Amari Allen Announces Return to Alabama Men’s Basketball

Alabama men's basketball forward Amari Allen announced he will return to the Crimson Tide for his sophomore season, withdrawing from the NBA draft, via Yea Alabama.

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Allen, a 6-foot-5, 205-pound small forward, spent one season with the Crimson Tide as a true freshman before declaring for the NBA draft. As a true freshman, the Green Bay, Wisconsin, native averaged 11.4 points, 6.9 rebounds, 3.1 assists, and 1.0 steals per game for the Crimson Tide on 44.6% shooting from the floor and 34.1% from three-point range. Allen was the Crimson Tide's fourth-leading scorer last season, playing in 32 games with 24 starts last season for head coach Nate Oats and the Crimson Tide.

His top performance for Alabama last season came in the Tide's second game of SEC play, where he scored 25 points and had 11 rebounds in a 96-90 loss. He had five double-doubles for the Tide last season and had two double-digit scoring efforts for Alabama in the NCAA tournament against Hofstra (11 points) and Texas Tech (12 points).

Allen's return is a major retention for the Crimson Tide, as Alabama has one primary ball handler on the roster, Aden Holloway, who is currently in the midst of a legal battle. Allen told SI Now's Kevin Sweeney that he would need a 'first-round promise' to stay in the NBA draft this season. Allen also told Sweeney that Oats told him he would "have the ball in his hands a lot" as an on-ball playmaker for the Crimson Tide.

Wyatt Fulton is the Tide 100.9 DME and Brand Manager, primarily covering Alabama Crimson Tide football and men's basketball. For more Crimson Tide coverage, follow Wyatt on X (Formerly known as Twitter) at @FultonW_.