Derrion Reid injury update: Alabama makes decision on status vs. Tennessee

Alabama forward Derrion Reid has been ruled out for Saturday’s game against Tennessee. The Crimson Tide announced the decision on Friday’s injury report.

Alabama also listed Mark Sears as probable once again after he popped up on the availability report last week against Kentucky. However, he came off before the game, meaning he was a full go for the contest.

For Tennessee, the only name listed on the availability report was J.P. Estrella, who underwent foot surgery. That means the Vols look mostly healthy ahead of the high-profile matchup.

Derrion Reid is still dealing with a leg injury that also kept him out last time out against Mississippi State. Head coach Nate Oats didn’t have much of an update on Reid’s progress ahead of the MSU game, but said he’s still being evaluated on a week by week basis.

Alabama snapped its two-game skid against Kentucky last week and continued its winning ways last time out against Mississippi State. The Crimson Tide dominated en route to the 111-73 victory to improve to 23-5 overall and 12-3 in SEC play with three games to go before the conference tournament.

As for Sears, he’s one of the biggest keys for Alabama down the stretch. He bounced back well from a mid-season hiccup and still leads the Crimson Tide with 19 points and five assists per game.

It seems like Sears is playing his best basketball at the right time, and Oats said that comes from his desire to win. With the conference and NCAA tournaments looming, the arrow continues to point up.

“I think he just wants to win,” Oats said. “He came back to try to win the national championship, He came back to try to play his way into the NBA. Winning solves a lot of that stuff. If you look, he’s not really forcing it, pressing it. He got stuck in the lane where, like in the past, I think he would have thrown up a bad shot. He kicks it out. I think Holloway hit a three off it, if I remember correctly. We got a good shot off the possession. 

“He’s trying to play the right way. He’s as coachable as he’s ever been. And his effort on defense has been through the roof, really, the last three, four weeks or so. So just a combination of let’s get him to lead, let’s play the right way on both sides of the ball and give us total effort on defense, and I think he’s been doing that, and I’m super happy with the way he’s been playing.”