TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Alabama basketball has been without guard Houston Mallette for during its recent run of games in Southeastern Conference play. Tide coach Nate Oats provided another update on the injured guard Friday.
Mallette appeared in six games this season but has missed the last four due to lingering knee issues that Mallette has dealt with since arriving this offseason. Before the Tide’s matchup against Texas A&M on Jan. 11, Oats said that a medical redshirt was being explored. On Friday, Oats said a decision has not been finalized but the team is leaning towards keeping Mallette on a redshirt.
“Not 100%, but we’re leaning towards keeping him on the redshirt," Oats said. "I think what’s right by him, if his knees don’t get to 100% here really quick — and we’re gonna be at the halfway point at conference play a week from tomorrow — halfway point is done. So, for him only to play half the conference games would be — I don’t know if that’s fair to him to be honest with you."
NCAA rules allow for medical redshirts if players participate in less than 30 percent of games without playing in the second half of the season. Mallette’s last appearance against South Carolina on Jan. 8 was Alabama’s 15th game of its 31-game schedule, meaning he meets the criteria for a medical redshirt.
With one year of eligibility remaining, Mallette was initially set to redshirt and be a key piece of the Tide’s depth in 2025-26. Alabama burned Mallette’s initial redshirt after guard Latrell Wrightsell Jr. ruptured his Achilles tendon during Alabama’s loss to Oregon on Nov. 30. Mallette made his Alabama debut on Dec. 4 against North Carolina and logged a season-high 19 minutes against North Dakota.
“Now, it’s gonna be a conversation we have with him when it gets here — probably half way through where — how are your knees feeling again," Oats said. "Because if you bring him back, it’s gotta be, your knees are 100% going to be healthy, and you can full-go as many minutes as you deserve to play the rest of the year in all the games.
"If you can’t do that with his knees, I just don’t think it’ll be the right decision because we can continue to get him on the rehab program he’s been on because he’s come a long ways. He couldn’t even practice over the summer. When he got here, they were so bad he literally sat out the entire summer when he was here all summer. Then was gradually getting built in the fall and then he’d come back and there."
Should Mallette go back on the redshirt, Alabama would go down to 10 available scholarship players. The Tide (16-3, 5-1 SEC) will continue conference play against LSU on Saturday. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m. CT and the game will be broadcast on SEC Network.
