Nick Pringle has been practicing with Alabama basketball the last few days and will make the trip to Auburn, coach Nate Oats said Tuesday. Oats said Pringle will be available to play against the Tigers, though Oats doesn't know how much Pringle will play.

"He's gradually working his way back in," Oats said.

The Alabama basketball forward/center has been suspended the past two games against Georgia and Mississippi State. He wasn't with the team in Athens but he was on the bench for the Mississippi State game. It marked his second suspension of the season. Pringle also sat out the Arkansas State game in December.

"He's got to decide whether he wants to be part of this program or not," Oats said after the Georgia game. "Some of his decisions, how he conducts himself, nothing bad off the court or anything like that. In practice, in games. We'll see where he goes."

Pringle was a starter at one point this season with 11 total starts, but he was moved to a bench role. He is averaging 15.8 minutes per game this season with an average of 5.2 points and 4.1 rebounds.

Pringle's availability for the Auburn game will be helpful if any of Alabama's big men get in foul trouble. That could easily happen with the Crimson Tide having to defend Auburn center Johni Broome. Pringle and Jarin Stevenson each picked up four fouls in the win over Auburn earlier in the season.

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Nick Kelly is the Alabama beat writer for The Tuscaloosa News, part of the USA TODAY Network, and he covers Alabama football and men's basketball. Reach him at nkelly@gannett.com or follow him @_NickKelly on X, the social media app formerly known as Twitter.

This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Nick Pringle suspension: Latest on forward before Auburn game