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Avery Johnson says Alabama has 'no new updates' on Collin Sexton



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TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Alabama basketball coach Avery Johnson remained tight-lipped about freshman point guard Collin Sexton's eligibility status Wednesday while also providing an update on injured sophomore forward Braxton Key.

Key underwent a successful surgery on a meniscus injury Tuesday. When asked to give a rough timetable of the sophomore’s return, Johnson said, “I would say it’s safe to say we’re hopeful four weeks from what we’ve heard from the doctor.” On top of Key’s injury, Alabama will also be without senior forwards Riley Norris (hip) and Ar’Mond Davis (knee) for Friday’s season opener against Memphis in Annapolis, Md.

Sexton’s status for that game still remains a mystery.

“No new updates, when I have one I’ll update you guys,” Johnson said when asked Wednesday.

Johnson was then asked if Sexton would travel with the team, to which he repeated his previous answer of “no new updates.”

Sexton was benched during Alabama’s 74-65 exhibition win over Alabama-Huntsville on Monday as a precautionary measure because he hasn’t had his eligibility reinstated by the NCAA. Alabama is part of an FBI investigation on the corruption in college basketball that led to former associate athletics director Kobie Baker resigning following an internal review of the program.

Tuesday, a report from ESPN stated that Sexton’s relationship with former AAU coach Christian Dawkins might also be an issue. Dawkins, who according to ESPN played a part in Sexton’s recruitment, was accused of arranging for payments of $250,000 to three players to sign with Adidas-sponsored schools. While Alabama is sponsored by Nike, Sexton visited three Adidas-sponsored schools in Kansas, N.C. State and Oklahoma State during his recruiting process.

Johnson said he had “no reaction” to the report when asked Wednesday.

Shortly before Johnson’s news conference Wednesday, redshirt sophomore guard Dazon Ingram said the team has been practicing as if Sexton would be available.

“We go through it as if he’s going to play with us, which we hope he will,” Ingram said. “We got a practice later today, so I’m sure we’re going to go through it as if he’s playing Friday.”

Coming from coaching in the NBA, Johnson said he’s used to playing 100 games a year and going through practices without always knowing a player’s status. The head coach said not knowing Sexton’s status has not affected how Alabama prepares for the opener and that he wants his team to “control what we can control.”

Sexton led Alabama with 15 points during its 75-67 victory over Baylor during a scrimmage last week. The 6-foot-3, 190-pound point guard was rated as the No. 8 player in the Class of 2017 according to Rivals.com. He is expected by many to be selected as a lottery pick in next year’s NBA draft.

Key’s absence will also be significant. During his freshman season last year, the 6-foot-8, 225-pound forward led Alabama with 12 points per game and was second on the team with 5.7 rebounds per game.

“Collin’s our brother, Braxton’s our brother, we just got to pick up where they left off,” sophomore forward Daniel Giddens said. “Collin’s day-to-day and Braxton will be back in no time.”

Alabama will open its regular season Friday at 5:30 p.m. CT when it faces Memphis as part of the Veterans Classic. The game will be televised nationally by CBS Sports Network.

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