Alabama guard Latrell Wrightsell Jr. has missed the past two games with a head injury. The Crimson Tide will play in its first Final Four game in program history on Saturday against UConn, and his return to the court would be a massive positive.
On Tuesday, Wrightsell was practicing with the Tide in Tuscaloosa before the team traveled to Arizona. Afterward, head coach Nate Oats said things were trending positively for the guard.
“Today was the first day Wrightsell was able to practice,” Oats said. “He was limited in what he could do, but glad he’s out there. But then based on, he’s got day-to-day evaluations, based on how tomorrow morning’s evaluation goes, we’ll see where he goes the rest of the week. Our hope is that he’s gonna be able to play on Saturday though.”
During a portion of Alabama’s practice that was open to media members, Wrightsell looked to be working with UA’s second-team. He was participating in the visible drills, draining a three-pointer in one that aimed to get offensive players open using screens and cuts.
After the Tide beat Clemson on Saturday in the Elite Eight, Wrightsell was in good spirits in the locker room inside Crypto.com Arena in downtown Los Angeles. He said then that he expected to play in the Final Four.
“I’ll be back,” Wrightsell told AL.com.
Alabama forward Nick Pringle is also dealing with a nagging foot injury. He seemed to be fully participating in practice.
According to Oats, Pringle is “gutting through” the injury, and will play against the Huskies.
Alabama and UConn are scheduled to tip off at 7:49 p.m. Saturday at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ariz. The matchup will be aired on TBS.
