Alabama F Noah Gurley Discusses Decision to Return for Extra Season

Gurley will be using his extra COVID year of eligibility in order to play a sixth season of college basketball and his second with the Crimson Tide.

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — On the Feb. 24 edition of Alabama basketball coach Nate Oats' weekly show, Oats revealed that graduate forward Noah Gurley would be returning for his sixth season of college basketball in the fall of 2022.

Gurley transferred from Furman for his graduate season last offseason, and will be using his extra COVID year of eligibility for one last trip as a college athlete. On Tuesday, Gurley spoke for the first time about his return, saying that a second season with the Crimson Tide had always been in the back of his mind.

“I knew it would always be a possibility just because I had the extra COVID year,” Gurley said. “And then the way this year is going so far and just being comfortable with the team and the program and stuff, I feel comfortable and confident in coming back.”

So far this season, Gurley has made 11 starts, including three of the last four games. He is averaging 7.4 points and 3.6 rebounds per game with a season high 20 points and 10 rebounds against Tennessee on Dec. 29. He will be the most experienced player in Alabama's frontcourt next season.

While at Furman, Gurley played against Alabama on two occasions. According to the man himself on Tuesday, Gurley said that those two matchups combined with watching the team's success were the reasons that he decided to transfer to join the Crimson Tide.

“I really liked the way they play, just playing fast, up-tempo and playing free,” Gurley said. “And they play hard. And then obviously they go win the SEC the same year we played them. Just kinda inspirational just being on the same court with them guys and then seeing them go and accomplish their goals just off the formula. You know, just playing hard, max effort, selfless love. I got a good impression from them from the two years playing them.”

Alabama stands to benefit from the experience that Gurley will bring back with him for the 2022-23 season. Seniors Keon Ellis and James Rojas are slated to depart the program as well as walk-ons Tyler Barnes and Britton Johnson. With Gurley returning and now with an SEC season under his belt, his experience on the frontcourt will be highly coveted on a relatively young Alabama team.

Oats also pointed out that Gurley can also gain valuable skills in his final season that can not only help prepare him for the next level of basketball, but make him stand out as a skilled shooter that could potentially be a solid draft selection.

“He benefits from getting to play a second full season at a high-major level in a system that he’s now comfortable with,” Oats said. “I don’t think he got comfortable in our system until midway through the year and I think as his comfort level grew, he got more comfortable making shots as he knew where they were going to come from. He’s a shooter that I think with the work that he puts in and will put in this offseason, he can be a 40-percent shooter from 3 as a big.

"If you’re able to step out and make 3s like he can and I think he will next year, I think he can prove he can play professionally for a lot of money for a long time with his skillset.”

This story will be updated with video from Tuesday's press conference.

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