Alabama Basketball Gets A Little Good News on Injury/Illness Front

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — The University of Alabama men’s basketball team got some good news on the injury/illness front, just not near enough as it needs.

Monday morning, graduate student Beetle Bolden returned to practice after missing two games due to illness. The guard is expected to play against Tennessee on Tuesday night (6 p.m. CT, ESPNU), but will be limited.

“His energy is not up enough for him to play as many minutes as in the past, but he practiced some today so it was a good sign,” Crimson Tide coach Nate Oats said. “He looked pretty good.”

For the season, Bolden is averaging 8.4 points. 1.3 rebounds and 1.2 assists over 20.3 minutes per game.

While there’s obviously no good time to get sick — freshman big-man Raymond Hawkins is also out as a bug is rampant on campus — it arguably couldn’t have come at a worse time for the Crimson Tide.

Junior wing Herbert Jones suffered a fractured wrist at LSU last Wednesday and is out indefinitely following surgery. Alabama (12-9 overall, 4-4 SEC) is hoping to get him back in a couple of weeks.

With James Rojas and Juwan Gary both out for the season due to knee injuries, and transfer Jahvon Quinely’s waiver request to play this season denied by the NCAA, Alabama was down to seven scholarship players during the 82-78 home loss to Arkansas on Saturday.

Overall, the Crimson Tide has had 48 games lost to injuries and illness this season.

“It’s hard not to get frustrated with it, but it’s part of the game,” Alabama junior forward Alex Reese said.” That stuff happens. You just have to keep working through it. You can’t really let it affect how you play.”

For Tennessee, freshman guard Josiah-Jordan James is considered day-to-day with a hip injury. He didn’t play Saturday, when the Vols took a 86-73 defeat at Mississippi State for their third straight loss.