Published Mar 4, 2024
Latrell Wrightsell Jr. suffered a setback in recovery from head injury
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Jack Knowlton  •  TideIllustrated
Staff Writer
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After he was seen warming up before No. 14 Alabama’s loss to No. 4 Tennessee on Saturday, it appears the Crimson Tide will have to wait even to get guard Latrell Wrightsell Jr. back in the fold.

On Monday, Alabama coach Nate Oats said Wrightsell suffered a setback on his road to recovering from a head injury that has kept him out the last four games. Wrightsell has been considered day-to-day since getting hurt.

“He's been doing some basketball skills. He's got to get to the point where he can practice and then not have any type of headache the following day,” Oats said. “He was on a comeback protocol and then got reset because he had a setback in it. It would be nice to get him back. Again, it's day-to-day. Got to see how he's able to respond the next morning. Once they go back to having a headache, they kind of start back at Day 0 again. He's coming along. As you can tell, he can shoot. He wasn't doing anything live yet (before the Tennessee game)."

Before he got hurt, Wrightsell solidified himself as a starter in Alabama’s small-ball lineup. He is averaging nine points and 3.2 rebounds per game, and shooting 42.4% from the floor and 44.5% from beyond the arc this season. The Cal State Fullerton transfer recorded his first double-double of the season against LSU on Feb. 10, tallying 21 points and 10 rebounds. Against Texas A&M, he scored 16 points while going 4 of 8 from beyond the arc.

Freshman forward Jarin Stevenson has started in place of Wrightsell in the last four games. Stevenson struggled against Tennessee, finishing with three points and four rebounds and shooting 1-for-5 from the field. In Wrightsell’s absence redshirt freshman guard Davin Cosby Jr. has also seen a recent bump in minutes.

Alabama will look for a bounceback game following its loss to the Volunteers when it faces Florida on Tuesday. The Crimson Tide beat the Gators 98-93 in overtime on Feb. 21. The rematch tips off at 6 p.m. Tuesday at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center in Gainesville, Florida. The game will be televised on ESPN.