TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — It took Latrell Wrightsell three games to find his groove, but the graduate guard shook off the offseason rust in Alabama basketball’s 72-64 win over McNeese State. That included a crucial 3-point basket down the stretch.

After trailing by 21 points in the second half, McNeese State battled back before Wrightsell and Alabama finished them off. The Cowboys cut Alabama’s lead to six points with just over five minutes remaining. Meanwhile, the Crimson Tide was suffering a streak of eight straight misses.

The Wrightsell came to the rescue.

When Alabama needed him most, the graduate guard caught a pass in the corner and nailed a 3-pointer, extending the Tide’s lead to nine. While Alabama still had to battle to close out the Cowboys, the shot served as a big momentum swing to help stop the bleeding when the game seemed to be slipping away.

“I just give props to all my teammates and coaches for giving me confidence and finding me when I'm open," Wrightsell said. "That's what they do, so I'm just thankful for them being able to get me open and give me the ball when I'm open to trust my shot.”

The former Cal State Fullerton guard started the season shooting 2-for-14 from 3-point range in Alabama’s first two games. He rebounded Monday night, going 5-for-9 from beyond the arc while recording 15 points, two rebounds and a pair of assists.

Wrightsell was among the few Alabama players who missed Alabama’s preseason exhibition matchups, hence the slow start to the season, but Alabama coach Nate Oats says the performance against the Cowboys is what he expects from Wrightsell going forward, at an even higher volume.

“This is what we expected him to be,” Oats said. “...The 1-from-9 (against Arkansas State) — that's not him. Last game, some of those were good shots he just missed; some of them, you got to get a feel for what's a good shot and what's not… Honestly, I thought he turned down some I wished he would have taken, for as well as he was shooting it tonight. I thought there were 3 or 4 he should have shot, and if he'd have taken 3 or 4 more and gotten 12 or 13 threes up, that’d be great.”

Wrightsell may prove to be Alabama’s third option behind Mark Sears and Grant Nelson this season. In 2024, as Alabama made its first run to the Final Four in program history, Wrightsell ranked as the No. 4 most efficient offensive player in the country according to KenPom. Despite the high efficiency, the Omaha, Nebraska product was used on less than 16% of Alabama’s possessions.

“He's one of the best shooters in the country, in my opinion,” Oats said. “ last year against Mississippi State, we yanked him when he turned one down, and he came in and hit one. [Wrightsell] turns them down, Holloway turns them down — I don’t care. [Wrightsell] was 5 for 9, and Holloway was 0 for 5. They're both great shooters and can't turn down open shots. But it was great that [Wrightsell] hit those early, got us going when we needed them; that helped build the lead up to 21 when we had it up.”

Wrightsell’s performance against McNeese was a reminder of what he can be for this Alabama lineup. His timely three-pointer showed that Alabama may have another piece they can rely on down the stretch in its deep rotation.