Alabama basketball fans might have to wait a little bit longer for the much-anticipated debut of Chris Youngblood.
Head coach Nate Oats teased to The Field of 68 over the weekend that Youngblood could hit the floor for UNC in the SEC/ACC Challenge on Wednesday. However, it sounded like he's leaning towards Youngblood's return coming on Dec. 14 against Creighton or later during Tuesday media availability at Coleman Coliseum.
Oats said that UA "should be getting Chris back here pretty soon," noting that Youngblood was practicing daily and would operate on a minutes restriction once cleared to return.
Although the South Florida guard transfer has been on the injured reserve since the preseason, he's still been a presence for Alabama (6-2) from the bench while recovering from ankle surgery .
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When Youngblood's first Crimson Tide outing does come around, his gameday role will shift from solely cheering on his teammates and getting involved in the huddle to draining threes in the place of returning Final Four starter Latrell Wrightsell, Jr , out for the year with a ruptured Achilles . Wrightsell, who was UA's top three-point shooter, left the Oregon game in the Players Era Festival championship early in the second half.
With a power from the perimeter in the Tar Heels, the Crimson Tide would undoubtedly benefit from Youngblood's return coming earlier than the mid-to-late December timeline Oats has been anticipating for months.
One of six grads on Alabama's roster, Youngblood was projected to be a starter before he fell injured.
Last season at USF, Youngblood played in all 33 games and led the Bulls with an average 15.3 points per game, highlighted by his 41.6% success rate from three-point range. He also shot 45.8% from the field, averaging 2.5 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game along the way. With Youngblood, USF went 25-8 on the season with a 16-2 record in the AAC to win a historic regular season conference title.
Alabama tips off against UNC in Chapel Hill on Dec. 4 for a 6:15 p.m. CT tipoff. The game will be broadcast on ESPN .
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Emilee Smarr covers Alabama basketball and Crimson Tide athletics for the Tuscaloosa News. She can be reached via email at esmarr@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Chris Youngblood injury update: Alabama basketball player to debut 'soon'
