Jarin Stevenson talks about playing against UNC
When North Carolina and Alabama meet in Thursday’s Sweet 16 game in Los Angeles, Crimson Tide forward Jarin Stevenson will face off against a program his very familiar with.
Stevenson grew up near the Chapel Hill campus and made a few different trips there during his recruitment. He knows coaches and players but opted to pick Alabama over the Tar Heel back in the Summer of 2023 and then reclassify to start playing right away. Now, he faces off against the program that recruited him hard.
“I watched quite a bit of North Carolina basketball,” Stevenson said. “I was 10 minutes away from their campus. So I watched quite a bit. I know a lot of their coaches, a lot of their players. Yeah, it’s definitely surreal, just a full-circle moment for sure playing North Carolina.”
In addition to living close to the university, Stevenson’s mother played at North Carolina and his father played against the Tar Heels in college. The Tar Heels were considered the heavy favorites to land him before he went to Alabama, making a bit of a shocking decision in the end.
But he had his reasons with the biggest one being that he could make a bigger impact right away at:
“I felt like I could make a bigger impact here,” Stevenson said. “I love the offense here, with it playing fast and stuff I thought I could improve here more. That was the main decision. I feel like I’m getting better, just different things, seeing the ball. I feel like it’s going to show, especially next year.”
“It was a hard decision. I love the school, for sure, Carolina’s a great school. Getting to know the players and coaches, and seeing the facilities, it’s a great school. It was a hard decision.”
The Tar Heels are hoping they can spoil Stevenson’s plans months after he spoiled what could have been a big recruiting win.
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