Grant Nelson hopes to return to Alabama if he does not remain in NBA Draft

Alabama forward Grant Nelson put together a rather impressive Final Four performance in the loss vs. UConn, and afterwards, the senior spoke on his future plans.

Nelson is part of the final class which qualifies for the extra COVID year of eligibility, so he has the option to return to school if he so chooses. According to The Tuscaloosa News, another year with the Crimson Tide is on the table, but Nelson also says he wants to try out the NBA Draft process with the hope of getting picked.

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Here was his comment on the matter immediately after the game:

“If I do come back to college, I’m hoping it’s Alabama. I’m definitely going to talk to my agent, talk to the coaches, see what’s best for me. Hopefully I can enter the draft process and get drafted this year. But if all else fails, hopefully it’s Alabama coming back.”

He also notes that it’s “hopefully” Alabama coming back, which doesn’t rule out a potential transfer, say, if another school comes through and Godfather offers him a load of NIL money.

Seems unlikely Alabama wouldn’t do anything they could to keep him if he does opt to come back to college, but we’ll just have to wait and see how it all plays out.

More on Alabama-UConn

By Chandler Vessels

UConn is heading back to the national title game for the second straight season after yet another dominant performance to beat Alabama in the Final Four. The Huskies defeated the Crimson Tide by a score of 86-72 on Saturday, using an all-around effort to get the job done.

Alabama did all it could to keep it close throughout and the scored was knotted at 56 as late as 12:04 left to play. However, UConn took over in the final moments to go on an 11-2 run from that point and pull away.

All five Huskies starters finished in double figures as Stephon Castle led the way with 21 points. Donovan Clingan also chipped in 18 points while Tristen Newton played the role of distributor with nine assists.

Mark Sears did all he could in the loss to finish with a game-high 24 points in the loss. He made several key shots late, but unfortunately couldn’t keep up with the depth of the Huskies. Grant Nelson also had a big game for the Crimson Tide with 19 points and 15 rebounds.

It wasn’t quite the dominant performance that we have become accustomed to seeing out of UConn in this tournament. Although the Huskies had previously cruised to victories in their four games prior, Alabama refused to go down quietly. The Crimson Tide went scoreless during a five-minute stretch in the second half that proved to be the difference.

The national title appearance is the sixth for UConn, which has won all five of its previous appearances. They will take on Purdue, which was never won a national championship in its history, for the crown on Monday.