Don't Count Grant Nelson on Alabama Roster Just Yet

Razorbacks still technically potential landing spot for athletic North Dakota State forward

Author:
Kent Smith
Updated:
Jun 20, 2023 8:52 AM EDT
Original:
Jun 19, 2023

In this story:

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Roughly a week ago, word leaked out that North Dakota State forward Grant Nelson had shunned Arkansas and was headed to Alabama to join Nate Oats in Tuscaloosa. Several people took those reports at their word, went all doom and gloom around the state, and moved on with life.

However, since then, there's been no actual fan fare from the Alabama basketball program, much less Nelson. The Tide's social media account made a big deal in welcoming a new assistant coach, but nothing about a big time prospect whose athletic abilities and 6-11 frame made him one of the last to bow out of the NBA draft.

If Nelson has truly decided Tuscaloosa is home, where's the chance to promote the next big thing to arrive in town? Also, why has there suddenly been no noise on the Razorback basketball recruiting front? There's not a player in the portal that Arkansas hasn't contacted, and with the NBA draft coming up, it would seem like poor planning to not have the timing of the final signee come the week before draft week to avoid drowning out the new arrival.

Instead, Musselman has been talking about pool parties and workouts with the team he currently has while there's been no buzz around who he's hunting in the portal or junior colleges. Anyone who has followed Arkansas the last few years knows that such a deafening level of radio silence is the least Razorback thing this program can do.

All of this warranted a call to see if all the noise last week around Nelson going to Alabama constituted any sort of formal announcement. The official word was no official word can be given, but they too had seen the reports. However, there was no comment because there was nothing official to confirm and they weren't at liberty to provide a way to contact someone who might be able to say when something in the form of an official decision might be made.

So, here's what is known. Despite all the bluster last week about Alabama being the landing spot, it's not currently the landing spot. And the longer this drags out, the less likely it seems that the Tide will be the beneficiary of Nelson's services. It might still happen, but with each passing day, the odds go down that it will.

That doesn't mean odds are going up that the choice will be Arkansas though. The silence on recruiting on the Razorbacks' end only leads to speculation that the Hogs might still be in the mix. However, with this much silence and indecisiveness in the world of NIL, it's just a likely that a third team has worked its way back into the decision process and no one wants to make the massive mistake made by Alabama last week by stealing Nelson's thunder.

No one from the Nelson camp is talking, and who could blame them after how things went down the day before he was supposed to announce. It's the most important decision of this young man's life to this point.

So, until someone posts a graphic that is retweeted by an official university account, the only thing official in the Grant Nelson saga is that nothing is official. Not even Alabama.