No one can call Grant Nelson soft. Not with the toughness he’s displayed the past month or so.
Nelson has continued to play, even while facing multiple injuries over the back half of the season. Even after he sustained a knee injury against Florida in the SEC Tournament, Nelson played late against Robert Morris in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
“We’ve got everything about as close to 100(%) as you’re going to be able to get at this point of the year,” Alabama coach Nate Oats said Wednesday. “And Grant is probably the furthest from that, but like he made the point to me, he hasn’t been better than 90(%) for the last month or so.”
Despite not being 100%, Nelson is expected to play again when No. 2 seed Alabama faces No. 6 seed BYU in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday (6:09 p.m. CT, CBS) at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.
“I think we’ll have our full roster available for us to play this game,” Oats said.
But know that Nelson is playing hurt, which makes anything he does on the court all the more impressive. Against Saint Mary’s in the second round, he scored 12 points, grabbed eight rebounds and blocked a shot. Against Auburn on March 8, Nelson scored 23 points and grabbed eight rebounds at Neville Arena.
