Alabama basketball already has one player seeking a medical redshirt, after Latrell Wrightsell Jr. injured his Achilles tendon early in the season. In the coming days, the Crimson Tide will decided whether to do the same with Houston Mallette, due to lingering knee problems.

Mallette originally planned to redshirt the 2024-25 season, but Nate Oats and company decided to scrap that when Wrightsell got hurt. Oats said Friday that Mallette will at least miss Saturday’s game against Texas A&M.

“We’ve got to make a decision,” Oats said. “Can we get them better to a point where he’s good enough to play the minutes he deserves, because this is his last year in college? Or, are his knees not gonna be good enough, and it would be smarter to (redshirt)? I think the last game was the last one he could play any amount of minutes and still get the medical redshirt.”

Mallette is currently in his final season of eligibility. He transferred to Alabama from Pepperdine this offseason.

Oats said the knee trouble started there.

“They got him well enough to play the games they needed him to at Pepperdine,” Oats said. “But he didn’t practice the entire summer. A lot of the fall he was out because he’s had these recurring knee issues and still not 100 percent. When he’s played, and he’s been able to with his knee, his effort is unbelievable. That’s the issue, too, with him, he’s got bad knees but he’s flying around like he’s 13 years old and has no mileage on his knees.”

Mallette has played a combined five minutes in Alabama’s first two SEC games, wins over Oklahoma and South Carolina. Oats said the redshirt decision will be based on how his rehab goes over the next few weeks.

The Crimson Tide faces Texas A&M in College Station Saturday at 7 p.m. CT. The game will be aired on ESPN.