Why One Alabama Basketball Senior Won't Be Participating in Senior Day
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Because of the transfer portal, injuries, redshirts and the COVID waiver, it can be challenging to keep track of how many years of eligibility a guy has left.
It has also made it more difficult for universities to decide how to handle senior days. Even though Alabama basketball has two home games left, with Saturday's matchup against Arkansas being the final weekend home game, the program has decided to hold Senior Day after the game.
Graduate students Dom Welch and Noah Gurley, plus senior walk-on Adam Cottrell are set to be recognized for the Crimson Tide. Cottrell is one of two players listed on Alabama's roster as a senior. The other is Jahvon Quinerly, who is in his fifth overall year of college basketball, but third playing for the Crimson Tide.
Quinerly participated in Senior Day after last year's win over South Carolina, and planned on last year being his final collegiate season before he tore his ACL against Notre Dame in the NCAA Tournament according to Alabama head coach Nate Oats.
"We’ve decided it’d be best to honor each kid one time on Senior Day," Oats said during Friday's press conference. "So since he's already been honored, that's why he's not in that group of three being honored."
Because Quinerly had to sit out his first season in Tuscaloosa after his waiver was denied by the NCAA, and since he was on the team during the 2020-2021 season, he has the COVID waiver. This means he still technically has one season of eligibility left.
Oats said he has brought up the subject with the veteran point guard, but it is a decision that will likely be made after the season whether or not Quinerly plans to use the final year of eligibility. He mentioned that the opportunities NIL provides could play a role in the decision.
The Alabama head coach had high praise for the trio that will be honored Saturday afternoon. Because Alabama has had so many dominant wins at home, it has allowed Cottrell to play more minutes than the typical walk-on and has seen him make his first career baskets. Gurley and Welch have brought a veteran presence and leadership to the team without earning a lot of playing time because of the talent of the underclassmen.
"Both those guys have had really good ways about them of leading without playing a ton of minutes," Oats said.
Last season, Alabama's starting lineup on Senior Day featured all five players being recognized (Quinerly, James Rojas, Keon Ellis and walk-ons Britton Johnson and Tyler Barnes.) Oats did not indicate whether or not he planned to do the same this year. However, this year's Senior Day opponent is a higher quality opponent than the Gamecocks last season. Alabama also has a little more on the line at this point with a one-game lead on the regular season SEC title with three games to go.
Despite the distractions and emotions a senior day can bring, on top of all the other outside noise that has been swirling around the program since Tuesday, Alabama is locked in on the task at hand.
"Happy to be able to honor all of them," Oats said. "Senior day’s are always interesting with honoring everybody, but I think our team’s doing a good job getting focused on what we’ve got to do, and that’s beating Arkansas.”
See also:
Nate Oats Notes Significance of 'Big' Game vs Arkansas
How to Watch: No. 2 Alabama Basketball vs. Arkansas
Brandon Miller Displays Generational Performance in Alabama's Overtime Win
