Nate Oats' Alabama loses another prime weapon Jarin Stevenson to NBA draft after Mark Sears makes decision ahead of 2024 season

The Alabama Crimson Tide basketball stars Jarin Stevenson and Mark Sears have declared for the 2024 NBA draft.

Stevenson announced his decision on Tuesday. However, the freshman forward has until May 29 to withdraw his name and return to Alabama.

However, according to Sports Illustrated, Stevenson is expected to withdraw his name and return to Alabama for the 2024 season. By declaring for the draft, Stevenson can get a sense of the NBA teams' interest in him.

Stevenson was a five-star recruit in the 2024 class before reclassifying to 2023 and joining Alabama as a 17-year-old.

Throughout the season, Stevenson improved with his physicality, and in January, head coach Nate Oats praised Stevenson.

"He's got more confidence, he's playing more aggressive," Oats said (via Sports Illustrated). "He's more consistent with his physicality. We saw he could be more physical right away on campus, it just showed up once or twice a day. Now it's a lot more frequent. It's more of his DNA that he can do it on every play. He's learning the system, defensively he's playing with a little bit more of an edge. He's got a lot better sense of urgency to him."

Stevenson averaged 5.3 points and 2.7 rebounds while shooting 31.7% beyond the arc last season.

Who else from Alabama has entered the NBA draft?

Mark Sears is the only other player from Alabama who has declared for the 2024 NBA draft.

Sears was arguably the top player in Alabama last season as the guard averaged 21.5 ppg, 4.2 rpg and 4.0 assists per game.

The other player that was rumored to possibly enter the NBA draft was Grant Nelson after a successful NCAA Tournament. But he is returning for his final season.

However, Nelson has decided to return to college. Last season at Alabama, Nelson averaged 11.9 ppg, 5.9 rpg and 1.6 blocks.