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

By Joey Loose | Jul 25, 2022

Feb 22, 2020; Oxford, Mississippi, USA;Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Nate Oats (right) talks with Alabama Crimson Tide guard John Petty Jr. (23) and guard Kira Lewis Jr. (2) during the first half against the Mississippi Rebels at The Pavilion at Ole Miss. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-USA TODAY Sports /

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Louisiana State Tigers forward Trendon Watford Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports /

3. Trendon Watford – LSU

We’re not quite done with the Watford family, turning our attention to younger brother Trendon, who arrived at LSU in 2019 and played for two seasons under Will Wade. Himself, a talented forward, this Watford was a two-year starter and impact player in Baton Rouge, helping lead the Tigers to a pair of Top 3 finishes in a tough and deep SEC.

Watford had just 13 double-doubles (4 less than brother Christian), but wasted no time becoming involved in this LSU offense. He was named to the SEC’s All-Freshman team after averaging 13.6 points and 7.2 rebounds per game in the pandemic-shortened season, but his sophomore year was even better. Helping lead the Tigers back to the NCAA Tournament, Watford averaged 16.3 points per game, including a career-high 30-point effort against Alabama in the SEC Tournament.

Watford was named to the All-SEC First Team for his efforts during his sophomore season, leading the conference in defensive rebounds and finishing sixth in points per game. He scored 11 points in each of the Tigers’ NCAA Tournament games, falling to Michigan in the second round, before declaring for the draft after the season. Though he went undrafted, the former two-time Mr. Basketball in Alabama caught on with the Portland Trailblazers and was recently named MVP of the Summer League.

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