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Alabama lists 3 out, key player questionable on availability report for Florida game
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Alabama and Florida will fight it out on Wednesday night in Tuscaloosa, with the SEC powerhouses in a second-place deadlock at 12-4 with the No. 2 seed behind Auburn at stake for the SEC Tournament.
Florida is ranked 5th and Alabama is ranked 7th, and so everything seems to be on an even playing field going into the showdown at Coleman Coliseum that will tip off at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN2.
But as the Crimson Tide (23-6) and Gators (25-4) get set for a key game during the final week of the regular season, there is a key player for Alabama who popped up on Tuesday night’s availability report. That is senior forward Grant Nelson, who was listed as questionable for Wednesday night’s showdown. Nelson has dealt with injuries at various times this season, including a shin bruise during the Mississippi State game on Feb. 25.
Latrell Wrightsell Jr., Derrion Reid and Houston Mallette are all out for the Florida game, but it’s the Nelson factor that looms largest. Nelson is one of the heart-and-soul players for Nate Oats’s team, averaging a team-high 8.0 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game. He also averages a solid 11.8 points per contest, and he’s been one of Alabama’s key guys the past few seasons as it’s become a relevant team in the national championship discussion.
“Grant’s got to get healthier,” Oats said before the Tennessee game last Saturday. “I think we’re starting to see him get healthier, get more explosive, get downhill to the rim.”
On Wednesday night, Alabama fans just want to see Nelson out on the court, and right now that’s very much up in the air.
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
