Alabama forward Nick Pringle has been suspended indefinitely for “conduct detrimental to the team,” men’s basketball coach Nate Oats announced Friday. Here’s what you need to know:
- Pringle, a 6-foot-10, 230-pound senior, has stepped into a starting role this season — starting in six of seven games and averaging 6.0 points and 4.4 rebounds in 15.4 minutes per game.
- Pringle didn’t start in Alabama’s last game, a 85-77 loss to Clemson, but played 21 minutes and recorded four points and five rebounds.
- Alabama’s upcoming schedule includes Arkansas State followed by No. 1 Purdue in Toronto for the Hall of Fame Series on Dec. 9, at No. 15 Creighton on Dec. 16 then against No. 2 Arizona in Phoenix on Dec. 20 for the second game of the Hall of Fame Series.
They said it
“Nothing serious off the court or anything. In-house, just there’s a standard we want our guys to uphold, and he wasn’t upholding it. I still love Nick. Hopefully, he can get himself figured out and be back with the team shortly — Oats
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What does it mean for Alabama?
Pringle’s loss weakens an Alabama frontcourt that’s missing the defensive presence of Charles Bediako. North Dakota State transfer Grant Nelson is averaging 1.7 blocks per game but no other player on Alabama’s roster is averaging a block per game. Defense has been a particular talking point of late — Alabama has surrendered at least 85 points in its last three games, two of them losses: to Clemson, a 92-81 loss to Ohio State and a 99-91 win over Oregon.
Pringle’s absence likely will result in more responsibility for West Virginia transfer Mohamed Wague, who started in Pringle’s place against Clemson. Oats is experimenting with different lineup combinations in the early part of the season to figure out playing rotations once SEC play starts. This should also open up opportunities for the entire bench, meaning true freshmen Davin Cosby, Mouhamed Dioubate, Jarin Stevenson and Sam Walters will have a chance to impress. And this puts more pressure on Nelson to continue providing rim protection as the only proven shot blocker on the roster right now.
“Everybody will have a chance to get some more minutes,” Oats said. “And we will see how they do with the initial minutes they get to see how many more minutes they get throughout the game.”
Alabama’s upcoming stretch is one of the most difficult in college basketball by any team this season — three games against top-15 teams, none of which are at home. — Smith
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(Photo: Johnnie Izquierdo / Getty Images)
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