Injury updates on Grant Nelson, Latrell Wrightsell, Aiden Sherrell before Game 1

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The Alabama basketball team will tip off its 2024-25 season in four days, and head coach Nate Oats provided the latest on some of the team’s injured players.

Alabama was without four players during its two preseason exhibitions against Wake Forest and Memphis, but three of them – Grant Nelson, Latrell Wrightsell and Aiden Sherrell – were able to do some things in practice leading up to the opener against UNC Asheville.

“(They) have all been in practice, restricted to some stuff,” Oats said on Thursday.

“Wrightsell is probably the furthest along, followed by Sherrell and Grant. Grant’s been the one held out of more things than the other two so far. But they’ve all done something these last two days in practice. 

“We’re off tomorrow. We’ll see how they recover after today’s practice, what they look like tomorrow with Clarke (Holter) and then see if we can get them in a little bit more and see where they’re at by Sunday – it’s kind of the day before a game practice. Probably, they’ll all be game-day decisions. 

“I would think Wrightsell would play. That’d be my guess right now. And then Sherrell and Grant will be probably more decided by Saturday or Sunday. But we’re hoping to get all three at least on some level. They’ll all be, I’m sure, on some type of minutes restriction for Monday. But we’re hoping to have all three of them.”

Nelson and Wrightsell were part of Alabama’s 2023-24 team that reached the Final Four, and both players chose to return to Tuscaloosa for their fifth and final years of college hoops.

Nelson appeared in and started all 37 games at Alabama and scored in double figures in 24 of those contests. He averaged 11.9 points, 5.9 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game while shooting 48.8 percent from the field as a senior. A transfer from North Dakota State, Nelson recorded four double-doubles this past season, including two during the postseason run.

Wrightsell appeared in 31 games and made 12 starts after transferring to Alabama from Cal State Fullerton. Wrightsell averaged 8.9 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game while shooting 44.6 percent from the field, 44.7 percent from 3-point range and 100 percent (27-of-27) from the free-throw line. He missed six total games because of head injuries.

Sherrell is one of eight newcomers to join the Alabama program this offseason and one of four true freshmen. The 6-foot-10, 240-pound center was the nation’s No. 4 player at his position and the No. 23 overall player in the 2024 class, per the On3 Industry Rankings.

The fourth player missing from the pair of exhibitions was transfer guard Chris Youngblood, who is still expected to be sidelined until December after suffering a preseason injury.

“Youngblood’s not gonna be back until at least another month and a half or so,” Oats said. “Sometime in the middle of December is what we’re hoping for with him.”

The Alabama-UNC Asheville game on Monday, Nov. 4, will tip off at 8 p.m. CT on ESPNU.

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