A former Alabama basketball player from the Crimson Tide’s 2024 run to the Final Four is heading back to the SEC after one season in Ann Arbor with the Michigan Wolverines.
Sam Walters, who averaged 12.3 minutes with 5.4 points and 2.4 rebounds per game with Nate Oats’ Crimson Tide in 2023-24, is joining Mississippi State and coach Chris Jans. Walters made the announcement Thursday.
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The 6-foot-10 forward averaged 12.7 minutes for Michigan in 2024-25 and suffered a season-ending back injury in February. Walters averaged five points and 1.6 rebounds a night in 23 games with coach Dusty May’s Wolverines.
As a freshman at Alabama, Walters played 15 minutes in the Tide’s 89-87 upset of No. 1 seed North Carolina in the Sweet 16 and 12 minutes in their 89-82 win over Clemson in the Elite Eight. He played in 37 games (no starts) his freshman season and finished in double figures seven times.
Walters was a 4-star recruit out of Villages Charter School in Florida that committed to Alabama as the first signee in Oats’ 2023 recruiting class. He was ranked the No. 68 overall recruit by On3.
Mississippi State, which recently lost leading big man KeShawn Murphy (7.4 RPG) to Bruce Pearl and the Auburn Tigers in the transfer portal, finished 21-13 last season and was 8-10 in SEC play. The Bulldogs reached the NCAA Tournament as a No. 8 season and fell to Baylor in the first round of March Madness, 75-72.
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This article originally appeared on Roll Tide Wire: Sam Walters returning to SEC after entering transfer portal
