After the commitment and reclassification of Jarin Stevenson to Alabama over UNC, Nate Oats looked like he had his roster pretty set heading into the dog days of summer and the 2023-24 season. However, veteran guard Jahvon Quinerly surprised Alabama fans on Sunday night by announcing he would be entering the transfer portal and finding somewhere else to use his final year of eligibility.
This comes just over three weeks after Quinerly announced via his Instagram that he would be returning to Alabama for his final season. He released this statement last night:
Jahvon Quinerly released a statement @wvua23 @Tide1009 pic.twitter.com/Zn7ihLnrIc
— Gary L. Harris (@garyharris_wvua) June 26, 2023
Alabama, which had only one roster spot left that it likely would not have filled before Quinerly’s departure, could now look to bring in another guard. Nate Oats returns Mark Sears and Rylan Griffen from last year’s team as well as bringing in Aaron Estrada and Latrell Wrightsell Jr. from the transfer portal, so there is still depth at the position.
Value that cannot be measured however was the veteran experience that Quinerly was going to bring to the team. For all his ups and downs, he helped to lead Alabama to 4 total SEC titles and two Sweet 16 appearances and would have been a valuable piece on this year’s team.
We will keep an eye on where Quinerly ends up and whether or not Alabama chooses to bring in another player to take his spot.
