CBB analyst highlights major reason Alabama won’t win NCAA Tournament

Alabama graduate senior forward and second-leading scorer Grant Nelson suffered an injury in the first half of the Crimson Tide’s 104-82 loss to Florida in the semifinals of the SEC Tournament. It was an injury that kept him out for the rest of the game and has now cast doubt about his availability moving forward into the NCAA Tournament.

Nate Oats spoke after the game and immediately raised concern about the extent of Nelson’s injury. Oats stated it wasn’t a torn ACL, but the severity wasn’t yet known.

While the severity still isn’t known on Sunday as Alabama awaits its NCAA Tournament destination and first round opponent, the latest from Jon Rothstein casts doubt about Nelson’s availability for the Big Dance:

Nelson leads the team in rebounds and blocked shots while trailing only Mark Sears in scoring. He’s one of the most important players on the team and losing him would be a tremendous blow to the Crimson Tide’s chances of making a deep NCAA Tournament run.

Perhaps it’s too early to panic until we see what the specialist has to say on Monday, but based on the fact that he’s having to see a specialist to begin with it’s obviously not a simple tweak and I’m sure Oats and the rest of the coaching staff are going to prepare as if Nelson will not play, at least for the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament.

How does Alabama move forward without Grant Nelson?

Alabama started the season with one of the deepest rosters in college basketball, but injuries have taken their toll. Alabama lost Latrell Wrightsell to a torn Achilles early in the season, Houston Mallette had to shut it down due to knee issues, Derrion Reid has missed a big chunk of conference play, and now Nelson is dealing with a knee injury that has threatened his availability for the NCAA Tournament.

With Reid back, Alabama will have nine available scholarship players for the Big Dance if Nelson is out, Oats will likely start Jarin Stevenson at the four next to Cliff Omoruyi. Stevenson provides more floor spacing with his ability to shoot. On the surface, his 32.6% three-point percentage might not look great, Stevenson has shot 40.2% from three since starting the season 0-of-18.

The other realistic option would be starting Mo Dioubate at the four. Where Alabama might lose a little floor spacing, it more than makes up for in defensive ability and toughness. It could ultimately depend on the matchup and how Oats wants to start games. Undoubtedly both Stevenson and Dioubate will see increased roles regardless.

A healthy Reid would help, too, as he could get minutes at both the three and the four as well. Aiden Sherrell will likely command a bigger role, too.

Obviously, the hope is that Nelson will get a clean bill of health on Monday and he’ll be ready to go. If not, Alabama should have the quality depth to cover him, at least for the opening weekend. Beyond that will be difficult without Nelson.