Alabama forward Nick Pringle suspended for second time this season
Alabama basketball survived a road scare at Georgia on Wednesday night. However, the Crimson Tide had to pull off its comeback win without one of its key players.
Following Wednesday night's 85-76 win, Alabama head coach Nate Oats announced that senior forward Nick Pringle was suspended from the team.
“He’s got to decide whether he wants to be a part of this program or not with some of his decisions and how he conducts himself," Oats said. "Nothing bad off the court or anything like that, just in practice, in games, and we’ll see where he goes. We’ll meet when I get back.”
During its previous game against LSU, Alabama benched Pringle in the first half before playing him for just eight minutes. When asked about Pringle's limited minutes after that game, Oats responded "I played the guys we felt like gave us the best chance to win the game at the appropriate times in the game."
Wednesday marks the second time this season that Pringle has been suspended by Alabama. In December, the veteran big man sat out in a home game against Arkansas State due to conduct detrimental to the team.
“Nothing serious off the court or anything, just in-house,” Oats said after the December suspension. “There’s a standard we want our guys to uphold, and he wasn’t upholding it. I still love Nick, and hopefully, he can get himself figured out with the team shortly,”
Fluctuating in and out of the starting lineup this season, Pringle is currently averaging 5.2 points, 4.1 rebounds, and shoots 70.2% from the field.
While Pringle’s status with the team hangs in the balance, the Crimson Tide will shift its focus back home as the Mississippi State Bulldogs travel to Coleman Coliseum for another tough conference matchup on Feb. 3 at 7:30 p.m. CT