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Jalil Bethea, Miami transfer, reportedly set to take visit to SEC program
By Sydney Hunte
Published:
Jalil Bethea, who spent a season with Miami before entering the transfer portal, has scheduled an official visit to Alabama, according to college basketball insider Jon Rothstein.
Bethea, a former 5-star recruit, was considered the No. 7 player in the class of 2024 when he signed with the Hurricanes. In his lone season with the program, he posted 7.1 points per game. That included a career-best 21 points scored against Syracuse on Feb. 11.
Just 12 games into the season, Miami was rocked by the retirement of Jim Larrañaga, with the longtime head coach citing the changing landscape of college basketball brought on by, in part, NIL. The Hurricanes had just been to the Final Four in 2023. Ultimately, they finished the 2024-25 season with a 7-24 overall record and a 3-17 mark in the ACC.
On March 6, former Texas, Kentucky, and Duke assistant Jai Lucas was named the Canes’ next head coach. Lucas will essentially have to rebuild the roster of the basketball program from the ground up as it saw — naturally — a wave of players, including Bethea, enter the transfer portal when it opened.
As for Alabama, it’s looking to reload after a season that ended one game short of a second-straight Final Four appearance. The Crimson Tide lost to Duke in the Elite Eight on Mar. 29.
Sydney is an Atlanta-based journalist who has covered everything from SEC and ACC football to MLS, the U.S. men's national soccer team and professional tennis. His work has appeared on such platforms as SB Nation, Cox Media Group and FanSided.
