Nimari Burnett knee surgery is “successful” but “season-ending” per Alabama basketball coach Nate Oats

Nimari Burnett, a  2020 McDonald’s All-America forward who transferred from Texas Tech to Alabama last spring, had surgery for a torn ACL Tuesday night, UA confirmed in a release today. 

The Tuscaloosa News first reported Tuesday that Burnett had suffered a serious knee injury. 

Crimson Tide head coach Nate Oats told The News via text that the surgery has been “successful.”

UA said via Rolltide.com that the surgery was “season ending.”

Alabama men's basketball player Nimari Burnett suffered a knee injury that will keep him sidelined for the 2021-22 season, head coach Nate Oats confirmed Tuesday. The 6-4, 190-pound sophomore guard underwent successful surgery on his right knee Tuesday afternoon and is expected to make a full recovery.

Surgery was performed by Dr. Lyle Cain of Andrews Sports Medicine at St. Vincent’s Hospital in Birmingham. 

“We are certainly disappointed for Nimari and his family,” Oats said in a UA release. “Our program, his teammates and his family are going to support him throughout every step of the rehab process. Even though it’s a tough loss for us, I know Nimari’s work ethic combined with the fact he will be surrounded by the best of the best when it comes to our medical staff and team doctors gives me complete confidence that he will come back stronger and better than ever.”

As a freshman at Texas Tech, Burnett, a 6-foot-4 guard, came off the bench, averaging 5.3 points and 1.8 rebounds through 12 games. He was an outstanding free-throw shooter, making 88.9% of his attempts, but struggled from the field at 28% and making just 4 of 23 3-point attempts. 

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Alabama has already had one player undergo knee surgery over the summer as forward James Rojas tore an ACL and had surgery in June. Crimson Tide head coach Nate Oats said recently that Rojas was making progress and could be back for the SEC season beginning in January 2022. 

The early preseason schedule for the Crimson Tide, which might be down to 11 players depending on the final prognosis for Burnett, is one of the toughest in the nation. 

Reach Cecil Hurt at cecil@tidesports.com or via Twitter @cecilhurt