Alabama Basketball Recruiting Profile: F/SG John Petty

Pardon the pun, but Alabama is in a cat fight with Kentucky for the services of the reigning Mr. Basketball in Alabama, SG/F John Petty.

Petty is the 6’5” tweener that Avery Johnson loves so much: He has good size and length, surprising physicality for his 180-pound frame. He loves to play uptempo, and can handle the ball. With the rock in his hand, he can create his own shot and is a strong finisher to the basket. Petty is also a very capable outside- and mid-range jump shooter. He is not noted as a defensive player, but he is a lights-out scorer and playmaker from all areas on the court, such that the tradeoff is more than worth it.

Petty is a 4- or 5-star recruit, depending on the service, and at one point was ESPN’s No. 1 two-guard. His stock has fallen somewhat as the recruiting cycle has continued, mainly because of the emergence and improvement of other players, and no demonstrable dropoff in Petty’s play. Alongside Sexton, you can plainly see the direction Alabama wants to go as a program: a team of uptempo ball handlers that generate off the break and are great shooters in the halfcourt.

John Petty (or Collin Sexton) alone makes Alabama a more interesting and exciting team. To land both would give Alabama the No. 2 recruiting class in the nation behind Arizona, and would very much be in the same ballpark as Saban’s 2008 recruiting class in football.

For now, the Jemison product is a slight Alabama lean, but really it’s a tossup between Alabama and Kentucky for his skills.

Here are some highlights:

Hope for the best, and #buckleup