Grant Nelson: Alabama must use Final Four loss as motivation next season

Alabama‘s first trip to the Final Four ended in disappointing fashion, falling to UConn 86-72 on Saturday.

Grant Nelson, who has the option of returning to to Tuscaloosa for one more season, scored 19 points and hauled in 15 rebounds during the contest. Despite his best efforts, the Huskies pulled away in the second half.

After the loss, Nelson provided an initial reflection on the Crimson Tide’s historic season.

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“Great group. I mean, I feel like we all loved each other,” Nelson said. “It was tough seeing guys like Aaron Estrada play their last basketball game. We just told each other we made history. Didn’t end the way we wanted it to. We can’t hang our heads on this season. We have to use this game as motivation going into the next year.”

Another player with one more year of eligibility remaining, Mark Sears, did all he could in the loss. He finished with a game-high 24 points, making several key shots late, but couldn’t keep up with the Huskies.

Sears was one of the SEC’s biggest stars this season. Averaging 21.5 points on a 43.6 percent 3-point percentage during his senior year, Sears dazzled in his final act of the season.

For Nelson, he now has a choice to make between declaring for the 2024 NBA Draft and coming back to school for one more year. Transferring into the program after three seasons at North Dakota State, it wouldn’t be a situation where he feels the need to enter the transfer portal.

Alabama head coach Nate Oats said that he’d welcome Nelson back next season, but wants his big man to ultimately make the best choice for him and said family.

“I’m sure his draft stock has risen in the tournament,” said Oats, via On3’s Alex Weber. “Particularly, how he played against — was it Carolina where he had 24-12-5. He’s one of the four players in the history of the tournament to do that against a single-digit seed. I think it was him, Shaq, Tim Duncan and Channing Frye.”

The deadline to for Nelson and Sears to declare for the 2024 NBA Draft is April 27 with the lottery being drawn on May 12. This year’s draft wil take place across two nights in Brooklyn on June 26 and 27.