John Petty Jr. Remains Undecided on Return to Alabama
When examining the roster for Alabama basketball for the upcoming 2020-2021 season, one huge question still looms large:
When and what is John Petty Jr. going to decide?
In his junior season last year, Petty started in 28 of the Crimson Tide’s 29 games at guard, contributing heavily on offense by leading the team in three-pointers with 85 and finished third on the team in overall points with 421, averaging 15 points per game. On defense, Petty also led the Crimson Tide with 190 total rebounds, averaging 6.6 per game.
At the end of the shortened season, Petty announced that he — along with sophomore guard Kira Lewis Jr. and junior wing Herbert Jones — would test the waters of the NBA draft.
Since that time, Lewis has hired and agent and will be leaving Alabama, while Jones has announced his return for his senior season. Meanwhile, Petty continues to remain silent on his decision.
Petty has all the time in the world to make his decision. Where it stands right now, Petty must inform the NCAA of his decision by Aug. 3, or within 10 days after the NBA combine (whichever comes first). While this provides him with plenty of time to think through his decision, the longer he takes to decide, the more inconvenient it makes it for Alabama coach Nate Oats and his staff to prepare for the upcoming season.
In an interview with Wimp and Barry Sanderson on Inside the Locker Room on Tide 100.9 FM, Oats discussed that while he understands the decision for the NCAA to push back the declaration date he’s not sure what can be gained in that amount of time.
“I know why the NCAA decided to put the date Aug. 3 — they need to make it look as if they’re really looking out for the student-athlete, which in today’s culture and with the way things are, I understand that,” Oats said. “But there’s really not a whole lot more information going to be gathered between now and Aug. 3. I don’t believe that the NBA teams are going to be able to work them out in between now and then. They do have a combine. I’ve heard it might be a virtual one.”
Oats revealed that he has been in consistent contact with Petty and that the senior has made it known what is on his mind.
“As of right now, he’s still telling us, basically, if he gets a guarantee to be in the top 40-45, he’s going to stay in the draft. If not, he’s going to be back. I think teams are getting all the information they gathered. The one thing, I guess, with pushing the date back is we’ll hopefully know which order the draft is by then. The NBA will have had a lottery, get a draft order. That might help teams decide who they may have made a promise to. So I think that’s maybe what they’re waiting on.”
However, this revelation does not speed up the timeline. With the NBA draft and combine dates still unannounced, Aug. 3 is becoming more and more likely the day that Petty will announce his decision barring he receives new information from NBA teams.
With that in mind, Oats is continuing to operate his team as if the senior guard will return to the court with Alabama for his senior season.
“Right now, we’re operating as if he’s going to come back,” Oats said. “I think that’s the only way you can operate with him, at least. And then as the coaching staff tries to figure out how we’re going to play, we kind of operate as if he’s not coming back, and then if he does come back, it’s a pleasant surprise. My guess would be we might not know on him until Aug. 3 just because he’s right there, he’s close. Maybe late second round. But like all these NBA teams, I asked them all, ‘Where do you have him slotted?’ and most of the time, they’re pretty honest with me. But then they always put the caveat at the end — ‘But coach, all it takes is one team, the one team that feels like he’s that piece that they need.’
“I don’t have a really good answer for you right now to be honest.”
In the meantime, the majority of players have returned to Tuscaloosa for voluntary workouts, including Petty. Jones along with senior forward James Rojas and Juwan Gary are all still recovering from injuries, with Jones dealing with his wrist injury that plagued him late last season and Rojas and Gary recovering from knee injuries that kept them off the court in 2019.
While coaches are still not allowed to supervise or instruct the workouts, Oats feels confident in his team.
“They’re almost all here,” Oats said. “Twelve out of the 13 on scholarship are in Tuscaloosa. They came back, they all got tested last week; everything’s good there. So, now they can voluntarily use the weight room. We still can’t require them but I think — our guys are pretty motivated. A lot of them know we need to have a better year. [Mike] Snowden was able to work them out in the weight room yesterday.”
One thing is certain: when Petty makes his decision, the planning process will become a lot easier for Oats and his staff. Until then, Alabama basketball will have to plan for a season both with or without him.
As for his confidence in Petty, Oats believes that Petty’s draft hopes will only rise if he returns for his senior year.
“If he made the same from junior to senior year that he did from sophomore to junior year in our system, he’s a first-round pick,” Oats said. “I think we all know that.”
