Devonta Pollard commits to Alabama
Marc Torrence | Jun 01, 2012 | Comments 2
Photo courtesy of 247 Sports
Alabama basketball and head coach Anthony Grant received their first and only commitment for the 2012 class just in time, and it’s a big one.
Devonta Pollard, a 6-foot-8, 205-pound forward, announced today that he will be signing with the Crimson Tide and will be eligible to play in the upcoming 2012-2013 season. He chose Alabama ahead of Texas, Georgetown, Missouri and LSU among others.
247 Sports rates Pollard as a five-star prospect, the eighth-best small forward and 26th overall prospect in the class of 2012. Rivals.com calls Pollard a five-star prospect, seventh-best at his position and 22nd-best overall.
This past season, he averaged 23.8 points, 15.7 rebounds and 5.1 blocked shots and was named Mr. Basketball in the state of Mississippi as well as a McDonald’s All-American.
Pollard immediately fills a hole for Alabama in a position of dire need. With JaMychal Green graduated and the departure of Tony Mitchell and Charles Hankerson, Jr., the Tide was left with just Moussa Gueye, Carl Engstrom and Nick Jacobs in the front court. Pollard will have a chance to start from day one for Alabama and immediately takes the Tide from middle-of-the-pack in the SEC to conference contenders.
“Obviously Pollard is a huge get for multiple reasons including the fact that grabbing a national 5-star caliber kid this late in the recruiting process gives any team a huge boost. For Alabama it’s a chance to get some instant help for the minutes lost with Jamychal Green and Tony Mitchell leaving. He’s a national recruit in every sense and Anthony Grant is battling many of the top programs for his signature.” BamaOnline.com’s Tim Watts told al.com before the commitment.
“Pollard is a guy who is going to make his presence felt on the offensive and defensive glass. He’s a strong post player who has worked on developing his outside skills but I think he’s most dangerous in transition or with offensive put backs. He’s athletic and defensively can guard multiple positions.”
Filed Under: Recruiting
[...] a five-star prospect from Mississippi, committed to Alabama on June 1 and was the Tide’s lone signee for the class of 2012. But already, Pollard is showing why he [...]