MOBILE — University of South Alabama men’s basketball head coach Matthew Graves announced Wednesday that freshman John Pettway will redshirt this season.

The Safford native scored two points in the Jaguars’ exhibition, but has not played in the regular season.

“John has an extremely bright future with our basketball program and I am happy he has decided to take this season to really focus on improving his individual skills,” Graves said. “As he continues to develop, he will have the opportunity to earn more playing time as a redshirt freshman. I am very excited about John’s future in the program as he exemplifies the type of student-athlete we want representing us.”

Pettway averaged 23.7 points and 6.2 rebounds as a senior at Keith High School, earning First Team All-State honors by the Alabama Sports Writers Association.