Alabama point guard Kira Lewis announced on Tuesday his decision to remain in the NBA draft and hire an agent, forgoing his remaining college eligibility. Crimson Tide men’s basketball head coach Nate Oats, in an interview with Roger Hoover, shared what he believes Lewis brings to a team as he is being projected as a possible first-round pick in the 2020 NBA Draft.

“He’s the fastest kid from one end of the floor to the other, probably than any kid that I’ve ever coached,” Oats told the Crimson Tide Sports Network. “The NBA’s gone to a game of pace and getting up and down, so I think he fits the way the NBA’s going. … I think he doesn’t really have any red flags. He’s a good kid. He has no issues off the floor. He’s a kid that’s going to be in the gym and wants to get better. A lot of times NBA teams are worried about how much do they love basketball? He’s a guy that wants be in the gym all the time and get better.

“He needs to add weight, but that’s typical of a 19-year-old kid, so I think he will add weight once they get him up there and he starts maturing and stuff. He’s added weight since he’s been with us. I think he’s going to help a team. I think they draft a lot on potential. The fact that he just turned 19 years old, I think his potential is high. … We’re hoping he gets drafted as high as possible. I’d love to see him go in the lottery, if possible.”

Lewis is coming off a sophomore year that saw him earn first-team All-SEC honors. He led the Crimson Tide in scoring (18.5 ppg), assists (5.2 apg), steals (1.8 spg), minutes (37.6 mpg) and field goals made (206) and attempted (449) this past season. Additionally, he paced the SEC in minutes, ranked third in assists and steals and finished fourth in scoring average.

Lewis was one of three Alabama players to declare for the NBA draft. Juniors John Petty and Herbert Jones have not yet decided whether they will stay in the draft or return for their senior years, although the former hinted at a possible return during a recent interview. Oats believes at least one of them will be back in Tuscaloosa for the Tide’s 2020-21 campaign.

“The guess was initially, based on the feedback that we got, that Kira would stay in the draft, and that’s come out to be the case here,” Oats said. “Herb, this was the last year he could test it, really, and then come back, so that made sense, but I’m pretty sure he’ll be back. That’s my gut feeling on that. I just think he needs a healthy year. He just wasn’t able to showcase what he’s got, and there’s no workouts right now, so you’re not really able to move yourself up at all. And even if there was, he’s still not fully recovered. They really rested his wrist there at the end.

“So, our guess was Kira would be in, which came to fruition, Herb would be back, and then the one that we really just don’t know is Petty. I mean, he’s really played himself into a pretty good -- his stock’s pretty good compared to what it was. But is it high enough to where he stays in the draft? That’s the question. I think if he’s got guaranteed money, which is first round or maybe early second -- some of those, they’ll give them guaranteed contracts even though they don’t have to. So, if somebody tells him that he’s got guaranteed money where they’re going to draft him at a certain spot, then I think he probably stays in.”

Petty and Jones have until June 15 to withdraw their names from the draft and return to school.

REESE NEEDS HIP SURGERY

It’s no secret that the Alabama men’s basketball team dealt with a lot of injuries in Year 1 under Oats. Both James Rojas and Juwan Gary missed the entire season because of knee injuries, while Jones, Petty and James Bolden missed time with setbacks. In his interview with Hoover, Oats said Alex Reese, a junior, could have surgery to repair a nagging hip injury.

Alabama point guard Kira Lewis and head coach Nate Oats

“I don’t think Reese was ever fully healthy,” Oats said Tuesday. “I think they’re starting to open ORs back up to where he can have that hip surgery done, hopefully, maybe next week.”

Reese started 26 of the Crimson Tide’s 31 games this past season and averaged 8.8 points and 4.8 rebounds per game. The Pelham, Ala., native shot 39.1 percent (95-of-243) from the field and 29.8 percent (51-of-171) from three-point range. Reese also blocked 30 shots.

Just after the season ended abruptly due to the coronavirus pandemic, Reese was arrested in Tuscaloosa on public intoxication charges in on March 13. In late March, Oats said UA developed a program in terms of his consequences, which he has already met. A week ago, Oats was asked how the senior forward was progressing with the remainder of his requirements.

“Yeah, some of the initial steps that he had to take, he handled well,” Oats said last week. “He did what he was supposed to. Academically, he’s doing what he’s supposed to. I think he’s coming along. Again, this is hard not being there in person because you’d like to be able to have one-on-one meetings in front of you, but from everything that we’ve asked him to do remotely and whenever we can, he’s done so far. So, the answer to that would be yes.”

OATS ON 'THE LAST DANCE'

Like a lot of sports fans, Oats “of course” tuned into ESPN’s first two episodes of “The Last Dance” this past Sunday, the 10-part documentary series that chronicles Michael Jordan and the 1997-98 Chicago Bulls. He provided his thoughts on Episodes 1 and 2 and said he can’t wait for the next two to air, which will be Sunday, April 26, at 8 p.m. CT on ESPN.

“The ratings might be better than the Super Bowl ratings,” Oats said. “I mean, there’s nothing on. There hasn’t been any live sports on for a month, so yeah, I’m ready to go. Give him Episodes 3 and 4 tonight. … They need to speed it up. Hopefully, we’ve got some live sports by the time this thing’s done. But that’s the era that I grew up. They’re chronicling ‘97-98 -- that’s my senior year of college. I finished playing in ‘97, and I did my student teaching that next year. If you go back, when he was winning his first three championships, I was in high school then. I graduated high school in ‘93, so I grew up watching that. It’s a lot of good memories.

“Shoot, I wish they would have kept it together, but he’s the ultimate competitor. I think we’re going to see that come out with some of this raw footage, behind the scenes. You’re going to see what it takes to actually win at the level that he won at for as long as he did. I’m loving it.”

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Contact Charlie Potter by personal message or on Twitter (@Charlie_Potter).