Courtesy of Alabama Athletics
Nimari Burnett, Dom Welch '100 Percent Healthy' Per Nate Oats
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — According to Alabama basketball head coach Nate Oats, the Crimson Tide will have two players that were absent in its final game of the SEC Tournament return to the court on Thursday.
Graduate student guard Dom Welch suffered a bruised tailbone in the Crimson Tide's SEC Tournament opener against Mississippi State in Nashville, Tenn.. While head coach Nate Oats said that the injury wasn't too serious, it limited Welch's minutes in Saturday's semifinal against Missouri and Sunday's championship victory over Texas A&M.
Sophomore guard Nimari Burnett joined Welch on the bench on Sunday, seeing no playing time against the Aggies. While it was originally speculated that Burnett had suffered an injury as well, Oats clarified that both players are 100 percent and ready to go for the Crimson Tide's First Round game in the NCAA Tournament.
"That was a deal where we were trying to — it's hard to play 11 guys in every game," Oats said. "We kind of went with the guys that are playing well. Stuff started out great and we just kinda rolled with the guys that were playing well at the time."
Oats continued to specifically address each players' status:
"They're both 100-percent healthy," Oats said. "I thought Nimari's had two great practices. I anticipate seeing him early tomorrow based on his last two practices and how focused he's been. I think Dom's playing really hard and we'll play him as needed."
Alabama will open its March Madness run against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Thursday (1:45 p.m. CT, CBS). While Alabama was still able to win the SEC Tournament without Welch or Burnett, their return to the available roster will add to the Crimson Tide's well-established depth.
Over the course of Alabama's final four games of the regular season, graduate student forward Noah Gurley was benched for two of the games. The benching was not due to injury purposes, though. Oats later revealed that it had been purely for matchup purposes, and that Gurley was perfectly content to be sidelined if it improved the team's chances of winning.
Gurley's behavior and willingness to sacrifice playing time in order to better the team is similar to the situation that the team faced with Welch and Burnett, according to Oats.
"There's nothing wrong with either one of them," Oats said. "It's kind of one of those deals where Noah Gurley's been playing two out of our last four regular-season games then he averaged 20-plus minutes in the SEC Tournament and played really well for us. We've got a really good culture of guys staying engaged and focused and keeping their attitudes right and being ready to play.
"I thought Nimari's attitude on the bench was unbelievable, Dom's has been great all year, Noah Gurley's been great — so I would anticipate those guys playing."
See Also:
Breaking Down Alabama Basketball's Path to the Final Four
NCAA Tournament How To Watch: No. 1 Alabama vs. No. 16 Texas A&M - Corpus Christi
Who Will Make a Name For Themselves in the NCAA Tournament? Just A Minute
