What Does Ingram’s Injury Mean for Alabama Basketball?

It was reported on Thursday that freshman point guard Dazon Ingram suffered a broken foot in practice on Tuesday and will be out for the rest of the season after undergoing surgery on Friday. He may be a freshman, but he was an integral part of the Crimson Tide's production this season and it will be a difficult position to fill.

Ingram began the season as the starting point guard, impressing everyone and living up to the hype he received during the preseason. Sure, he's only averaged 7.7 points/game thus far, but as a point guard, he isn't supposed to be the primary scorer. He is a game manager first and foremost, but he also is the primary distributor on the court for the Tide.

He leads the team with 3.3 assists/game, which isn't terrible considering Alabama as a team is only shooting 43.6% on the season, which ranks 192nd in the nation. However, assists are often compared simultaneously with turnovers, and Ingram actually has a negative assist/turnover ratio at 3.3/3.4, with an unbalanced 3/7 ratio against the three ranked teams that the Tide have played this season (Notre Dame, Wichita State, and Xavier).

Standing at 6'5" and weighing 200 lbs, his physicality allows him to bang around in the paint a good bit. He pulls almost six rebounds per game, which, oddly, also leads the team. Most players guarding him have been smaller point guards, so he's been a mismatch when he drives to the basket or blocks out for a rebound.

So with Ingram missing the remainder of the season, Alabama is going to need to find a replacement game manager first and foremost. The most obvious solution will be senior Retin Obasohan. He's taken the role of becoming one of Alabama's primary scorers and also leads the Tide in minutes played.

But if head coach Avery Johnson wants to keep Obasohan in his current role, then he'll have to promote sophomore Justin Coleman as the full time point guard.

It isn't like Coleman hasn't played much this season (averaging 22.6 minutes/game), but with Ingram on the court, he's been designated as more of a role player. His assist/turnover ratio is better than Ingram's (3.3/2.0), but he'll need to become a more efficient shooter if he plans on becoming the right point guard in Johnson's system.

The news of Ingram's injury broke almost as soon as our Chris Stewart went on air Thursday, and he had some comments about how Alabama can replace his production.

"I think he's the most complete guy. But, with that being said, you've gotta go out and plat, you've gotta set a tempo... you've gotta set a standard and a style that you wanna play in the future."