Alabama guard Kris Parker plans to enter NCAA transfer portal
Alabama freshman guard Kris Parker plans to enter his name into the NCAA transfer portal, BamaOnLine has learned, becoming the first Crimson Tide player to transfer following the 2023-24 season. On3 national basketball reporter Joe Tipton was the first to break the news.
Before the season, head coach Nate Oats and the Alabama staff were envisioning Parker filling a role similar to former Tide standout Herb Jones, who starred in Tuscaloosa for four years before being drafted in the second round (No. 35 overall) by the New Orleans Pelicans in 2021. Jones has since become one of the NBA’s budding stars.
“We’re trying to sell him on kind of that Herb Jones defensive role,” Oats told reporters at SEC Tipoff ’24 in October. “He’s definitely not to Herb Jones’ level on defense, but he has some physical tools to get there. He could be a versatile defender.”
Instead, Parker redshirted his first season at Alabama after missing the first two games with an eye abrasion. The 6-foot-9, 195-pound forward did help the Crimson Tide while playing on the scout team during their recent Final Four run, though. The redshirt was beneficial for Parker.
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“He just told me that he feels like in order to dominate, I would have to take this year off,” Parker told BOL. “Just being the player that they want me to be, putting on weight and developing, that’s all it really was. I think I’ve progressed a lot, definitely. I think I got a lot better this year and just continuing to do so.”
Coming out of Crossroad Academy in Quincy, Fla., this past cycle, Parker was a highly-coveted forward prospect. The On3 Industry Rankings that year had him rated as a 4-star recruit, the No. 108 player nationally, the No. 28 small forward and the No. 10 player from the state of Florida. Parker chose Alabama over Villanova, Missouri and UCF.
Parker averaged 24.8 points, 14.2 rebounds, 7.1 assists and 2.4 blocks per game as a senior at Crossroad Academy. That success helped him land Florida’s Class 2A Player of the Year honors while leading his high school team to a 2A District 1 title in his final season.
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