HOOVER, Ala. — Alabama basketball’s retooled roster will feature a pair of returners who missed the majority of last season. Graduate guards Houston Mallette and Latrell Wrightsell Jr. are both looking to return from injuries to play out their final year of eligibility for the Crimson Tide this coming season.
During an appearance at the Regions Tradition pro-am on Wednesday, head coach Nate Oats provided an update on both players, heading into the summer.
Mallette applied for a medical redshirt after playing just six games last season due to lingering knee injuries. The former Pepperdine transfer averaged 3.2 points and 2.2 rebounds while shooting 50% (5 of 10) from beyond the arc in his limited action with the Tide.
“Houston Mallette, we submitted all the paperwork to the SEC for his medical redshirt, we don’t anticipate there being any issues there,” Oats said. “He’s in with [trainer] Clarke [Holter] about every day in the training room, he’s come along really well.”
Mallette was always planning to redshirt last season. However, his limited action came after Wrightsell suffered an Achilles tear in Novemeber. Before suffering the injury, Wrightsell started five games over eight appearances, averaging 11.5 points, 1.8 rebounds and 2.0 assists while shooting 42.2% from beyond the arc.
“The one that’s a little more concerning with how he’s gonna be ready for next year is Trelly,” Oats said of Wrightsell’s recovery. “He’s way ahead of schedule from everything Clarke tells me. He’s working super hard, he’s doing everything he needs to do. We anticipate him being fully ready to go by the first game. He’s jumping, he cleared the jump. He’s been up here at Andrews, Dr. Waldrop was in charge of his surgery, he’s been pleased with where he’s at.”
Mallette and Wrightsell join junior Aden Holloway and sophomore Aiden Sherrell as Alabama's four returning players from last season. So far, Alabama has brought in four transfers, including Jalil Bethea (Miami), Taylor Bol Bowen (Florida State), Keitenn Bristow (Tarleton State) and Noah Williamson (Bucknell). Alabama also signed a three-person freshman class, including Rivals100 talents Amari Allen, Davion Hannah and London Jemison.
In total, Alabama’s roster currently sits at 11 scholarship players, one below the NCAA limit. Oats said he’s looking to add at least one more player before the start of the season.
“There’s still some decent guys out there,” Oats said. “If we went into the season with just those 11, I think we’d be fine, but as you saw last year, some injuries happen, you need some stuff.
“So we’re still looking. We’re looking at a couple guys. We’ll see who’s pulling their name out of the draft that’s still in the portal. There’s options out there like that.”
