'Looks Like He's Back:' Wrightsell Has Career-Best Shooting Night Against Tigers

TUSCALOOSA, Ala.— Latrell Wrightsell Jr. had struggled throughout the first half of the season for Alabama, struggling to find a place in the offense while posting career-low shooting numbers. That changed on Tuesday night, as the sixth-year senior went 7-for-10 from three to lead the Crimson Tide with 21 points in a 90-64 win over Missouri.

"It looks like he's back," head coach Nate Oats said. "I'm happy for him. I think this is what we need from him, what he's capable of. And not that he's going to go 7-for-10 every night, but he's going to be a threat to go 7-for-10 every night, which is big."

A career 41% three point shooter, Wrightsell was just 27.4% this season while taking a career-high 7.6 attempts per game entering Tuesday. He has posted numerous ugly box scores this year (4-for-18 against UTSA, 3-for-14 against Kennesaw State and 2-for-10 against Kentucky), but appears to have turned a corner after returning from an injury on Saturday against Tennessee. Wrightsell scored a relatively efficient 14 points in the loss to the Volunteers and has been a much more natural fit in the offense over these past two games.

"When you spend a lot of time working on threes like Trelly has, when you lose yourself in the game and just worry about the stuff you get full control over, the game comes to you," Oats said. "He's been a great leader, trying to get the team to just focus on getting stops and playing in the flow. And I think every one of his threes just came in the flow, it wasn't off the sets we ran, so it was great."

Five of Wrightsell's seven makes came in the second half. He made four in a row for the Crimson Tide during a three-minute stretch in the period, scoring 12 points during a 14-2 Alabama run that effectively put the game away.

"Wrightsell definitely made a difference," Missouri coach Dennis Gates said. "When you do just simple math, three plus three plus three plus three... that's where the margins are won."

Oats praised Wrightsell postgame for his improved shot selection. Wrightsell had attempted an unusually high amount of non-rim two-pointers through the first half of the season, and has cut the habit since returning from the injury. Now, it appears Alabama has the version of Wrightsell, who was a key player throughout Alabama's 2024 Final Four run, back, greatly elevating the team's ceiling. As he heads into the final two months of his collegiate career, Wrightsell appears to have turned a corner.

"It's a blessing," Wrightsell said. "I've been putting in a lot of work to get to where I am right now. I know it hasn't shown with the numbers, but I've been putting a lot of shots in, and in due time, I knew they would fall. I just put my head down and kept working. It's finally paying off, so I just want to thank the Lord for the rest of the year."