Nick Pringle enters transfer portal after two seasons with Alabama basketball
Alabama basketball forward Nick Pringle has entered the transfer portal, The Tuscaloosa News has learned.
The senior forward from Seabrook, South Carolina, joined the Crimson Tide ahead of the 2022-23 season then played in 36 games. Then he competed in 34 games this season, starting 16. He transferred from Dodge City Community College, where he played from 2021-22 after starting his career at Wofford in 2020-21. This past season with Alabama, Pringle averaged 6.8 points, 5.1 rebounds and 0.7 blocks.
Pringle becomes the fifth Alabama scholarship player to enter the portal, joining Kris Parker, Rylan Griffen, Sam Walters and Davin Cosby.
Pringle had an up and down season in 2023-24. On one hand, he was an integral part of one of the country's best offenses.
“Nick Pringle does an unbelievable job of screening for others,” said Adam Bauman, director of scouting and analytics for Alabama. “He’s probably as good of a big we’ve had at creating shots for others off screens. He’s really unselfish that way.”
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But on the other hand, Pringle was suspended multiple times. First he was suspended for the Arkansas State game. Then, Alabama suspended Pringle for two games in SEC play.
"He's got to decide whether he wants to be part of this program or not," Alabama coach Nate Oats said after the Georgia game. "Some of his decisions, how he conducts himself, nothing bad off the court or anything like that. In practice, in games. We'll see where he goes."
Pringle didn't travel with the team to Spokane for the first game, but he eventually made it after dealing with a "personal issue" Oats said. Pringle was asked to reflect upon his season when he arrived before facing Charleston in the Round of 64.
"It's been pretty up and down," Pringle said. "That happens. Players go through things all the time. Some vocalize it. Some don't. But I wouldn't take it out of proportion or anything. I've been going through things since my freshman year of college. Things like this, I'm kind of already adjusted, already used to. Have a good mindset about it. Try to fix things when they're not going well. Most of all, my teammates are definitely the most important to anything I've got going on. Just being here makes my day. I'm just willing to do anything it takes to win, to help this team go on a run, to help guys reach their goals, their potentials. That's what I feel like my job is."
And he did that. Oats sang Pringle's praises for his efforts in the NCAA Tournament.
"(His) leadership over these last four games," Oats said, "has been the best Nick’s played since he’s been here."
Nick Kelly is the Alabama beat writer for The Tuscaloosa News, part of the USA TODAY Network, and he covers Alabama football and men's basketball. Reach him at nkelly@gannett.com or follow him @_NickKelly on X, the social media app formerly known as Twitter.
This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Nick Pringle: Transfer portal entry for Alabama basketball forward
