TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- Alabama’s men’s basketball team announced Monday that senior Riley Norris was granted a medical hardship waiver and will return for a fifth season in 2018-19.

Head coach Avery Johnson later praised the Albertville, Ala., native during the team’s awards banquet at the Bryant Conference Center, announcing to the crowd of players, staff members, supporters and their families that he was getting his “hard-hat guy” back.

“It means a lot,” Johnson told reporters after the banquet. “One guy doesn’t necessarily make a team. It’s a sum of important parts. And whether one of our players played eight minutes or 18 minutes or 28 minutes, they’re important to our team, whatever their role is.

“And he obviously has a tremendous amount of experience, he wants to go the tournament and be healthy and a part of the rotation. So, having somebody that’s 250 points away from scoring 1,000 points back on our team, I don’t think you can find a better player that’s a freshman or a transfer. So, we’re just thrilled to have him back.”

Norris, now a soon-to-be redshirt senior, played in only nine games this past season due to a lingering hip injury. He missed the first three games because of the setback and had to undergo surgery back in December to repair the injury, missing the rest of the year.

With Norris’ return, Alabama currently has 10 scholarship players on campus for the 2018-19 season.

That’s with the announced transfers of Braxton Key and Ar'Mond Davis and the departure of freshman point guard Collin Sexton for the 2018 NBA Draft. The Tide also signed three players in its 2018 class -- guards Jared Butler and Diante Wood and center Javian Fleming -- giving it 13 scholarship players. That meets the NCAA’s 13-player scholarship limit.

But when asked if Alabama’s 2018-19 roster is set, Johnson said “today we are,” but didn’t rule out the possibility of adding one more player, taking advantage of some “flexibility.”

“We also have ways that we have some flexibility there, and we’ve had that flexibility, probably, for the last two or three years if we want to go a little bit deeper and add somebody else to the team,” he said. “But today we feel good about where we, especially having Riley back.”

Entering his fourth season at the helms of the Crimson Tide men’s basketball program, Johnson touted his team’s returning versatility as a reason to potentially keep things as is, but again, he wouldn’t rule out bringing in another piece. It would just have to be the right fit.

“We’re not going to box ourselves in,” Johnson said. “Whatever makes the most sense for us. We’ve gone the grad transfer route before with Arthur Edwards and Corban Collins. … We’ll figure out what the best situation is. We’ve had (Avery Johnson Jr.) and Tevin (Mack) and Daniel (Giddens) in our redshirt program, and obviously had freshmen come in.

“So, we’ll make the best decision at the appropriate time or just stay where we are.”

Contact Charlie Potter by 247Sports' personal messaging or on Twitter (@Charlie_Potter).