Three Injured Bama Players Expected to Play Against UNC-Asheville

Alabama head coach Nate Oats spoke with the media on Thursday last week, revealing a bit of a status update on Grant Nelson, Latrell Wrightsell Jr., Aiden Sherrell, and Chris Youngblood. Oats said he was hopeful Nelson, Wrightsell, and Sherrell could play in Monday night's game against UNC-Asheville. Meanwhile, Youngblood would likely be out until the middle of December, which would put him returning before Alabama begins SEC play on January 4 against Oklahoma.

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It appears Oats will get his wish, with Grant Nelson, Latrell Wrightsell, and Aiden Sherrell slated to play on Monday night according to Jeff Goodman of the Field of 68.

Wrightsell and Nelson were starters for Alabama last season, but they will not start on Monday against UNC-Asheville. Instead, they will come off the bench and be on a minutes restriction. The same goes for freshman forward Aiden Sherrell.

On Thursday, Oats said Wrightsell was the closest to returning out of the three players.

With Nelson and Wrightsell out of the lineup against Wake Forest and Memphis in two exhibition games, Alabama went with a starting lineup of Mark Sears, Aden Holloway, Labaron Philon, Derrion Reid, and Clifford Omoruyi against Memphis. Alabama's starting five against Wake Forest were Sears, Philon, Houston Mallette, Jarin Stevenson, and Omoruyi.

Nelson started all 37 games for Alabama basketball last season, averaging 11.9 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 1.5 assists per game last season. Nelson shot 48.8% from the floor in the 2023-2024 season for Alabama.

Wrightsell started 12 of 32 games he played for Alabama basketball last season. He averaged 8.9 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 1.4 assists per game and shot 44.6% from the field and 44.7% from the three-point arc.

Sherrell is a 6-foot-10 freshman from Prolific Prep in Napa, California, and was a member of Alabama's 2024 recruiting class. As a top-32 prospect in high school, he averaged 18.8 points per game.

Tipoff for Alabama and UNC-Asheville is scheduled for 8:00 p.m. CT on ESPN U. Radio broadcast of Alabama and UNC-Asheville is available on Tide 100.9.

Wyatt Fulton is the TIde 100.9 DME and Brand Manager, primarily covering Alabama Crimson Tide football and men's basketball. For more Crimson Tide coverage, follow Wyatt on X (Formerly known as Twitter) at @FultonW_.