In the first half of Alabama basketball's 104-82 loss to Florida in the SEC Tournament semifinals, Grant Nelson went down with a leg injury. He did not return to the game and a close game in the first half turned into a rout as he watched helplessly from the bench.
Nelson had gotten off to a good start against Florida, scoring nine points, grabbing three rebounds, and added an assist, steal, and blocked shot in 10 minutes of action before leaving with the injury. Nelson subbed out with 3:40 to play in the first half and Alabama holding a 42-41 advantage. From there, Florida outscored Alabama 63-40 the rest of the way.
After the game, Nate Oats provided the first update on Nelson since he went out with the injury, and it didn't sound all that promising for his status moving forward:
Nate Oats said Grant Nelson is dealing with a knee injury. He's not sure what it is but doesn't think it's an ACL or anything like that.
— Charlie Potter (@Charlie_Potter) March 15, 2025
"Hopefully we get him back for the first round of the NCAA Tournament."
It not being an ACL is a good thing, but the sheer mention of that in the same sentence is concerning. It certainly wasn't the "precautionary" measure that I think most fans were hoping for. He seems to have a legitimate injury that puts his status in the NCAA Tournament in doubt with Alabama returning to the floor in five or six days.
Nelson has been beat up for a while now and playing through injuries that have limited his effectiveness.
Where does Alabama turn if Nelson is unable to go in the NCAA Tournament?
Alabama's depth has been tested this season with season-ending injuries to Latrell Wrightsell and Houston Mallette. Freshman Derrion Reid has missed nine games and returned for the Crimson Tide in the quarterfinal win over Kentucky, but he looked rusty, which was to be expected.
Jarin Stevenson started the second half for Alabama with Nelson out. The other option would likely be Mo Dioubate. It probably comes down to the matchups for the Crimson Tide and if they want a little more offensive versatility with Stevenson or if they need someone to do the dirty work like Dioubate.
Stevenson helps the stretch the floor more and has shot above 40% from three since opening the year 0-of-18, though he was just 2-of-8 against Florida.
Dioubate won the hard hat against Kentucky and finished with 12 points and 12 rebounds in the loss to Florida. Either is a good option, but they don't bring the overall game and length that Nelson does.
Alabama will be fine without Nelson in the first round, most likely, but will probably need him for a potential second round matchup as there are plenty of land mines laying in weight from teams seeded seven through 10.