Nate Oats defines Nick Pringle's status as 'day-to-day'

Nick Pringle is not currently with the basketball program at Alabama due to a suspension, his second of the campaign, that has his future in Tuscaloosa up in the air. Now, after speaking on the matter earlier this week, Nate Oats has addressed it again on Friday.

Oats spoke about Pringle’s status during a press conference today. He said that his standing is currently on a “day-to-day” evaluation. Beyond that, it could continue well on into the future depending on how it all goes.

Nate Oats on Nick Pringle, who is suspended: "He's still not with the team. He's still being evaluated on a day-to-day basis. We'll see how long it takes."

— Charlie Potter (@Charlie_Potter) February 2, 2024

“He’s still not with the team. He’s still being evaluated on a day-to-day basis,” said Oats. “We’ll see how long it takes.”

Alabama suspended Pringle back around the start of December due to ‘conduct detrimental to the team’. That cost him one game against Arkansas State before he returned to the lineup against Purdue.

Then, after appearing in several games over the last month or so, Oats made a switch from Pringle in the starting lineup for the Crimson Tide. The two decisions may or may not be connected but, regardless, the program suspended him again after that game versus LSU last weekend.

However, this second suspension, although unclear what it is in connection to, looks to be more severe for Pringle. That’s because, following the team’s win in Athens, Oats made it very clear about how he feels on the matter. He did so with some comments that got straight to the point regarding Pringle.

“He’s currently suspended. He’s got to decide whether he wants to be a part of this program or not,” said Oats. “Nothing off the court. Just in practice.”

Upon the team’s return from Georgia, Oats then met with Pringle. He has now since shared this update to end the week.

Pringle has been in Tuscaloosa for the past two years after two stops at Wofford and Dodge City Community College. In his three seasons with the Terriers and Tide, he has appeared in 70 games. During those games, he has averaged 3.6 points and 3.2 rebounds while shooting 74.6% from the field in just under 10 minutes per game. That includes stats of 4.4 points and 3.6 rebounds on 77.5% shooting in just under a dozen minutes a contest in his 55 games specifically with ‘Bama.

In ’23-’24, Pringle has played in 19 games and started in 11 of them. He is posting career-best numbers at 5.2 points and 4.1 rebounds while shooting 70.4% in 15.7 minutes a game.

It appears that Pringle has some choices to make based on Oats’ description of how this is going to play out. For now, though, his state as part of the team and program will remain a mystery until those decisions are made and their assessment of the matter is complete.