TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) Collin Sexton, Alabama’s dynamic freshman point guard, is heading to the NBA.
Sexton announced his decision on Friday and said he plans to hire an agent. A projected lottery pick, he led Alabama to its first NCAA Tournament berth since 2012, thanks partly to a personal hot streak in the Southeastern Conference Tournament.
”It was tough because I just wanted to make the right decision for me,” Sexton said. ”It’s kind of like with recruiting, you always want to make the right decision.”
Sexton was a consensus top 10 recruit out of Mableton, Georgia. He was the SEC’s No. 2 scorer, averaging 19.2 points per game. The 6-foot-3, 190-pounder was also tied for fifth with an average of 4.5 assists.
He would be Alabama’s first draft pick since Richard Hendrix was selected in the second round of the 2008 draft. The Tide hasn’t had a first-rounder since Gerald Wallace was picked by 25th overall by the Sacramento Kings in 2001.
Sexton said he plans to remain in school this semester. He was flanked by teammates when making the announcement.
Alabama coach Avery Johnson, a former NBA point guard and head coach, said ”one of the great things about Collin is he still goes to class.”
”He didn’t miss class. His goal is to continue to get straight A’s,” Johnson said.
Sexton began and ended his Alabama career on a low note but mostly created highlights in between.
He was held out of the first game thanks to a one-game suspension by the NCAA related to a federal investigation into corruption in college basketball. Sexton finished on the bench after drawing a late technical foul in an 81-58 loss to Villanova in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Sexton’s lone college season was otherwise mostly packed with highlights. He scored 40 points against Minnesota in just his fourth game and also held his own against Oklahoma’s own star freshman, Trae Young, in a Tide victory.
With Alabama’s NCAA hopes on the line, Sexton delivered in the SEC tournament. He had 27 points and drove the length of the floor for a game-winning floater at the buzzer against Texas A&M. Sexton added 31 points in a rout of Auburn and then scored 21 in a semifinal loss to Kentucky.
Sexton came up big again in the NCAA’s first round. He scored 22 of his 25 points in the second half of a win over Virginia Tech for his fifth straight game with 20-plus points.
”The coaches prepare us for stuff like this,” Sexton said after the game. ”They do so many hours of film, and they tell us all the answers to the test.”
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