LOS ANGELES — The unlikely hero of Alabama men’s basketball’s all-time biggest win should still be a senior in high school right now.
Jarin Stevenson only took extra classes to graduate a year early because the Crimson Tide had players leave for the NBA at his position.
Alabama wouldn’t be making its first-ever Final Four appearance next week if Stevenson hadn’t made that decision. The 18-year-old came off the bench to score a season-high 19 points on Saturday night, an unexpected contribution that helped the Tide erase a double-digit first-half deficit and pull away from Clemson for an 89-82 Elite Eight victory.