Alabama Basketball: Avery’s top ’19 prospects trending elsewhere
By Ronald Evans
Top programs are chasing Avery Johnson’s top 2019 Alabama basketball recruits. Avery and Antoine Pettway must fend off UK, KU, IU and others.
The 2019 college basketball recruiting class is strong in the state of Alabama. Avery Johnson, as always, has Alabama basketball at the table with top national recruits. Based on the 247Sports Composite, the state of Alabama has three players inside the Top 100 players in the nation. One is 5-Star, Trendon Watford from Mountain Brook, plus two 4-Stars, Kira Lewis from Hazel Green High School and Kobe Brown from Lee High in Huntsville.
Avery is also very interested in another Alabama player, 4-Star, Jaykwon Walton from Carver in Montgomery. For the past two or three months, the chances for Alabama basketball to sign Watford, Lewis and Walton have looked good. Avery and Antoine have been on Watford and Lewis for a long time. In the case of Lewis, the Tide’s close attention goes back well before he catapulted into being a top national recruit.
Alabama basketball did not get on Walton as early but insiders say Avery has made up lost ground. How good are Watford and Lewis? Watford is rated as the No. 12 player in the nation. Lewis is rated No. 95 and Walton is rated No. 125.
Some previously optimistic Crimson Tide insiders fear Avery has lost the edge for Watford. They fear the same could happen with Kira Lewis any day.
New University of Memphis head coach and former NBA great, Penny Hardaway, is suddenly major competition for top players. Like every major program in the nation, Avery has pursued the No. 1 overall player, James Wiseman. Wiseman is now expected to choose either Kentucky or Memphis.
Penny Hardaway and Trendon Watford
The buzz across the AAU circuit is mostly about Hardaway building at ‘super team’ in Memphis by signing several top 2019 recruits. One of those top recruits is Trendon Watford. On Friday, another top recruit tweeted Watford was trying to recruit him to Memphis.
There is other tough competition for Watford. His brother played at Indiana and the Watford family relationship with Tom Crean is a factor for Georgia. Kansas, Indiana and FSU are other top schools among the close to 20 schools chasing Trendon.
Kira Lewis and Kentucky
For Kira Lewis, it may come down to a battle between Alabama basketball and Kentucky. Lewis grew up a Cats fan. They have not offered him yet but that could change after a weekend visit. Lewis has seen his reputation rise rapidly over the past few months. He is now considered one of the top PG’s in the nation. He has over 30 offers including Kansas, Virginia, Vanderbilt, UCLA, Indiana, Tennessee and Louisville.
The Wildcats already have two even higher rated guards in their 2019 class. Lewis has said he sees the other top signees as a plus for him. A couple of very knowledgeable Alabama insiders are sure Lewis will commit to UK if he gains an offer.
Other Crimson Tide options
If Alabama basketball misses on Watford and Lewis, it will be a big blow. Avery has other good options, though none as good as the Alabama pair. Walton would be a big pickup for the program. He is a little bit like Herbert Jones with talent above his current reputation.
Combo-guard, Austin Crowley from West Point, MS is a good option. The 4-Star player is rated as No. 118 overall in the 2019 class. 4-Star small forwards, Juwan Gary and Diante Smith would also be solid additions to the 2019 class. Of the three, Smith is the most likely commit.
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Alabama basketball fans should not give up on Watford and Lewis. By all reports, the relationships built by Avery and Antoine are strong with both players. That might make the difference at the end.