadays, he remains a talented shooter in the G-League.