SEC Basketball: Ranking of 25 best players from last decade (2013-23)

14. Collin Sexton

The best player and recruit that Avery Johnson had during his head coaching stint at Alabama, Sexton was a major talent for the Crimson Tide. A 6’3 point guard from Mableton, Georgia, he was a Top 10 recruit in the 2017 class and would have quite the freshman season at Alabama before moving on to the NBA.

Across that lone collegiate season, Sexton would average 19.2 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 3.6 assists per game for the Crimson Tide. He had a 40-point performance early in the season in a wild game against Minnesota. He’d average 26 points during three games in the SEC Tournament and led the Crimson Tide to the 2018 NCAA Tournament, dropping 25 points on Virginia Tech in a first-round win. Certainly, he was the star on Alabama’s best season during Johnson’s tenure.

Sexton was named both SEC Rookie of the Year and First Team All-SEC. His dynamic role at Alabama was clear for all to see, emerging as a top-level scorer and all-around contributor for a Crimson Tide team that looked far better at times than a 9th place squad in the league. That was all about Sexton’s elite play, and it got him drafted early in the first round of the 2018 NBA Draft.