Nate Oats gives details the importance of getting Latrell Wrightsell, Rylan Griffen healthy
Coach Nate told at Wednesday “Alabama basketball guard Rylan Griffen will be a game-time decision for Friday’s game in the SEC Tournament.”
“Rylan has not gone live yet, but he’s doing more and more basketball activity every day,” Oats said. “We’re hopeful he can possibly play Friday.”
Griffen will go down at the end of the Florida game with a calf injury. Then he sat out the Arkansas game, wearing a medical boot while wearing street clothes.
Oats deemed him day-to-day heading into the Arkansas game with the calf strain. “The MRI results were a lot better than we feared they might be.” Oats said going into the Arkansthat game took place in Gainesville, Florida.while Alabama only had two full days of rest after an emotional and physical matchup against the Tennessee Volunteers. Now, Alabama has had six days of rest, while Florida played a tough game against the Georgia Bulldogs on Thursday. Alabama has the rest advantage heading into their third game this season against Florida.
After missing last Saturday’s win against Arkansas due to the injury he suffered against Florida, many fans are wondering if Griffen will play against the Gators in Nashville. On Wednesday, head coach Nate Oats said Griffen was participating and ramping up, and that Alabama was hopeful he would play on Friday.
There was another positive update from Jon Rothstein on Thursday, saying Griffen practiced Thursday and that, if he feels alright Friday morning, he’ll play Friday night.
After missing last Saturday’s win against Arkansas due to the injury he suffered against Florida, many fans are wondering if Griffen will play against the Gators in Nashville. On Wednesday, head coach Nate Oats said Griffen was participating and ramping up, and that Alabama was hopeful he would play on Friday.
There was another positive update from Jon Rothstein on Thursday, saying Griffen practiced Thursday and that, if he feels alright Friday morning, he’ll play Friday night.
Nate Oats said of Wrightsell at halftime of Florida vs. Georgia. “You saw it when he was out, we dropped two of the four games he was out. Really, dropped a fifth one when he didn’t play much at Florida. I feel like he’s back, he’s practiced well. He’s super efficient. If you go on KenPom and look at player ratings, he’s the fourth highest-rated player in the country. He doesn’t turn the ball over, he makes open shots, he makes the offense go and he’s tough on defense. When we were playing four guards, we had the No. 1 offense in the country. Without him, it’s been hard to play four guards because you just don’t have the depth.
It seems Griffen felt good on Friday morning. According to Rothstein, Coach Oats said that Griffen looked good and, barring a flare-up, will play Friday night against the Gators.
Alabama needs to be at full strength against the Gators, with the Crimson Tide splitting the regular season series.
Tide 100.9 is in Nashville for coverage of the SEC Men’s Basketball Tournament. Coverage is sponsored by the Sportsbook at Pearl River Resort. Located at Golden Moon Hotel & Casino, they offer traditional sports betting in which guests can bet on all professional league sports and major collegiate sporting events.
Alabama head coach Nate Oats provided a hopeful injury update on Crimson Tide guard Rylan Griffen ahead of their showdown with Florida.
With the clash with the Gators on the horizon in the SEC Tournament, Oats explained that Griffin should be ready to rock this evening, as Alabama looks to assert their dominance against their conference rivals.
“Alabama’s Rylan Griffen (calf) ‘looked good in shootaround this morning and unless there’s a flare-up.’ is expected to play tonight in the SEC Tournament against Florida, per Nate Oats,” CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein posted on X, formerly known as Twitter. “DNP in last game. Averages 11.1 PPG.”
After clinching the double bye in the SEC Tournament, Alabama is getting ready to play its first game of the week in Nashville. With that extra time, the Crimson Tide’s focus has also been getting healthy.
Latrell Wrightsell returned to the lineup earlier this month after dealing with an injury, and he was “huge” in the season finale against Arkansas, which went to overtime. Alabama is also working to get Rylan Griffen back, as well, after suffering a calf injury.
Nate Oats seemed happy with how things went in practice on Thursday, and he said getting both players to 100% is crucial for the Crimson Tide offense. If Alabama can use a four-guard lineup Friday, he expressed confidence in the Tide’s ability to find its top gear.
“He means a lot,” Oats said of Wrightsell at halftime of Florida vs. Georgia. “You saw it when he was out, we dropped two of the four games he was out. Really, dropped a fifth one when he didn’t play much at Florida. I feel like he’s back, he’s practiced well. He’s super efficient. If you go on KenPom and look at player ratings, he’s the fourth highest-rated player in the country. He doesn’t turn the ball over, he makes open shots, he makes the offense go and he’s tough on defense. When we were playing four guards, we had the No. 1 offense in the country. Without him, it’s been hard to play four guards because you just don’t have the depth.
“Rylan looked good in practice today. If we can get Rylan back and him back, and we kind of go with those four, we’re hard to guard when you put those four guards out there together. You need him to do that, too.”
After clinching the double bye in the SEC Tournament, Alabama is getting ready to play its first game of the week in Nashville. With that extra time, the Crimson Tide’s focus has also been getting healthy.
Latrell Wrightsell returned to the lineup earlier this month after dealing with an injury, and he was “huge” in the season finale against Arkansas, which went to overtime. Alabama is also working to get Rylan Griffen back, as well, after suffering a calf injury.
Nate Oats seemed happy with how things went in practice on Thursday, and he said getting both players to 100% is crucial for the Crimson Tide offense. If Alabama can use a four-guard lineup Friday, he expressed confidence in the Tide’s ability to find its top gear.
“He means a lot,” Oats said of Wrightsell at halftime of Florida vs. Georgia. “You saw it when he was out, we dropped two of the four games he was out. Really, dropped a fifth one when he didn’t play much at Florida. I feel like he’s back, he’s practiced well. He’s super efficient. If you go on KenPom and look at player ratings, he’s the fourth highest-rated player in the country. He doesn’t turn the ball over, he makes open shots, he makes the offense go and he’s tough on defense. When we were playing four guards, we had the No. 1 offense in the country. Without him, it’s been hard to play four guards because you just don’t have the depth.
“Rylan looked good in practice today. If we can get Rylan back and him back, and we kind of go with those four, we’re hard to guard when you put those four guards out there together. You need him to do that, too.”