Jahvon Quinerly wasn’t allowed to suit up for Alabama basketball last season, but that didn’t stop the transfer guard from routinely being the last one off the court following games inside Coleman Coliseum.
Quinerly, who transferred to the Crimson Tide from Villanova last year, was forced to sit out the 2019-20 season after the NCAA denied his eligibility waiver. While the former McDonalds All-American was commonly referred to as one of Alabama’s best players during practice, Tide fans have yet to see the star guard in action.
That is unless they happened to linger inside Coleman Coliseum following games last season.
While the rest of his teammates hit the showers, Quinerly returned to the court. Sometimes he’d be seen drilling 3s well beyond the arc. Other times, he’d work off his anxiousness by running up and down aisles of the empty arena.
“To be honest in the beginning it was tough for me,” Quinerly said. “Just the reality of not being able to play, not being able to play with my teammates. It was tough. Obviously, for anyone that would have to sit out a year, it’d be tough.
“I feel like once the season really started and I’m still practicing with guys, still going head to head with Kira Lewis every day in practice, it kind of gave me a different perspective. Maybe this happened for a reason… That was probably the biggest thing for me, turning a negative into a positive.”
Quinerly, a former five-star recruit, was the No. 31 player overall in the 2018 class. He originally committed to Arizona out of high school but ended up at Villanova after he was involved in an FBI probe concerning former Arizona assistant coach Emanuel "Book" Richardson.
Quinerly had a quiet freshman season at Villanova, averaging 3.2 points while registering just one minute of action over the team’s final eight games. However, much of that slow start has been attributed to the FBI probe as the 6-foot-1, 175-pound point guard is expected to take on a key role for Alabama this season.
“For me, I wasn’t having fun anymore while I was there,” Quinerly said of his time at Villanova. “I play basketball because I love playing the game, and I kind of lost that love for the game while I was there. That’s why I decided to transfer.
“Obviously the fit, I just didn’t feel like I fit their system, and I kind of wanted to play in a faster-paced system that (Nate) Oats and Coach B (Bryan Hodgson) have presented me.”
Last month, Alabama head coach Nate Oats spoke highly of Quinerly, stating he would be the natural replacement for departing point guard Kira Lewis, who is expected to be selected in the first round of next week’s NBA Draft.
“He’s been really good here over the last week or two,” Oats said. “I think he’s going to help us tremendously. We needed him. That’s why we got him because we were anticipating Kira (Lewis) having a pretty good year. He’s going to be good for us.”
More than a year removed from his last competitive game, Quinerly will finally get the opportunity to make his Alabama debut later this month as the Tide opens its season against Stanford on Nov. 30 as part of the Maui Invitational in Asheville, N.C. The redshirt sophomore says he’s anxious to make up for lost time.
“Words can’t really explain,” Quinerly said. “Most of you know I haven’t played in a pretty long time. I’m just very excited for the next three weeks leading into the season and finally being able to put an Alabama jersey on and play for this school, play for my coaches. Basically show all the work I’ve put in these past two years."
Brotherly love
There may be more than one Quinerly making his Alabama debut this season. Along with Jahvon returning to the court, the Tide will also welcome in his younger brother Jaden who joined the team as a walk-on freshman this offseason.
Like his older brother, Jaden, 6-foot, 155 pounds, plays the guard position. During his senior year of high school last season, he earned first-team All-North New Jersey honors averaging 13.0 points, 3.3 assists, 3.0 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game.
“I know that I play very good defense,” Jaden said in a video released by the team. “I’m fast. I’m in shape. And my goal is to just try and make my teammates better.”
When asked why he chose Alabama, Jaden said being close to his brother would give him a platform to get better every day. Thursday Jahvon echoed that sentiment, stating it would be nice to have another familiar face on the roster this season.
“It’s amazing,” Jahvon said. “Being 13, 14 hours away from New Jersey, it’s tough. Having him being able to come out here with me and get better with me every day together, it’s amazing. That’s the main word I can give for you. I needed that little piece of home with me out here. It’s tough being away from my family. I’m a family man, and it’s just great having him there.”
Oats provides injury report on Tchikou
Even after suffering a season-ending Achilles injury last month freshman Alex Tchikou has been a sight to see during practice. At 6-foot-11, the forward had an awkward time adjusting to crutches and was issued a scooter to help him get around. Now the Tide is having a tough time slowing him down on the court.
“He’s buzzing all over in practice on his little scooter with his leg up in the air,” Oats said with a laugh Thursday.
Oats provided an update on Tchikou, stating the freshman had a checkup with Dr. Norman Waldrop of Andrews Sports Medicine on Wednesday. The head coach said the freshman’s surgery well and that the stitches look good. Tchikou is even beginning to be cleared for limited upper-body work in the weight room.
While the loss of the highly-rated signee serves as a blow to the Tide’s depth this season, Oats said the team will look to use this time as an opportunity to add more muscle to Tckikou’s wiry 6-foot-11, 225-pound frame.
“We’re going to try to put a lot of weight on him here while he sits out this year,” Oats said. “That’s a big goal of ours. He’s obviously skilled for his size, he’s just a little long and thin. If we could get him bulked up, 6-11, close to 245 maybe at 240-245 in that range, we’re going to try.
“It’s hard to gain weight when you’re practicing every day and playing in games, exerting that amount of energy cardiovascular wise. Now that he’s unable to do that, I think it’s a great time to put the weight on.”
Tchikou, a native of Paris, France who played at Dream City Christian School in Glendale, Ariz. last season, is rated as the No. 36 overall player and No. 6 power forward in this year’s class. On top of bulking up, the former four-star recruit also aims to use his time away from the court to familiarize himself with Oats’ system to prepare for next season.
“He’s great. He’s talking. His energy is good,” Oats said. ‘We want to make sure we keep him engaged the whole time. He told me he’s trying to go through and watch every one of our games last year. We’ve got a Hudl login that he’s got, so he’s been watching.
“He was talking to me yesterday in practice about a game he was watching. I think he was up to the Mississippi State game at our place last year. He’s trying to learn everything he can about our system.”
Kira to the Knicks?
Two years ago Collin Sexton snapped Alabama’s 10-year draft drought when he was selected by the Cleveland Cavaliers with the No. 8 pick in the 2008 NBA draft. Those types of dry spells seem to be a thing of the past.
Kira Lewis Jr. is expected to hear his name called during the first round of next week’s NBA draft with some projections placing the former Tide point guard inside the top 10.
During his sophomore season, the Meridianville, Ala. native earned All-SEC honors after leading the Crimson Tide in scoring (18.5 ppg), assists (5.2 apg), steals (1.8 spg), minutes (37.6 mpg) and field goals made (206). He also shot a respectable 45.9 percent from the floor and 36.6 percent from beyond the arc. That combined with nice ball-handling skills and elite speed makes him an enticing option for several NBA scouts.
“Honestly from the end of our season until now, I think every NBA team (has reached out,” Oats said. “If it’s not every it’s all but two or three. Just about all of them have reached out to do their due diligence on it… He’s got zero red flags as a kid. He's a great person off the floor. He works hard, he's in the gym.”
Last month, Oats had a FaceTime call with Lewis as well as New York Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau, general manager Scott Perry and senior vice president William Wesley. Thursday, Oats’ was asked about the conversation as well as the Knicks’ interest in his former guard.
“They’ve got a great staff there with New York,” Oats said. “No idea where that's going. I’m sure they’re going around interviewing all kinds of people leading into the draft. I don't want people to take to much out of it. It's just a common connection. I coached Kira and I knew those guys from my time in Detroit. They were good guys, and I’m sure they wanted to make Kira feel a little more welcome.”
The Knicks hold the No. 8 pick in the draft, a bit higher than where Lewis is being projected to land. However, if the point guard was to end up in New York, Oats certainly wouldn’t mind.
“It will be interesting to see where he falls in the draft,” Oats said. “I'd love to see him go to New York. I think he’d be great there. Shoot, I'd like to come to New York and watch a few games. So he’d give me a good reason to come up to New York and watch some games when our season is over."
Last edited:
