The University of Alabama will not be accepting Wichita State transfer Jaykwon Walton after the forward was arrested and charged on Reed Street near the Strip with second-degree possession of marijuana last Saturday.
Alabama head coach Nate Oats, who all of a sudden wants to pretend his program has standards, confirmed Walton is no longer being recruited.
Weed Is Where Oats And Alabama Draw The Line
“Alabama is no longer recruiting Jaykwon Walton and he will not be a student-athlete at the University of Alabama,” said Walton in a statement.
According to Tuscaloosa Police, a vehicle that Walton and two others passengers were in had a heavy stench of marijuana. Eventually when officers searched the car, they said they found “a rolling tray, a baggie containing approximately 20 grams of marijuana, and a half-rolled blunt in the passenger side floorboard.”
Of course Alabama men’s basketball team was at the center of a murder investigation this season.
Freshman superstar Brandon Miller, who has since declared for the 2023 NBA draft, drove his car to pick up then-teammate Darius Miles. A gun belonging to Miles was in the car when Miller picked up Miles. It was that gun that Miles gave to Michael Davis, a longtime friend, who subsequently fired it and killed 23-year-old mother Jamea Harris.
There are questions as to whether Miles texted Miller to specifically tell him to bring his gun. How much did Miller know about what was going down and is he in any way responsible?
What About Star Freshman Brandon Miller’s Involvement In A Murder Case This Season?
Despite being murder adjacent, Oats kept his best player on the floor and lauded Miller’s mental toughness to play through the “distraction.” The coach’s comments were so tone deaf he even referred to Miller as “being in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
Harris’ family, including her stepfather Kelvin Heard, did not appreciate the callousness from Oats.
“There was only one person in the wrong place at the wrong time and it was Jamea,” Heard told Al.com. “When I heard him say that my heart hit the floor. His words cut so deep. It’s just downright disrespectful. He brought a gun to where a person was murdered and he did nothing wrong? Jamea could still be alive…This season is stained in Jamea’s blood. After what this coach said, for us as a family, this season is stained in the blood of Jamea Harris and it’s not ever washing out. Coach Oats crossed the line. He said they prayed at practice. They weren’t praying for Jamea. They were praying for their own players.”
Now Oats is not recruiting a kid who was arrested on a misdemeanor marijuana charge? This is where he draws the line, not at a player adjacent to a murder?
Oats’ refusal to even consider sitting Miller and refusing to recruit a kid because of weed is hypocritical. If Walton was an All-American, would Alabama still recruit him?
Walton posted a $500 bond and was released. It is unknown where he will play next season. He averaged 13.9 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.9 assists last season.
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