Alabama Basketball Forward Darius Miles Out vs No. 5 Kentucky

The sophomore forward will not play Saturday night due to a team-issued suspension.

SI Editorial | Feb 5, 2022

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Alabama basketball sophomore forward Darius Miles will be sitting on the bench for Saturday night's matchup against No. 5 Kentucky as he is facing a team-issued suspension, according to the school.

This is the second time Miles has missed a game due to a suspension as he was also held out of Alabama's SEC opener against Tennessee on Dec. 29. In the week following that game, head coach Nate Oats chastised the forward’s practice habits, stating they would have to improve in order for him to earn more playing time.

After the loss to 66-55 loss to Kentucky, Oats said he expects Miles back for Alabama's trip to Ole Miss on Wednesday night.

"Based on our conversation, moving forward how he handles himself, I plan on him being available on Wednesday," Oats said in the postgame. "That’s the plan. We’ll see how the conversations go with him moving forward.”

Miles seemed to have earned his way out of the doghouse last month as he recorded back-to-back double-digit performances in losses to Auburn and Mississippi State. However, that spurt has died down in recent weeks as he has recorded 17 points over his last four games.

Miles played just nine minutes in Alabama’s 100-81 loss at Auburn on Tuesday, netting just 3 points and one rebound while shooting 1 of 4 from the floor. Through 20 games this season, he is averaging 6.7 points and 3.5 rebounds over 17.6 minutes per game. The 6-foot-6, 185-pounder is shooting 40.7% from the floor and 34.5 percent from beyond the arc.

The absence of Miles means an even more shallow bench for the Crimson Tide bigs than usual. While freshman center Charles Bediako and sophomore forward Juwan Gary have earned spots as Saturday night's starters, the bench at the forward position is limited to graduate Noah Gurley and senior James Rojas alongside sophomore Keon Ambrose-Hylton.

Graduate forward Tyler Barnes is also slated to be available on Saturday night.

This story will be updated as more details are learned.