Jarin Stevenson should be planning his high school prom at the moment. Instead, he spent Saturday night taking the lead for Alabama in the Big Dance.
The reclassified freshman skipped his final year of high school to get a jumpstart on his college career. Now, he’s trading his graduation ceremony for a net-cutting one
“I feel like I made the right decision,” Jarin said with a smile and an ‘Alabama Final Four’ hat on in the locker room. “[I’m] happy to be here. I feel like I’m getting better here and I feel like I made the right decision.”
Stevenson had his best game of the season in Alabama’s biggest game in program history. He scored 19 points, buried five 3-pointers, grabbed three rebounds and had a pair of blocks. He became Alabama’s latest player to take over a game in the NCAA Tournament after Grant Nelson did it against North Carolina and Mouhamed Dioubate made key plays against Grand Canyon.
“Jarin, shoot, season-high in the biggest game of his life,” Alabama coach Nate Oats said. “He hit big shot after big shot, made tough play after tough play. He grew up tonight.”
Stevenson’s night didn’t start the way a player who makes five 3s in an NCAA Tournament game typically does. He airballed two of his first attempts from beyond the arc. For an 18-year-old who should still be in high school playing on the biggest stage, that could easily knock your confidence. But it didn’t knock Stevenson’s.
“It’s mainly just practice,” Stevenson said. “I knew just from practice I could knock those shots down. I was focusing on the next shot. Even though I air-balled one or two 3, but just focusing on the next shot really just helped me shoot better.”
It’s a mantra that Oats has tried to drill into all of his players this season — keep taking shots and the shots will fall. Stevenson listened and was rewarded with his best game on the brightest stage. When Clemson wouldn’t go away hitting late 3s, it was Stevenson spotting up in the corner ready to receive a wraparound pass from Mark Sears or another driving Alabama guard.
It hasn’t always been smooth sailing for Stevenson this season. He came to Alabama with an injury, preventing him from fully participating in Alabama’s summer weight program. He only scored more than 10 points once in SEC play and saw the floor for just eight minutes and scored zero in Alabama’s first matchup against Clemson in November.
Stevenson kept grinding. He worked with former Alabama forward Erwin Dudley to improve his post game. On top of that, he spent time with Alabama strength coach Henry Barrera, who helped make up for that lost ground in the summer and prepare to face the nation’s best forwards.
Saturday night, it was his teammates who pushed him through some early struggles.
“I kept telling him throughout the game — I think he passed up like only one 3 that I threw him,” Tide guard Aaron Estrada said. “I said, ‘Man just shoot the ball. Be confident. You’re built for this. You put the work in.’ He was shooting them, and he started making them.”
Alabama had yet another unlikely hero in the NCAA Tournament and Stevenson kept the Tide dancing. While many kids his age are hoping for their dream prom, Stevenson was dreaming of making a trip to the Final Four. He played a significant part in making that dream come true Saturday.
