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A bad day for Alabama men's basketball injury news got even worse on Tuesday when Crimson Tide head coach Nate Oats revealed that Chris Youngblood was “highly doubtful” to play Wednesday night against the North Carolina Tar Heels.
The news comes after Oats also confirmed that Latrell Wrightsell ruptured his achilles and would miss the rest of the season.
Youngblood has yet to suit up for Alabama due to a preseason ankle injury. He started his career at Kennesaw State, where he played three seasons for the late Amir Abdul-Rahim. When Abdul-Rahim got the USF job, Youngblood followed his coach to Tampa, where he played one season before heading to Tuscaloosa.
Last season, Youngblood averaged 15.3 points per game and shot 41.6% from three. He was named co-American Athletic Conference Player of the Year along with Florida Atlantic's Johnell Davis.
Oats said over the weekend that the team “should be getting Chris back here pretty soon,” and that he was practicing with the team. Once cleared to return, Youngblood will operate on a minutes restriction to start.
Youngblood would have been a major addition for a game that could solidify Alabama as the national championship contenders many believed them to be in the preseason. The Crimson Tide have already defeated Houston and Illinois, but their last-second loss to Oregon and Wrightsell's injury has cast doubt on the team's ceiling.
Chris Youngblood is more important than ever for Alabama basketball after Latrell Wrightsell's injury
With Wrightsell out for the year, Alabama has lost a critical piece to its backcourt puzzle. Youngblood, when he returns, will play a major role in making up for his loss.
Wrightsell shot nearly 45% from three last season as the Crimson Tide made their Final Four run. With Mark Sears struggling to find consistency so far this season, Alabama is suddenly searching for reliable three-point shooters. Youngblood comes to Alabama having logged three consecutive seasons of making more than 40% of his three-point attempts.
The good news for the Crimson Tide is that a loss to North Carolina on Wednesday would not hurt them much. The Tar Heels are a top-20 team and the selection committee would factor in Youngblood's absence when determining the eventual 68-team NCAA Tournament field.
The bad news is that it doesn't get much easier after that. After the North Carolina game, the Crimson Tide host Creighton next weekend in a matchup of teams coming off of consecutive second-weekend tournament runs. With a 10-day layoff between games, it's much more likely Youngblood is ready to go against the Bluejays.
