Alabama guard Latrell Wrightsell ruled day-to-day before Sweet 16
LOS ANGELES – After initially saying that Latrell Wrightsell Jr. would be available for Alabama’s Sweet 16 matchup with North Carolina, coach Nate Oats is unsure if he will play.
“Latrell is being re-evaluated by the medical staff every day, and he’s basically on a day-to-day basis now,” Oats said. “I’m not sure if he’ll be available or not. They’ll let us know tomorrow.”
During the media view portion of the Crimson Tide’s Wednesday practice at Crypton.com Arena, there was no sign of Wrightsell. Alabama is already without guard Davin Cosby (foot).
Wrightsell suffered a head injury in the first half of the Crimson Tide’s second-round game with Grand Canyon on Sunday, March 23, and was ruled out for the remainder of the contest.
Wrightsell started the Round of 32 game for No. 4-seed Alabama and scored two points in 11 minutes before being elbowed in the head. That happened while fouling a GCU player on a 3-point shot, and Wrightsell stayed on the court while trainers attended to him. He slowly made his way to his feet and went to the locker room before being ruled out.
This marked the second time Wrightsell has been sidelined by a head injury this season. The guard missed four SEC games late in the regular season because of a nagging concussion.
The senior transfer from Cal State Fullerton entered the second-round contest averaging 9.3 points per game and was shooting 44.9 percent from 3-point range, 45.1 percent from the field and 100 percent from the free-throw line. Since coming back from his initial head injury in the penultimate regular-season game, Wrightsell has started the last four games.
Wrightsell’s teammate, Nick Pringle, was more optimistic about the guard’s availability.
“I honestly think Latrell will be fine,” Pringle said in Los Angeles. “I think we’ll still have a great game plan, if he plays or not. I think he will definitely play. But I think we’ll still have a great game plan. We have a lot of great players and a lot of great coaches that can make adjustments and be able to make it happen.”
Alabama’s Sweet 16 matchup against the 1-seed Tar Heels is scheduled for Thursday, March 28, in Los Angeles and will tip off after the Arizona-Clemson game (6:09 p.m. CT) on CBS.
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