Lewis and Petty to Enter Draft

Nate Oats announced on a conference call today that junior guard John Petty Jr. and sophomore guard Kira Lewis Jr. will enter their names into the upcoming NBA draft. Oats stated the program is moving forward with the assumption that they will not be returning to the program.

Oats stated they will both go through the pre-draft process and then make a decision to hire an agent or return to school for another year. The Alabama coach commented that he had not spoken to teams about the current projection for Petty Jr. and Lewis Jr. He commented that with the uncertainty of the NBA season that teams had only called to talk about the character of both players.

Petty Jr. is projected to be a mid-second round to undrafted prospect and Lewis Jr. is projected as a mid-first to second round prospect according to Oats.

Oats explained that with the departure of senior James "Beatle" Bolden and freshman Raymond Hawkins in the transfer portal that he expects the 2021 Alabama Crimson Tide would look a lot different from a roster standpoint. Coach Oats expects a new commitment to the program by the end of the week.

Oats claimed the recruiting process was difficult due to travel restrictions amid the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak but stated he and his staff were working the phones of high school players, transfer portal players and graduate transfers in order to improve the 2021 Alabama roster.

Alex Reese was arrested on the Thursday evening of the SEC Tournament cancellation and Oats commented that he was undergoing discipline through the program. Oats said Reese has already met some benchmarks but will need to meet other disciplinary benchmarks upon his return to campus.

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