Advertisement
basketball Edit

Alabama guard Nimari Burnett discusses 'very tough decision' to transfer

Alabama guard Mark Sears (1) and Alabama guard Nimari Burnett (25) enjoy the final minutes of the Crimson Tide s win over Maryland at Legacy Arena during the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Alabama advanced to the Sweet Sixteen with a 73-51 win over Maryland. Photo | Gary Cosby Jr.-Tuscaloosa News
Alabama guard Mark Sears (1) and Alabama guard Nimari Burnett (25) enjoy the final minutes of the Crimson Tide s win over Maryland at Legacy Arena during the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Alabama advanced to the Sweet Sixteen with a 73-51 win over Maryland. Photo | Gary Cosby Jr.-Tuscaloosa News

Just a day after news broke of his decision to transfer, Alabama guard Nimari Burnett told The Next Round it was a "very tough decision" to leave the program.

Burnett spent two seasons in crimson and white but missed the entire 2021-22 campaign recovering from a torn ACL that he suffered at Texas Tech. When he was finally able to get back onto the floor, Burnett started the first nine games for Alabama before suffering a wrist injury that kept him out for over a month.

Despite an injury-riddled tenure in Tuscaloosa, Burnett still enjoyed playing for Alabama.

"I enjoyed my time with this group this season," Burnett said. "Doesn’t take away from the fact that it’s a special group, a special team and a special program."

When Burnett returned from wrist surgery, Jaden Bradley had taken his spot in the starting lineup, forcing the former McDonald's All-American to come off the bench in a reserve role. When asked if his decision to transfer aligns with the public perception that players enter the portal because of playing time and their relationship with the head coach, Burnett alluded that playing time was a factor but noted his relationship with the coaching staff wasn't sour.

"When it comes to the players on the coaching staff, it wasn’t like I was super disgruntled and hated everything — no," Burnett said. "This is one place where it was a actually very tough decision. There was a lot of thought going into it the last few days. Like, it’s tough. I don’t want to leave this place and what I’ve built and what this team has built over this past year."

Burnett said he and Alabama coach Nate Oats maintained a "great relationship throughout the season," but also noted there were times when it wavered. Despite that, the third-year guard didn't completely shut the door on a return to Tuscaloosa or if he was joining Charlie Henry at Georgia Southern or Bryan Hodgson at Arkansas State.

"I’m definitely open to all options," Burnett said. "Taking a [second] to just gather everything, gather all the information I need to make a great decision for myself. Just looking forward to that and looking forward to that process, and also being smart with it, doing some research and studying who are the options that I have."

Along with his own news of transferring, Burnett was also asked if he heard of any other names that were going to be transferring from Alabama over the coming weeks.

"I have no idea" Burnett said. "That's a great question, but we'll see for sure."

Advertisement