Alabama Men’s Basketball Inks Top Recruiting Class in Program History
11/11/2016 12:19:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Crimson Tide signs No. 2-ranked signing class in country according to Scout.com and Rivals.com
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – It was a landmark Signing Day for The University of Alabama men's basketball program, as head coach Avery Johnson officially announced the Tide's 2017 class on Friday. The Crimson Tide's five-man signing class is rated as high as No. 2 in the country according to Scout.com and Rivals.com, which is the highest-ranked signing class in program history. Meanwhile, 247sports.com ranks the class as the third-best in the nation.
The five newest members of the Alabama men's basketball program include guards Herb Jones, John Petty and Collin Sexton and forwards Alex Reese and Galin Smith. All five were rated as either four or five star recruits, while all were top-100 recruits in the nation, according to Rivals.com.
Alabama not only nabbed the three top recruits in the states of Alabama in Petty, Reese and Jones, the top player in the state of Georgia in Sexton and the top big man in the state of Mississippi in Smith.
"We're excited about this 2017 recruiting class," Johnson said. "All five of the players that have signed their NLI with us, and I would like to thank their families that have committed to us. I am extremely proud of all of the hard work that our assistant coaches and all of our auxiliary staff that has put into us having what we feel is the best recruiting class in the University of Alabama men's basketball history. Now obviously with a recruiting class, they have to come in and develop and be coachable and learn, mature, grow and develop. We have to win some games for it to really be a true, great recruiting class. Times of Wimp Sanderson and C.M. Newton, they had some terrific, high level, pro-like players; we are trying to duplicate and imitate a lot of their success in recruiting and hopefully their success on the court."
Jones, a 6-7, 185-pound guard/forward started for the varsity team at Sunshine High School as a ninth and 10th grader, playing under his father, Walter Jones, before transferring to Hale County High School to close out his final two years. Jones is ranked as the No. 17 shooting guard in the nation according to 247Sports.com, and he's the No. 72 prospect in the country reported by Rivals.com. Capable of playing multiple positions, Hoopseen.com has Jones ranked as the No. 2 prospect in the state of Alabama, while he's ranked as the top small forward in the state and the No. 8 small forward in the southern region according to Scout.com.
In 2015 – his final season at Sunshine – Jones led his team to the Alabama State High School Association (AHSAA) Class 1A state finals. A talented wing player, Jones saw the court on Sunshine's varsity basketball team as early as the seventh grade and he became a consistent contributor to the varsity team as an eighth grader. Last season playing for Hale County, Jones averaged 15.7 points, 7.1 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 2.9 steals per game. Jones is a two-time first-team all-state honoree according to the Sports Writers Association (ASWA), earning a spot on the 1A Honorable Mention All-State Team in 2015, followed by 3A second team all-state honors last season.
Petty comes to Alabama as a consensus five star recruit and top-30 player in the nation. Petty played his first three years at J.O. Johnson High School under head coach Jack Doss, After the closing of J.O. Johnson, the 6-5, 180-pound forward will close out his prep career at Jemison High School in Huntsville, Ala. Petty, who was named 2016 Mr. Basketball in the state of Alabama by the ASWA, is ranked as the top player from the state, while he is ranked the No. 3 shooting guard in the southern region and the top shooting guard in Alabama according to Scout.com. ESPN.com has Petty listed as No. 25 in their top-100 prospects list, No. 8 regionally and the No. 7 two-guard in the nation.
Last season, Petty averaged 19.9 points, 7.1 rebounds, 4.1 assists, 1.8 blocks and 1.8 steals per game while leading J.O. Johnson to a second consecutive 5A state championship in the program's final year. He was named to AL.com's Super All-State Player of the Year, Gatorade Alabama Boys Basketball Player of the Year and Huntsville Region Player of the Year. In addition, Petty was tabbed the 5A state tournament most outstanding player and also earned a spot on the All-Huntsville Region Boys basketball team.
Reese, listed as a 6-9, 225 pound power forward, played at Pelham High School under the direction of head coach Joel Floyd. According to Scout.com, Reese was ranked No. 59 overall in the 2017 class, the No. 7 nationally at the power forward position and the top-ranked player in the region. ESPN.com has Reese ranked as the No. 3 prospect in the state of Alabama.
Last season, Reese earned first team all-state honors by the ASWA after he averaged 25.4 points, 10.9 rebounds and 1.0 blocks per game during his junior season. Reese, who earned a spot on the USA Basketball Junior National Team in 2015, was selected to AL.com's first-team All-Birmingham list last year and was a finalist for the 6A Player of the Year following his junior season.
Sexton is a 6-2, 182 pound point guard who played his high school ball at Pebblebrook under head coach George Washington. The five-star athlete is a consensus top-10 player in the country and is ranked as high as No. 2 point guard prospect in the country and the No. 7 player nationally by 247Sports.com. Furthermore, Sexton ranks No. 9 in the nation according to Scout.com, while ESPN.com ranks him as the 10th-best player in the country. This past summer, Sexton starred for Team USA in the FIBA U17 Championships, leading the team to a Gold Medal at the event. As a result, he was named the FIBA Championship's Most Valuable Player while leading the team in scoring and assists.
Sexton has proved to be an offensive threat, as he was the top scorer in the 2016 EYBL averaging 30.1 points per game. Last season, Sexton navigated his team to the state championship semifinals, as he averaged 28.3 points, 7.4 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 2.1 steals per game. As a result, the Atlanta Journal Constitution selected him as a member of the 2016 All-State Class 6A first team, was named the Cobb County Player of the Year and as well as a member of the 2016 All-Cobb County first team.
Smith, a 6-9, 220-pound center out Clinton, Miss., is a standout performer at Clinton High School under head coach and school athletic director Clay Norton. Smith is ranked as the top big man and the No. 2 overall player in the state of Mississippi, according to 247Sports.com. The same site also ranks Smith as the No. 22 center in the nation in the 2017 class.
Last season, Smith averaged 21.7 points, 11.3 rebounds, 5.1 blocks and 1.5 assists per game on his way to earning first team all-state honors as a junior. He was selected to be on the 2016 North/South Basketball Boys All-Star Team for the state of Mississippi and also earned a spot on the 2016 "Dandy Dozen," awarded to the top 12 high school players in Mississippi.
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