TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Alabama will be without freshman forward Derrion Reid for its matchup against Arkansas on Saturday. Crimson Tide coach Nate Oats ruled Reid out when speaking to reporters Friday.
Reid missed four straight games for Alabama due to an injury but returned to play a combined 24 minutes in the Tide’s games against then-No. 14 Mississippi State and Georgia. However, Oats said he continued to deal with some discomfort after last Saturday’s matchup and Alabama wants to preserve Reid’s long-term health moving forward.
“We had him out, brought him back — continued to increase his basketball workload,” Oats said Friday. “But since we anticipate him having a long, successful basketball career a little after he’s done playing in college we didn’t want to jeopardize any of his long-term health. So, we’re trying to make decisions that benefit him both in the short-term and long-term and we don’t try to use anybody just to win games.
“So, he’s gonna be out tomorrow, and he’ll be game-to-game moving forward until he’s able to go through a full practice and not experience any type of significant discomfort.”
Reid has started three games over 17 appearances this season. The 6-foot-8 forward is averaging 7.2 points and 3.4 rebounds over 16.9 minutes per game. He is shooting 44.0% from the floor and 26.5% from 3-point range.
Alabama (19-3, 8-1) will host Arkansas (14-6, 3-6) at 7:30 p.m. CT Saturday inside Bud Walton Arena. The game will be televised on ESPN.
