The hottest topic in Alabama basketball this recruiting cycle is the Crimson Tide’s performance in the hunt for Caleb Holt. The focus on the nation’s top guard has diverted attention away from other UA targets, including Jaxon Richardson, the newest member of the program’s 2026 class.
After Joe Tipton posted on a message board that “Alabama is not making Richardson a priority” as the cycle goes on, 14-year NBA veteran and two-time Slam Dunk Contest winner Jason Richardson clarified the narrative surrounding his son.
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On Thursday, March 5th, Jason posted the following on X:
“When you don’t understand the relationship between the Alabama coaching staff and my family, it’s a very bad idea.”
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Richardson said a recruiting website erroneously reported earlier Thursday that Clayton had earned a commitment from Jackson and that he had done a “really good job” recruiting him. However, it was the family’s relationship with assistant coach Preston Murphy that ultimately brought the Richardsons to Tuscaloosa.
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Richardson offered to give Tipton “some background that you obviously don’t know,” and said Murphy was “the reason” he wore No. 32 in high school.
“He was one of the best players to ever come out of our hometown of Saginaw. In fact, my freshman year, I chose to attend the same high school because he went there,” Richardson wrote.
Richardson noted that Murphy and Alabama coach Nate Oats had recruited his oldest son, Jayce, and had a relationship with Jackson “very early on” starting in 2023.
“Most recently, when Jaxon was hospitalized with the flu in January, Nate Oats called my wife, Jackie, and texted me every day to check in on him. So when you talk about ‘priority,’ the first thing to understand is that this decision was not based on the 30-plus-year relationship between Preston and I, and the nearly four-year recruiting relationship with Jaxon,” Richardson continued.
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“That was enough to let Jackson know he was a priority.”
The addition of Richardson gives the Crimson Tide the ninth-ranked recruiting class in the country. Alabama also signed five-star recruit Kayden Samuels in late January and four-star prospect Talis Bue earlier this season. All three are small forwards.
Emilee Smarr covers Alabama basketball and Crimson Tide sports for The Tuscaloosa News. You can contact her via email: esmarr@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared in The Tuscaloosa News: Father on Alabama basketball committee denies claim that son was not a ‘priority’
