Bryan Passink gives his impressions of Jarin Stevenson and Sam Walters
Bryan Passink gives his impressions of Jarin Stevenson and Sam Walters
Transcript
00:00 talking to Brian Pastnick from Crimson Tide Sports Network, former Alabama Crimson Tide
00:03 basketball player as well about Alabama's 105-73 victory over Moorhead State last night
00:09 in Coleman Coliseum.
00:10 Let me shift your focus to two of the freshmen that played last night.
00:13 They've kind of got a little bit of excitement around them.
00:17 Jaron Stevenson, obviously reclassifying, and Alabama has had a little bit of recent
00:22 success with reclassified players, Kyra Lewis and Joshua Premo.
00:26 So reclassified, Coach talked about it in his post-game comments afterwards, saying
00:32 that Jaron Stevenson, a couple of minutes there, looked about as good as we wanted him
00:37 to.
00:38 And then Sam Walters as well.
00:39 Sam Walters told us last Friday that he had gained 20 pounds since the time he's come
00:45 onto campus, from 179 to 205.
00:48 And it looks like he could be, probably not going to be in your first five, but a pretty
00:54 decent little contributor off the bench.
00:56 What did you see out of those two guys?
00:58 Long, stretchy, long and lanky guys, but both seem like they have a unique skill set.
01:04 Yeah, really talented players.
01:06 I mean, Jaron Stevenson, first of all, the fact that Alabama goes to North Carolina,
01:13 right outside Chapel Hill, and is in a recruiting battle with the University of North Carolina,
01:21 where not only does he have proximity ties, but I believe his mother played basketball
01:28 there.
01:29 There are North Carolina ties there.
01:31 Alabama goes and beats an in-state player because of what this Bama program has been
01:39 able to do in winning championships, in developing players, and the system is really mind-blowing.
01:47 I didn't ever think I'd see the day that Alabama basketball would go to Chapel Hill,
01:53 North Carolina, and get a player that North Carolina desperately wanted.
01:58 And Jaron Stevenson, before he reclassified, was ranked the number one power forward in
02:03 the 24 class.
02:05 So obviously, there's a ton of talent there.
02:09 So many similarities to Noah Clowney.
02:10 I mean, they wear the same number, same body type.
02:14 I think Jaron is a little better shooter from the three-point line, and maybe a little more
02:21 seasoned on the offensive end.
02:22 But again, Noah Clowney was one of the most underrated defenders in college basketball.
02:27 I think Jaron Stevenson does a good job on the defensive end, can get better in those
02:32 areas.
02:33 So they're not exactly the same players, but man, I love the similarities, because Noah
02:37 Clowney obviously had an incredible freshman year.
02:41 Everybody expected him to be a one and done and go in the first round.
02:45 And we'll see what happens with Jaron.
02:48 And Sam Walters, boy, he showed us all what he could do in the exhibition game against
02:54 TCU.
02:55 Comes in off the bench at 6'9", hits 7-3, 7 for 10 from the three-point line, scores
03:01 29 points in that game.
03:04 And Moorhead State, they were not letting him get a three off.
03:08 And you could tell that was a scouting report.
03:10 And I thought he did a nice job taking what the defense gives him.
03:14 But there are going to be nights where Sam Walters goes off, and at his size and his
03:18 aggressiveness and mindset and ability to shoot the three, those two freshmen are going
03:23 to be a whole lot of fun to watch.
03:24 [BLANK_AUDIO]