Some players are just cursed with bad injury luck, Latrell Wrightsell, Jr. is one of those guys. I have lost track of the number of concussions and head bumps he has had, lingering injuries, etc.
This year began no differently, and then when Trelly finally did see action, Alabama was trying to work through its rotation, get accustomed to playing with everyone, and he began with a slower start than you would expect of the senior.
But, he finally settled in, and had established himself as the Tide’s third-leading scorer, when disaster struck. Again. This time, it was a season ending, “lower body injury” which required surgery (blown Achilles). Like Houston Mallette, he had only been able to play in a handful of games before being sidelined.
But, it seems as though his career will not end on that low point after all. Coach Nate Oats has now confirmed that Wrightsell will return after seeking a medical redshirt.
And, by the rules, Trelly should be rubber-stamped for a hardship year:
“The rule in basketball is 30 percent, and you can’t play in the last half of the season,” Oats told Tide 100.9’s Ryan Fowler on Friday. “So he’s under the 30 percent total, and all the games that he did play were in the front half of the season.”
For the Tide, this is huge.
Alabama is going to lose Youngblood, Sears, and Philon from the rotation next year, leaving a returning backcourt of Cunningham and maybe Reid at the wings (depending on the latter’s NBA ambitions), with Holloway at SH/PG Guard, and Mallette playing a SG/SF spot. Stud freshman scorer Amari Allen will be joining next season, but Alabama is perilously thin at the guard position as of now.
And that assumes no abrupt portal departure and a completely healthy roster
But for Trelly, this is much bigger; it’s a chance to put it all together in one final elite season. And may it finally be a healthy one.
Great news here.
Roll Tide
