BIRMINGHAM — Alabama basketball guard Chris Youngblood is playing for something more this season.
The South Florida transfer walked into Children's of Alabama on Friday morning, donning the boot he's been wearing on his right leg since undergoing surgery ahead of the 2024-25 season .
He left what he called an "inspiring" visit, touched as young faces reminded him that he's not just lucky to have the chance to get back on the court by conference play in January, but to get out and play at all.
Youngblood thought about what patients and families go through while spending months and years in and out of hospitals and pointed to his boot.
"This is nothing," he said.
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In an hour of rounds of NBA 2K and pop-and-shoot at the hospital, Youngblood found his favorite moment of the day playing Uno with a hospital patient named Latrice.
She won the game, and his heart along with it.
He smiled at the mention of her name.
"She was in good spirits, high energy," Youngblood said. "To make her day by winning the game, that was good."
Latrice's humor stood out. She grew up the youngest of five, the sister of Vanderbilt football player De'Rickey Wright , so she knew how to tease.
Especially when it came to recent events in Nashville involving the Alabama football team, which was upset at Vanderbilt.
"She was very happy to tell us that," Youngblood recalled.
As reported by the Vanderbilt Hustler 's Grace Hall, Latrice grew up homeless with her two sisters, brother and mother, moving from place to place before landing in small-town Atalla, Alabama. De'Rickey was a defensive back at Etowah High, then spent his senior season at Gadsden City High.
Back in December of 2020, when De'Rickey was a freshman at Vanderbilt and Latrice was 10, their mom , Christina Henderson, died at 35. Their father had already passed away in their early youth.
Youngblood said he didn't "know too much" surrounding the reason for Latrice's hospital stay. Wright's former football coach at Etowah High, Brandon Brooks, said all of the siblings were diagnosed with a life-threatening blood disorder that affects hemoglobin.
"It just put everything into perspective," Youngblood said of the visit.
Latrice will be on Youngblood's mind when Alabama hosts Vanderbilt in Coleman Coliseum on Jan. 21.
He could probably hear her from the stands in Boutwell Auditorium when the Crimson Tide faced Wake Forest for the post-visit charity exhibition game.
Children's of Alabama sent 30 patients to " Bama in Boutwell " to cheer on their newfound friends. They were part of history, too, seeing the first time to be played in Boutwell Auditorium in more than 45 years. The hospital is the "official philanthropic partner" of Bama in Boutwell. A donation will be made on behalf of Friday's event.
"We found a small, intimate environment where it can feel special to everybody that's going," Alabama coach Nate Oats said of Boutwell, which was built in 1924. "There's not a bad seat in the place. I think they did a great job getting it ready. It looked straight. Was in there (Friday) night, we shot around."
Last year's exhibition took place in North Carolina, supporting stroke research at the Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Comprehensive Stroke Center. This year, the Yellowhammer State benefits from the matchup.
"I think it's great to do the exhibition and be able to contribute to Children's both financially and just with some service here, hanging out with the kids," Oats said.
The schedule is stacked for the No. 2-ranked program's quest for a historic national championship , but his plan is to bring some guys back to Birmingham to visit.
"I think it's good for our team to minister to the patients here," Oats said. "It's really moving."
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: Children's hospital visit inspires Alabama basketball's Chris Youngblood
