Nate Oats considers how injuries limited Latrell Wrightsell, Rylan Griffen in SEC Tournament
Alabama suffered a 102-88 loss to Florida in the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament as defense was once again a weakness for the Crimson Tide.
Alabama guards Latrell Wrightsell and Rylan Griffen being less than 100 percent contributed to the defensive struggles, according to Crimson Tide coach Nate Oats.
Griffen in particular was playing his first game back after missing a little bit of time with an injury. Oats shared how it impacted his team’s struggles.
“Yea, I mean, it was his first game back. He hasn’t even practiced. We haven’t had a live practice that he’s been able to participate in,” Oats said of Rylan Griffen. “So you’re hoping he can step back in and play like he was playing before he went out, but it’s probably unrealistic.
“Hopefully the next time he plays he’ll be able to practice with us all week, get some live reps and be a little bit better, because he’s been pretty good for us all year.”
Griffen is averaging 11 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game on the season for Alabama. He finished with only 6 points and 2 rebounds against the Gators.
As for Wrightsell, he was averaging 9 points and 3 rebounds on the season but had scored at least 16 points in three of his previous four games for Alabama entering the Florida matchup. However, he finished with only six points against the Gators.
“Wrightsell’s been a little banged up here over the last month, but he’s been a lot better, too, to be honest with you,” Oats said. “So having a healthy Wrightsell and Griffin will obviously make a difference.”
Still, even if those two are 100 percent healthy, Oats wants to see a better defensive effort from his team moving forward. Alabama allowed over 100 points in a pair of losses to Florida this month.
“I still go back to, I think the biggest problem is our defensive intensity,” Oats said. “Those two have been some of our better perimeter defenders. Maybe if they can get a little healthier… Obviously you’re judged a lot on what you do in March in college basketball, and we need to try and make a deep NCAA Tournament run.”
Alabama earned a No. 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament and will open play against No. 13 seed Charleston on Friday. After losing this past Friday, the Crimson Tide had a couple of days off to recover. Oats is hopeful that will pay off.
“Sometimes it’s not the worst to get your legs back up under you. I thought Rylen’s legs looked pretty good in his individual skill workouts and stuff. But he probably needed some game reps,” Oats said. “Hopefully this gave it to him. Hopefully he plays a lot better this next weekend in the NCAA Tournament. “