Derrion Reid injury update: Nate Oats reveals chances Alabama forward plays vs. Auburn

No. 2-ranked Alabama could have some much-needed reinforcements in Saturday’s highly-anticipated 1 vs. 2 rivalry game against top-ranked Auburn.

Crimson Tide head coach Nate Oats described true freshman forward Derrion Reid as “a game-time decision” to play against the No. 1 Tigers (22-2, 10-1 SEC) on Saturday after the former McDonald’s All-American missed the past two games with a nagging lower-body injury.

“We’ll see how he looks tomorrow morning,” Oats said of Reid, according to BamaOnline’s Charlie Potter. “I’m sure he’ll be a game-time decision, but he looks a lot better than he has at any point in the last month or so.”

Nate Oats said Derrion Reid, who has missed the last two, was able to do some live stuff in practice.

"We'll see how he looks tomorrow morning. I'm sure he'll be a game-time decision, but he looks a lot better than he has at any point in the last month or so."

— Charlie Potter (@Charlie_Potter) February 14, 2025

Reid has missed seven of Alabama’s 24 games so far this season, including four straight in January while nursing a lower-body injury, which resurfaced in early February, according to Oats, prompting a game-by-game evaluation process over the past week.

“Derrion had a little bit of discomfort following the Georgia game,” Oats said last Friday, according to Potter. “We had him out, brought him back, continued to increase his basketball workload. But, since we anticipate him having a long and successful basketball career well after he’s done playing in college, we didn’t want to jeopardize any of his long-term health. 

“We’re trying to make decisions that benefit him both in the short term and long term, and we don’t want to try to use anybody just to win games. … He’ll be game-to-game moving forward until he’s able to go through a full practice and not experience any type of significant discomfort.”

Despite missing some time, Reid has been a quality contributor off the bench this season, averaging 7.2 points, 3.4 rebounds and 16.9 minutes per game. The 6-foot-8, 220-pound Reid has also started three games this season. Reid has topped double-digits in scoring six times this season and would be a valuable presence down low against an Auburn team with strong inside play.

No. 2 Alabama (21-3, 10-1 SEC) will host No. 1 Auburn (22-2, 10-1) at 4 pm ET, Saturday, from Coleman Coliseum in Tuscaloosa. It’s the 11th meeting between Oats and longtime Tigers coach Bruce Pearl, with Oats and the Crimson Tide holding a 6-5 advantage in the Iron Bowl of basketball rivalry series over the past five seasons.