(Photo by Andy Lyons / Getty Images)
(Photo by Andy Lyons / Getty Images)
Sitting 8-0 in a conference game, the No. 9 Alabama Crimson Tide is now passing through the SEC now, and the Kentucky Wildcats are tasked with tackling them next.
Although Tide jumped to the top ten and appears to be the SEC favorite in the middle of the conference, they will host Wildcats without one of the team’s best players on the pitch, and may be without another role player.
According to Alabama coach Nate Oats, principal striker Jordan Bruner will be out until mid-February, while junior striker James Rojas is not training and may not be back in time for the game against Kentucky on the night of Tuesday.
Bruner is currently averaging 7.8 points, 5.3 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.2 blocks in 21.8 minutes per game, while Rojas averages 3.6 points and 4.0 rebounds in 14.6 minutes per game.
Oats broke the news about Bruner in an interview with Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports, while discussing Rojas’s situation during his pre-Kentucky press conference on Monday afternoon.
Jordan Bruner (knee) from Alabama is hoping to return early in mid-February, according to Nate Oats. It was an average of 7.8 PPG and 5.3 RPG.
– Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) January 25, 2021
“Rojas is still not practicing. We are hopeful that maybe we can catch him at the game, ”said Oats. “Even if we get it at the time of the game, he will have been gone for almost a week, so …”
If Bruner and Rojas lose the game against Kentucky, Oats says his team is deep enough to compete with names like Olivier Sarr, Isaiah Jackson, Keion Brooks Jr., Jacob Toppin and Lance Ware on the UK attacking court.
“We are going to need Keon (Ambrose-Hylton) to play well for us again. He is athletic, active, anxious, very trainable, we like him very much ”, said Oats. “We recruited him to have more than four, not as many as five. We will have to play with him a little longer in the five, but he can rebound, block shots, is working on his skill, can take a leap. Shoot, he can do three. He’s going to have minutes.
“I hope (Alex) Reese will be able to give us a few minutes of good quality, longer than normal. When he’s out, a combination of Ambrose (-Hylton), Rojas, even Juwan (Gary), even Herb (Jones) can protect the five sometimes, so we have options there. “
Oats says Alabama’s depth was crucial this year and helped the team gain momentum throughout the season and continue playing at the conference, something that could not be said about some of their recent teams in Tuscaloosa.
“Our depth is much better to withstand some injuries this year compared to last year,” said Oats. “Last year, the guys would fall and we would be in serious trouble. (Jahvon) Quin (erly) lost just three games and we won all three, and he’s super vital this year. Herb (ert Jones) left when we played the first eight minutes against Kentucky, and we still got a quality victory. (Jordan) Bru (ner) hasn’t played the last ten minutes in Kentucky and hasn’t played since, but we won.
“There comes a point where you can only resist so many, but we have been able to endure what we have had so far.”
Will Kentucky be able to capitalize on Alabama’s concerns over injuries in the highly anticipated rematch? We’ll find out on Tuesday night.