Jaykwon Walton won't join Alabama men's basketball team after arrest in Tuscaloosa

Transfer Jaykwon Walton won't be joining the Alabama men's basketball team anymore.

Crimson Tide coach Nate Oats said in a statement Monday that Alabama is "no longer recruiting Jaykwon Walton and he will not be a student-athlete at the University of Alabama."

Walton was arrested Saturday on Reed Street near the Strip in Tuscaloosa and charged with second-degree possession of marijuana. He was released after posting a $500 bond.

Walton announced in late March he would be transferring to the Crimson Tide.

The 6-foot-7, 206-pound junior averaged 13.9 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.9 assists over 32.3 minutes per game this past season with Wichita State.

Walton began his collegiate career at Georgia, where he played seven games in 2019-20 and two games in 2020-21. During the 2021-22 season, he joined Shelton State in Tuscaloosa. There, Walton averaged 12.9 points, 4.2 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.3 steals over 22 games.

In high school, he played for George Washington Carver in Montgomery, where he won an Alabama 6A state title his junior season and finished as runner-up his senior season. Walton began his high school career at Northside in Columbus, Georgia.

With Walton not joining the team, Oats will likely turn to the transfer portal to fill that scholarship spot. The roster for next season is still being put together. How many transfers are added will depend on how many players who declared for the draft end up returning to UA.