Nate Oats reveals extended absence for Alabama freshman center
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Alabama watched a commanding first-half lead slip away before the Crimson Tide eventually were run out of Birmingham by top-ranked Arizona in a 96-75 result Saturday night.
The disappointing defeat has left a bitter taste in the mouth of Nate Oats, who knows that his side missed a golden opportunity to pick up another statement non-conference win.
And to add insult to injury, Oats provided an update on freshman center Collins Onyejiaka, who has been recently sidelined due to an irregular heartbeat that the team knew about prior to signing him.
The Nigeria native who moved to Massachusetts for his prep career logged four minutes during Alabama‘s win over St. John’s on Nov. 8, and Onyejiaka has yet to play since.
The 6-foot-11, 265 lb. center has already undergone surgery to address the ailment, but Oats hinted at the possibility that Onyejiaka will need to undergo more treatment. As a result, Crimson Tide fans likely shouldn’t expect Onyejiaka back on the floor any time soon.
“I think he’s [Onyejiaka] gonna have to have another procedure done,” Oats said. “He’s not gonna be back playing anytime soon.”
Onyejiaka was rated a 4-star recruit by 247Sports’ Composite coming out of high school, and he chose to join Oats’ program over offers from the likes of Illinois, Indiana and West Virginia.
Parker is currently the sports editor for the Enterprise-Journal in McComb, Mississippi. He's a graduate from Mizzou who has experience covering the Tiger football and basketball beats for SB Nation, and he's worked for a variety of sports news outlets in the past.
