Alabama guard Latrell Wrightsell Jr. is unlikely to play Wednesday night at Ole Miss due to a concussion, according to coach Nate Oats on Tuesday.
“With the head injury stuff, it’s every day you’ve got to re-evaluate, make sure he’s not getting the headaches,” he said. “He’s still not guaranteed to play tomorrow. You must wake up, just as you would any morning. Clarke [Holter], an athletic trainer, and [the team doctor] are in charge of that. It would be good to have him back sooner rather than later, but you also don’t want to rush him because these things may drag on indefinitely if you don’t handle them properly. We’re going to do it the correct way and not rush him back.
On his “Hey Coach” radio broadcast Monday night, Oats voiced confidence regarding Wrightsell’s situation, saying, “Hopefully he’s going to be able to go on Wednesday, if practice goes well [Tuesday].”
Wrightsell last played on February 17 in a victory over Texas A&M, scoring 16 points in 23 minutes on 4-of-8 three-point shooting. In a previous game, he scored 21 points in 36 minutes on the road against LSU, making 6-of-9 three-pointers. Wrightsell has scored double-digit points in eight of his last 13 games played.
The senior transferred from Cal State Fullerton has started the last seven games he has played. In his absence, Alabama has used a larger lineup the last two games, with freshman Jarin Stevenson starting at power forward. That included Saturday’s crushing defeat to Kentucky.
“It would’ve helped to have Latrell Wrightsell, but he wasn’t going to make up 22 points tonight,” Oats remarked after Saturday’s 117-95 loss in Lexington. “That wasn’t going to make any difference today. “We needed everyone to play much better.”
