'He grew up tonight': Jarin Stevenson's best game helps send Tide to Final Four
LOS ANGELES – Jarin Stevenson is known within the Alabama locker room as “J-Smooth.”
The freshman forward lived up to his nickname on Saturday night, head coach Nate Oats said, as he helped lead the Crimson Tide to an 89-82 victory over Clemson in the Elite Eight.
Stevenson matched his season-high for minutes played with 25 and set new career-bests with 19 points off the bench. He also attempted (8) and made (5) more threes than he has all season long as he was the latest player to step up during Alabama’s NCAA Tournament run.
“Shoot, season high in the biggest game of his life, hit big shot after big shot, made tough play after tough play. He grew up tonight,” Oats said. “Shoot, 19 points on 11 shots is pretty efficient basketball. Super proud of Jarin.”
Stevenson subbed into the game before the first media timeout and missed his first two shots from beyond the arc, including an airball on his second attempt, but the freshman didn’t let that affect him, as he made five of his next six 3s. That came from practice, he said.
“I knew just from practice I can knock those shots down,” Stevenson said. “I’m just focusing on the next shot. Even though, yeah, I airballed one or two 3s, just focusing on the next shot, really just helping me shoot better.”
When the Crimson Tide trailed Clemson, 26-13, with less than eight minutes left in the first half, Stevenson helped ignite the 22-6 run that Alabama went on before intermission. He made a pair of 3s in the team’s initial 8-0 streak. Stevenson also made some clutch shots in the second half, matching Joe Girard III on two of the Tiger guard’s five second-half triples.
“We don’t win this game without him,” senior guard Mark Sears said. “When Girard was going off from three, Jarin hit three after three after three and kept us in the ball game. He was huge tonight.”
Senior guard Aaron Estrada added, “Jarin, he grew up tonight. I kept telling him throughout the game – I think he passed only one three I threw to him. I said, ‘Just shoot the ball. Be confident. You’re built for this. You put the work in.’ He was shooting them and he started making them.”
Stevenson has played in all 36 of Alabama’s games this season after joining the Crimson Tide last summer. He reclassified from the 2024 cycle, and the 6-foot-11, 210-pound freshman from Seaforth (N.C.) High School has seemingly improved as his first year progressed.
Stevenson didn’t play much the last time the Tide and Tigers played back on Nov. 28, logging only eight minutes in Alabama’s loss in the ACC/SEC Challenge. But he came up big on a much bigger stage, especially in helping UA limited Clemson big man PJ Hall, who fouled out of the game with 14 points and four rebounds after scoring 21 points in Tuscaloosa.
What changed in his mentality as he helped to hold Hall to 6-of-14 from the field?
“Just working on my post defense and physicality,” Stevenson said. “I’m working with Coach (Erwin Dudley), he taught me a few things, different things and holding my ground in the post and what to look out for. He taught me a lot of things. And working out with (Henry Barrera), too, our strength coach. He got me stronger and ready for this moment.”
The confidence his older teammates have in him also helped Stevenson have his best game, providing yet another example of how Patrick Murphy’s “mudita” is fueling this squad.
“With my two air-ball 3s, my guys had my back,” Stevenson said. “They wanted me to keep shooting. Every time I went to the bench, the guys are high-fiving me and having my back and cheering me on. And every time I was on the bench, we locked each other’s arms and clapped and chant ‘defense’ and stuff like that. I felt like it was there today.”
Stevenson helped Alabama cut down the nets for the first time and earned the Hard Hat Award for the most blue-collar points on the team. His showing was one of Sears’ favorite moments of the NCAA Tournament, as his sharpshooting sent the Tide to the Final Four.
“J-Smooth, that’s his nickname,” Oats said. “He was smooth tonight.”
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