How Chris Youngblood played in return from injury for Alabama basketball

At long last, Alabama basketball got Chris Youngblood onto the court Saturday. After missing the beginning of the season due to an ankle injury, the South Florida transfer guard made his Crimson Tide debut against Creighton, playing 16 minutes in the 83-75 win.

Youngblood finished with five points, which included one three-pointer.

“Kind of knocking the rust off,” Alabama head coach Nate Oats said after the game. “It’s good to see him hit the one three. I think he’ll shoot it a little bit better than he did tonight once he kind of gets in flow and rhythm a little bit more. But good to see him out there contributing to the win tonight.”

Youngblood went 2-for-6 from the field during the win, 1-for-5 from three-point range. He also chipped in with a defensive rebound, an assist and a steal for the Crimson Tide.

His fellow Alabama guard, Labaron Philon said it was nice to have Youngblood back on the court.

“It was really special,” Philon said. “He’s like a big brother to me and Derrion (Reid) because we’re young guys, but just another older guy we can look up to and pour our game into and just listen to, so that’s a great thing. To get him back and see him get his first bucket was an amazing feeling.”

Youngblood was named the American Athletic Conference’s co-player of the year last season with South Florida. He spent the first three seasons of his college career at Kennesaw State.

While with the Owls, he faced off with Creighton and its head coach, Greg McDermott, who mentioned him after the Blue Jays loss on Saturday.

“I coached against him when he was at Kennesaw as a freshman and sophomore and knew that he was going to be a special player then,” McDermott said. “Once he gets in the flow here, he’s gonna add to this team a weapon that’s going to make them even better.”

Alabama moved to 8-2 on the season with Saturday’s win. The Crimson Tide will be back in action on Wednesday, facing North Dakota on the road.