Nate Oats has been officially named the new head basketball coach for Alabama. Oats is a former high school math teacher, who is also a state champion coach. Oats coached at Romulus High School for 11 years where he had a record of 222-52. He made the state semi-finals five times and won the state championship in 2013. Oats was named an assistant to Bobby Hurley at Buffalo in 2013. He was a key recruiter for the staff and signed the 2014-15 MAC player of the year Justin Moss. He took over for Hurley when he left for Arizona St in 2015. After winning the conference tournament in 2016, Oats was given an extension through 2023 by current Auburn AD Allen Greene. Oats led Buffalo to the NCAA Tournament three out of the four years he coached there, and won two games. The most notable win was the 89-68 stomping of #4 seed Arizona last year as a #13 seed. They most recently won big over Arizona St and his mentor Bobby Hurley, before eventually falling to Texas Tech on Sunday. Oats boasts a 96-43 record at Buffalo in 4 years. A 59-13 record the past two years which is remarkable. They reached as high as #14 in the AP Poll this past season. Oats recently received another extension through 2025 13 days ago, before eventually stepping down to take a position as Alabama's head basketball coach.
What is Alabama getting with Nate Oats? What was described before and that is a winner. He has been a head coach for four years and has won his team’s conference three times. The one year they did not, they were without their best players all season due to injury and personal reasons. He is a charismatic, intense, and emotional guy who expects the same for his players. He comes to Alabama after posting the 5th ranked adjusted offensive ranking in the country and 12th in adjusted tempo ranking. That means his teams play fast and they love to shoot. If you google, "Nate Oats offense", you will find videos that will make basketball experts marvel over the offensive philosophies he has. It is fast, faster, and fastest when it comes to playing. His players don't come down the court shooting wild shots, but they take the first open shot that comes to them. The ball movement is quick and decisive, plus crisp. He runs very tough, intense practices that will make the players stay focused. He preaches ball pressure and quick decision making, so the players that play for him will have to be able to play fast, but under control. His teams are always fun to watch.
The key to Nate Oats being successful at Alabama will be his staff and the ability to recruit. The first big test for Oats will be to sell his program and vision to Kira Lewis Jr and John Petty. Keeping those two on the team would be like adding two five stars in the recruiting cycle. Keeping the roster turnover to a minimum will be crucial. The next line of business will be Trendon Watford. He will have the opportunity to recruit the #1 prospect in Alabama with zero connections and see how he can work his magic. Obviously, hiring Bucky McMillan would help with that, but he could land him without Bucky. He has already offered top 150 center Raymond Hawkins from Nevada as soon as he took the job. Hawkins has been long believed to go wherever Oats would be. He was expected to announce Saturday and is still expected too. I have been told to expect him to commit to Alabama. He is a big 6'9 kid who can really score around the basket. Oats will ultimately be judge by wins and tournament appearances, but the most important hurdle for him will be recruiting.
What is Alabama getting with Nate Oats? What was described before and that is a winner. He has been a head coach for four years and has won his team’s conference three times. The one year they did not, they were without their best players all season due to injury and personal reasons. He is a charismatic, intense, and emotional guy who expects the same for his players. He comes to Alabama after posting the 5th ranked adjusted offensive ranking in the country and 12th in adjusted tempo ranking. That means his teams play fast and they love to shoot. If you google, "Nate Oats offense", you will find videos that will make basketball experts marvel over the offensive philosophies he has. It is fast, faster, and fastest when it comes to playing. His players don't come down the court shooting wild shots, but they take the first open shot that comes to them. The ball movement is quick and decisive, plus crisp. He runs very tough, intense practices that will make the players stay focused. He preaches ball pressure and quick decision making, so the players that play for him will have to be able to play fast, but under control. His teams are always fun to watch.
The key to Nate Oats being successful at Alabama will be his staff and the ability to recruit. The first big test for Oats will be to sell his program and vision to Kira Lewis Jr and John Petty. Keeping those two on the team would be like adding two five stars in the recruiting cycle. Keeping the roster turnover to a minimum will be crucial. The next line of business will be Trendon Watford. He will have the opportunity to recruit the #1 prospect in Alabama with zero connections and see how he can work his magic. Obviously, hiring Bucky McMillan would help with that, but he could land him without Bucky. He has already offered top 150 center Raymond Hawkins from Nevada as soon as he took the job. Hawkins has been long believed to go wherever Oats would be. He was expected to announce Saturday and is still expected too. I have been told to expect him to commit to Alabama. He is a big 6'9 kid who can really score around the basket. Oats will ultimately be judge by wins and tournament appearances, but the most important hurdle for him will be recruiting.
