Forward Nick Pringle did not travel with Alabama men’s basketball on its team flight to Spokane, Washington for the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Pringle was dealing with a “personal issue” and took a Thursday flight.

Both Pringle and coach Nate Oats said the forward will be available in four-seed UA’s game against No. 13 Charleston scheduled for Friday.

“Nothing really happened, I just had some personal stuff I had to take care of and I had to get here, be here and support my team,” Pringle said during Alabama’s open-locker room availability.

Pringle had been sidelined by the coaching staff twice this season, missing two games for the Tide (21-11, 13-6 SEC). Oats started this season describing Pringle as one of the leaders pulling a team full of freshmen and transfers together. At times, Pringle has been a formidable bench option with 6.9 points and 5.0 rebounds averaged per game in 29 appearances and 13 starts.

On Dec. 1, Oats announced that Pringle was suspended for “nothing serious off the court or anything, just in-house.” Oats had previously challenged Pringle for more defensive effort, an issue for the entire roster as the season has progressed. Pringle returned to score a then-season-best 15 points against Creighton.

Two months after his first dismissal, Pringle was left in Tuscaloosa on a road trip to Georgia. Oats said Pringle had to “decide whether he wants to be part of this program or not” while again stressing it wasn’t off-the-court related. A source told AL.com that Pringle “reacted poorly” during practice and talked back to Oats.

Pringle is typically the first forward off the bench along with freshman Jarin Stevenson. They are the only two non-starters to record more than 15 minutes per game. Grant Nelson has struggled with foul trouble and the whistle can put the Tide’s bench under the spotlight in March Madness, especially if Oats retains a four-guard lineup.

Pringle recorded 22 minutes, 12 points, 10 rebounds and an assistant in Alabama’s SEC tournament quarterfinal loss to Florida.

Alabama and Charleston will tip off at 6:35 p.m. Central on Friday, March 22 on truTV.

Nick Alvarez is a reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @nick_a_alvarez or email him at [email protected].