Jaelyn Stevenson
Jaerin Stevenson, the son of Tae-jong Moon, who played as the ace of the Korean national basketball team, overturned his participation in the National Basketball Association (NBA) draft and returned to the University of Alabama.
Reporter Jonathan Giboni, who specializes in covering local prospects including NBA rookies for the American sports media ESPN, announced on the 30th (Korean time) that Stevenson has made the final decision not to participate in the 2024 draft.
If you withdraw from the draft this time, you can participate in the draft next year. Stevenson was named on the list of candidates for ‘early draft participants’ announced by the NBA Secretariat on the 2nd, but he promised the following.
Stevenson, who was predicted to be drafted in at least the second round (31st to 60th) when he graduated from high school, was assessed as having low chances of entering the NBA because he did not show impressive performance this season.
Since he is still young, Stevenson appears to have decided that it would be better to hone his skills in college to the point where he can be selected in the first round in next year’s draft.
Born in 2005, Stevenson is a power forward with a height of 210 cm.
Stevenson, who was classified as a bench resource at the University of Alabama in the National Collegiate Sports Association (NCAA) this season, averaged 5.4 points and 2.7 rebounds in the regular season.
If you look at the regular season alone, their record is not enough to challenge the NBA, but they showed potential in the tournament.
In the quarterfinals against Clemson University, he scored 19 points, including 5 3-pointers, and led the University of Alabama to the semifinals of the Division 1 tournament for the first time in history.
His father, Taejong Moon, is a shooter born to an American father and a Korean mother. He began playing in Korean professional basketball in the 2010-2011 season and played for 9 seasons until the 2018-2019 season.
At the 2014 Incheon Asian Games, he performed well as an ace and won a gold medal in Korean men’s basketball.
Stevenson is currently an American citizen and lived in Korea with his parents when Taejong Moon played in the KBL.
When former national team coach Chu Il-seung contacted him in 2022 and mentioned the possibility of Stevenson’s special naturalization, Moon Tae-jong responded, “My son says it’s good too.”
However, it is unclear whether Stevenson, who is still a student and has not achieved any results on the international stage, will be able to pass the Ministry of Justice’s special naturalization screening. 섯다