Latrell Wrightsell Jr. Out for Season With Ruptured Achilles

The Alabama basketball guard suffered a non-contact lower leg injury early in the second half of the Players Era Festival Championship.

Nov 11, 2024; Tuscaloosa, AL, USA; Alabama guard Latrell Wrightsell Jr. (3) takes a three pointer from the corner at Coleman Coliseum. Alabama defeated McNeese 72-64. Mandatory Credit: Gary Cosby Jr.-Tuscaloosa News / Gary Cosby Jr. / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

TUSCALOOSA, Ala.— Alabama basketball guard Latrell Wrightsell Jr. is out for the season with a ruptured Achilles, head coach Nate Oats confirmed during Tuesday's press conference.

"We did get an MRI on Latrell, they got back to us yesterday saying that he did rupture his Achilles tendon, so he's out for the year which is disappointing," Oats said. "He's leading the team in three-point percentage, he's one of the better shooters in the country. He's going to have surgery on Wednesday and we expect him to make a full recovery. It's obviously not a quick recovery, but Dr. Waldrop will do the surgery and he'll be able to get back to a high level of basketball after his recovery. But he's out for the year."

Wrightsell went down with a non-contact lower leg injury early in the second half of the Crimson Tide's Players Era Festival Championship loss to Oregon this past 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 15 minutes later, he was shown on the TNT broadcast in an Alabama warmup tracksuit, signifying that he was done for the night.

Following the conclusion of the game, although the official tests haven't been done, Oats wasn't optimistic that a member of last year's Final Four team would return somewhat soon.

"[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 averaged 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.

Without Wrightsell, Alabama's current guards are Sears, Philon, Holloway, plus transfer Chris Youngblood, who is expected to make his season debut in the near future after suffering a foot injury in the offseason.

As the stats suggest, Wrightsell has had a big impact on the Crimson Tide's success to start the season. It's safe to say that the nightly game plan will change a bit due to his absence as he recovers.

This story will be updated.