Alabama’s John Petty Jr. Named Co-SEC Men’s Basketball Player of the Week

Petty helped lift the Crimson Tide to a pair of victories including a career-best 39-point performance

Alabama Athletics

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Alabama guard John Petty Jr. has been selected as the Southeastern Conference Men’s Basketball Co-Player of the Week, the league office announced on Monday. In leading the Crimson Tide to a pair of victories, Petty averaged 26.5 points and 10.5 rebounds in wins against Samford and Belmont.

Petty becomes the first Alabama player to earn SEC Player of the Week honors since Retin Obasohan earned the accolade the week of Feb. 8, 2015. 

It is the third weekly honor in Petty’s three-year career as he was twice named the league’s Freshman of the Week during the 2017-18 season (weeks of Nov. 20, 2017 and Jan. 1, 2018).

The Huntsville, Ala., native opened the week when he matched his own school record with 10 made three-pointers in a 39-point, 10-rebound performance in the 105-87 win over Samford in the Chick-fil-A Birmingham Classic. 

The 6-5, 184-pound junior guard knocked down 10-of-13 shots from deep on his way to scoring the 11-most points in a single game in program history.

He followed that performance with his second consecutive double-double knocking down 4-of-7 shots from beyond the arc to finish with 15 points and a game-high 11 rebounds in the 92-72 win over Belmont at the Rocket City Classic in Huntsville, Ala.

Petty averaged 7.0 made threes per game and finished the week shooting 70.0 percent (14-of-20) from 3-point range. After not registering a double-double through his first 76 career games, Petty has achieved the feat in three of his last five games including two consecutive contests while he has now reached double figures in six of his last seven contests.

He shared the honor with South Carolina guard Jair Bolden, a 6-foot-3, 215-pound junior from Brooklyn, N.Y., had 22 points, two rebounds and a steal in a win at No. 9 Virginia. 

Bolden shot 61.5 percent (8-of-13) from the field and 66.7 percent (4-of-6) from 3-point range in the win. Bolden was dominant in the opening half, scoring 15 of his 22 points in the first 20 minutes of action, and he hit his fourth 3 near the midway point of the second half.