Latrell Wrightsell Jr. Considered Quitting Basketball After Achilles Injury

With the encouragement of his teammates, trainer Clarke Holter and head coach Nate Oats, Alabama basketball's veteran guard will be returning to the court for the Crimson Tide next season.

Nov 15, 2024; West Lafayette, Indiana, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide guard Latrell Wrightsell Jr. (3) celebrates after making a basket during the second half against the Purdue Boilermakers at Mackey Arena. | Marc Lebryk-Imagn Images

CLEVELAND–– After Latrell Wrightsell Jr. ruptured his Achilles in Alabama basketball's loss to Oregon on Nov. 30, he got to the point where he never wanted to play basketball again.

"I was really like, ‘I’m about to quit basketball,'" Wrightsell said. "I just didn’t want to deal with it. I’ve been through a lot of injuries. The Achilles–– my favorite player is Kevin Durant, and I’ve seen him tear it before–– and I just know a lot of people don’t recover from it."

Wrightsell was in Alabama's starting lineup as the team's best 3-point shooter and was averaging 11.5 points per game prior to his injury. He was always supposed to play a big role for this year's Crimson Tide team before the season-ending injury.

Dealing with the injury was challenging. Wrightsell also missed time last season with a head injury and was questionable for most of the Tide's postseason run. With a devasting injury like the Achilles, he got constant support and encouragement from team trainer Clarke Holter and head coach Nate Oats.

 "I know Clarke is probably one of the best trainers in the country," Wrightsell said. "He told me to not worry about it. But for three to four months, I told him I was probably going to be done playing basketball. Oats had talked to me and told me I shouldn’t do that. I was just living a regular life, but it was just so hard for me to not look at basketball. That motivated me to come back, and then just my teammates telling me they believed in me."

He also drew inspiration from a teammate, guard Chris Youngblood, who got injured in the summer right as he transferred into Alabama and then had to miss most of the Crimson Tide's non-conference schedule. Youngblood made his Alabama debut on Dec. 14 against Creighton and averages 10 points per game for the Tide.

"He had gotten hurt in the summer but made his return," Wrightsell said. "And I was like, ‘Well, if he can do it, I should be able to do it just for him and just for the guys that depend on me to be able to have a hearing voice and be able to play.”

Youngblood said it was "heartwarming" to hear the role he played in Wrightsell's decision.

"Seeing him fight through it, he dealt with a lot of adversity, and he inspired me," Youngblood said.

Oats also wanted Wrightsell back on the sidelines as soon as possible to encourage and coach up his young teammates as one of the more experienced players on the team.

Wrightsell plans to return to Alabama next season and should be granted another year of eligibility with the medical redshirt. But for this year's NCAA Tournament run, he will be leading and encouraging from the sidelines.