After a week off, a banged-up Alabama basketball team will return to the court on Wednesday night to face Clemson. The Crimson Tide is back home in Coleman Coliseum after a three-game stretch in Las Vegas for the Players Era Festival that saw Alabama go 2-1 with a loss to Gonzaga and wins over UNLV and Maryland.
By the time Alabama got to the third game in three days, they were down to just nine healthy scholarship players. According to Nate Oats on Tuesday, the Crimson Tide might still only have nine healthy scholarship players available for Wednesday night against Clemson.
Freshman big man Collins Onyejiaka remains out with a medical condition. Oats has not specified what that is, but said on Tuesday that he was getting testing done by Alabama's medical staff and that they are hopeful to have more clarity by the end of the week.
The news is better for the other three injured Tide players: Jalil Bethea, Latrell Wrightsell, and Keitenn Bristow, all of whom have been out with lower-body injuries, but all seem to be approaching a return to the court. Unfortunately, that return might not be tomorrow night for any of them.
All three recently saw foot/ankle specialists, and Oats says they are all "day-to-day."
"Not sure if any of them will quite be ready for Clemson," Oats said, via 247's Mike Rodak. "We'll see. They were all in different aspects of practice today, some a little more involved than others."
Alabama is pretty banged up heading into SEC/ACC challenge vs. Clemson
Alabama didn't need Bethea, Wrightsell, or Bristow against Maryland last Wednesday, but Clemson represents a much more difficult challenge. Maryland is currently ranked 94th in KenPom while Clemson sits at No. 25.
Even at Coleman Coliseum, the Tigers are capable of beating the Crimson Tide. Facing the prospect of only nine scholarship players being available, Alabama will have a smaller margin for error, particularly with both Labaron Philon and Aden Holloway. They will need to avoid foul trouble and stay on the court for as long as possible.
Bethea has yet to play a game for Alabama yet, but his highly anticipated debut appears to be pretty close. He's been ramping up recently for his return to the court, and it shouldn't be much longer now.
Wrightsell was held out of an abundance of caution in Las Vegas. Getting him back will be big on both ends of the court with his 3-and-D ability, along with adding an extra ball-handler.
Bristow has been a pleasant surprise for Alabama so far, when healthy. The Tarleton State transfer made a huge difference in Alabama's win over Illinois in Chicago, and played well through the first two games of the Players Era Festival before sitting out the game against Maryland with an injury.
Alabama is off to a 5-2 start with a couple of quality wins on its resume already, despite not yet being close to full strength. It'll be fun to see what this team can be when Oats has his full roster available to play.