CBS Sport: Alabama mega star announce retirement saying, “I apologize to those I have let down.”
Jahvon Quinerly, a former guard for Alabama who played three seasons for the Tide from 2020–23, announced his retirement from basketball on Friday night.
In an Instagram post, Quinerly stated that during his time as a player for Alabama and, subsequently, Memphis for his final collegiate season in 2023–2024, he received more than $1 million in pay for his name, image, and likeness. But he continued, “I can’t continue this fight with something I am no longer in love with.”
Quinerly went on, saying, “I will always be grateful to those who have trusted me, and I apologize to those I have let down.” But now that I’m going a different direction, I should be happy and able to love myself once more.”
Quinerly, a five-star talent from New Jersey in the 2018 high school class, gained notoriety on social media as a recruit thanks to his “Jelly Fam” finger-roll clips. Quinerly had pledged to Arizona, but he de-committed and chose Villanova after Wildcats assistant coach Emmanuel “Book” Richardson was the subject of an FBI probe into Quinerly’s recruitment.
Before moving to Alabama in 2019 as one of the first recruits under then-new coach Nate Oats, Quinerly spent one season as a player at Villanova. Quinerly had to miss the 2019–20 season before joining the Tide in 2020, despite his best attempts to obtain an NCAA waiver. As a member of Oats’ three NCAA tournament campaigns over the following three seasons, he established himself as a reliable member of the backcourt. Quinerly was SEC tournament MVP in 2021 and co-sixth man of the year in 2023.
Quinerly made the decision in June 2023 to use the transfer portal and play his sixth and last season in Memphis, three months after the 2022–2023 season concluded. He made 35 percent of his three-pointers last season while averaging 13.5 points and a career-high 4.9 assists per game for the Tigers.
Quinerly, a former McDonald’s All-American, was not selected in the June 2024 NBA draft and terminates his playing career 1.5 months before turning 26.
