Nate Oats has built Alabama basketball into a national name and power. In just his third season with the Crimson Tide, Oats – the former Buffalo Head Coach – has Alabama thinking about a National Championship in something other than football.
A season ago, the tide won the SEC Tournament and were a two-seed in the NCAA Tournament. An exit in the Sweet 16 to eventual Final Four member UCLA felt like a disappointment. Without a doubt the expectations were higher than Sweet 16, especially with two NBA draft picks, but the disappointment was actually a testament to what Oats has built in Tuscaloosa in such a short period of time.
This year, the Tide are ranked 14th but feel like they are a National Title contender. They won’t be happy with much less. Oats has the program in a spot better than most in the country. They’re ready to break through the ceiling.
The 2021-22 season got off a good start on Tuesday as the Tide rolled to a dominant 93-64 home win over Louisiana Tech. Senior Keon Ellis led the team with 18 points and Juwan Gary had his first career double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Jaden Shackelford scored 17 points with four made threes. Freshman JD Davison made a monster impact as well, scoring 12 points and adding six rebounds and six assists.
Less than 12 hours later on Wednesday, Oats began making another splash, this time off the court. He had five signees on Wednesday, including two five-star recruits, for the first time in program history. Brandon Miller, the 11th ranked player in the country, and Jaden Bradley of Rochester, NY signed their NLI’s, along with two four star recruits Noah Clowney and Ryan Griffen, and arguably the best Junior College player in the country Nick Pringle.
The Tide are back in action on Friday at 7 pm CST/8 pm EST against South Dakota State. The game will be shown on the SEC Network.
Big4Hoops.com will be following Oats and the Tide this year so make sure to follow along!
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