Alabama Basketball Guard Exits Oregon Game with Non-Contact Injury

Latrell Wrightsell Jr. went down early in the second half against Oregon in the Players Era Festival Championship.

Nov 15, 2024; West Lafayette, Indiana, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide guard Latrell Wrightsell Jr. (3) celebrates after making a basket during the second half against the Purdue Boilermakers at Mackey Arena. Mandatory Credit: Marc Lebryk-Imagn Images / Marc Lebryk-Imagn Images

Alabama guard Latrell Wrightsell Jr. went down with a non-contact lower leg injury early in the second half of the Crimson Tide's Players Era Festival Championship matchup against Oregon on Saturday night.

Wrightsell stayed down for a little bit and was unable to walk his way to the locker room as he relied on two trainers paving the way with his arms on their shoulders.

About 10 minutes after the injury occurred, CBS Sports' Jon Rothstein reported that Wrightsell had been diagnosed with a lower leg injury and is doubtful to return to the game. He was later shown on the TNT broadcast in an Alabama warmup track suit, signifying that he's done for the night.

"[The trainers] are concerned about his achilles, which obviously wouldn't be good," Oats said during the postgame press conference. "They're going to evaluate him once we get back. He'll get an MRI and see what we've got going. Keeping our fingers crossed."

The 6-foot-3 graduate guard is averaging 11.7 points per game this season with extremely efficient shooting numbers: 49 percent from the field and 41.5 percent from downtown. Coming into Saturday night, Wrightsell led Alabama in threes made this season with 17 through seven games.

Wrightsell averaged 8.9 points and 1.1 steals last season for the Crimson Tide in roughly 23.6 minutes per game. He was on and off as Alabama's sixth-man alongside outgoing South Carolina transfer forward Nick Pringle, as the two of them altered as starters. Wrightsell also suffered multiple head injuries in 2023-24, leading him to miss six games, including an early exit in Alabama's Round of 32 game of the NCAA Tournament.

Alabama received very high praise prior to the season as it earned a No. 2 ranking in the AP Poll––the highest preseason spot in school history. It's a big reason why Wrightsell returned to the Crimson Tide for another season.

“We know that we’re really talented and that we have a chip on our shoulder to do something that hasn’t been done before," Wrightsell said during SEC Media Day. Just to win a National Championship and bring something back to Alabama.”