TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Alabama basketball could be without senior wing Herb Jones for a game in the near future.
Jones, who has been struggling with back issues over the last several weeks, has been forced to consistently miss practices of the past couple of weeks. While he has been able to see minutes in each of the Crimson Tide's games, when looking at him on the court he seems to clearly be playing through pain.
When asked if Jones had been able to practice over the last couple of days following Alabama's 68-65 loss on the road at Missouri, Crimson Tide coach Nate Oats gave a resounding no.
"No he has not," Oats said during his press conference on Monday morning. "I mean, he's been on the side doing some skill work just trying to get that back — all that through there rested without getting another bump. It's not like he can't move. We do have him in practice in the non-live stuff where he's not going to get hit. We're just running through the plays where it's not live and kinda running through our offense and doing some skill work.
"Whenever there's a chance he'd get hit, we're just trying to avoid that happening."
Jones has been one of the more consistent players for Alabama this season. Along with a shooting game that has improved over last season, Jones' efforts on defense were a key factor in the Crimson Tide's 10-0 start to SEC play.
Jones' efforts on the defensive end of the court also earned him a spot on the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year Watch List.
For now, Jones continues to struggle through pain. However, Oats revealed on Monday morning that with the addition of taking time to work on conditioning in the pool, Jones is beginning to feel better.
"[Athletic trainer Clarke Holter] felt like it got loosened up a lot more today," Oats said. "They went into the pool — you know, they've been doing pool workouts. Clarke had him in the pool before we met today. Said he looked better, he's moving better. We had him off on the side — when we shoot at their place tonight we'll get him another skill workout [and] see how he's feeling that way and see what he feels like tomorrow."
While the outlook on Jones' injury is looking optimistic now that pool workouts have been implemented, he could still miss action in the near future should his condition continue to remain the same or grow worse.
If Jones continues to struggle with back pain, Oats said that he and his staff have considered resting him for a game in order for him to heal up.
"We've talked about if it doesn't heal up here quickly and makes significant progress sitting him for a game just to see if we can't rest it," Oats said. "We've had that discussion for a week and a half now or so. It just keeps getting better, he keeps feeling like he wants to play and it's hard to tell the kid he's not going to play when the injury is definitely getting better and there's no guarantee that it will get better sitting. It's just that you avoid getting hit if he doesn't play.
"We're going to reevaluate that all in the morning."
Alabama travels to South Carolina to take on the Gamecocks on Tuesday night (5:30 p.m. CT, SEC Network).
The Link LonkFebruary 09, 2021 at 01:38AM
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Alabama Basketball's Herb Jones Continues to Miss Practice Due to Back Pain - Bama Maven
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