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Nate Oats says Grant Nelson asked to be subbed in vs. Robert Morris: ‘I think he sensed it’
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Nate Oats and Alabama survived an upset scare from 15th-seeded Robert Morris on Friday afternoon, winning 90-81 to advance to the Round of 32.
However, things got a bit dicey for the Crimson Tide in the 2nd half. Robert Morris led in this game as late as the 7:10 mark.
Star forward Grant Nelson didn’t play in the first half as he deals with a knee injury he suffered in the SEC Tournament, but he was a big part of Alabama re-gaining control of this game in the 2nd half. Oats put Nelson into the game for the first time at the 8:47 mark in the 2nd half.
Nelson was immediately impactful. He recorded a steal within 4 seconds of checking in. A couple minutes later, he finished an alley-oop to give Alabama the lead again — which it would not relinquish from that point forward.
After the game, Oats spoke about the decision to put Nelson on the floor in the 2nd half.
“When he told me he was ready, I think he sensed it,” Oats said on TruTV. “We gotta go, we can’t afford to lose this. He stood up like ‘Put me in.’ We were trying to get out of that game without playing him, but hope doesn’t do us any good if we don’t play him and we go home.”
Nelson finished the game with 5 points, 3 rebounds and 1 steal in 7 minutes of action.
Nelson’s status for the rest of this tournament will be crucial to Alabama’s success in this tournament. The Crimson Tide have Final Four aspirations, but will need to play better next round in order to make the second weekend.
Alabama is scheduled to face the winner of Vanderbilt vs. Saint Mary’s on Sunday in the Round of 32.
Spenser is a news editor for Saturday Down South and covers college football across all Saturday Football brands.
