Nick Pringle sent a clear and quick message: He was ready to go.

From the jump, Pringle looked locked in vs. LSU. Alabama coach Nate Oats preaches that phrase and how being locked in is the key to all kinds of good things happening in basketball, whether it be defense, tallying blue-collar points or making hustle plays. Pringle epitomized it immediately.

He entered the game off the bench about two minutes into the game Saturday in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Three minutes later, Pringle had made a layup, grabbed an offensive rebound and dunked.

"Before the game, everybody was like, ‘Man, Pringle’s ready to go,'" Oats said. "I told the guys after the game, there’s a certain way you get yourself mentally ready to play. Nick was mentally ready to play for the game."

And it translated throughout. He was a key player in No. 16 Alabama's 109-92 victory over the Tigers to keep the Crimson Tide (17-7, 9-2 SEC) tied for first place in the conference. Pringle finished with 17 points, making 8 of 9 shots with 5 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 block.

Pringle needed that game, and Alabama basketball needed that game from him.

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It's been a turbulent season for Pringle. First, he was suspended for the Arkansas State game in December for "conduct detrimental to the team," per Oats at the time. "Nothing serious off the court or anything. In-house, just there's a standard we want our guys to uphold, and he wasn't upholding it."

Then Pringle was suspended again before the Georgia game in late January. He didn't play in Athens or against Mississippi State the following game. Oats said after the Georgia game that Pringle needed to decide whether he wanted to be part of the program or not. "Some of his decisions, how he conducts himself," Oats said, "nothing bad off the court or anything like that. In practice, in games. We'll see where he goes."

Pringle did enough for Oats to clear him to play for the Auburn game on Wednesday, but he struggled in the loss. Over 14 minutes, Pringle went 1-for-7 and had two turnovers as well as seven rebounds. He was a part of an overall problem Alabama had defending the paint.

Come Saturday in Baton Rouge, Pringle shook all that off, though.

His 17 points in 15 minutes were a season high for him. His defense was also important in the second half against Will Baker, the LSU big who scored 22 points in the first half but only two in the second half. Baker went from scoring at will to becoming a non-factor offensively after halftime.

"I thought the job Nick Pringle did in the second half was really good on Baker," Oats said.

Pringle put together an overall efficient performance that he will want to try to replicate. Alabama has had inconsistent play from its bigs throughout the season, but if Pringle can find a way to be a reliable presence, that could go a long way in Alabama's aim to win the SEC again.

"I was so happy for Nick," Oats said. "He’s been up-and-down and in and out of the lineup, playing no minutes, some minutes. His attitude has been great all week. His effort in practice has been great all week. I think he’s at the place he needs to be mentally, emotionally. He’s here to do whatever it takes to help the team win."

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: Alabama basketball: Nick Pringle had game he and Tide needed vs. LSU