Alabama Basketball is Set to Compete for Years to Come with Oats at the Helm (2024)

As an Alabama Basketball fan, it is common to think that when good things happen bad things are sure to follow. So when Nate Oats's name was mentioned in connection with the University of Kentucky job just one day removed from the first Final Four appearance in school history eyebrows were raised and the feeling in the pit of the stomach began. Many of us knew that where Alabama had been taken in the 5 years since Oats took over was a place that we never imagined would be possible and just hoped that just maybe they would be able to find someone to continue on that success.

But then we got the news that every fan wished, hoped, and dreamed for; Nate Oats would be staying at Alabama and wants to chase down a national title because a Final Four is just the beginning. If you listen to the podcast you know that I was sitting on a plane returning from Phoenix when I got the news and I could not contain my excitement that the train of success would continue. Nate Oats has allowed Alabama Basketball fans the opportunity to get behind the team and given us a product that we are proud of and invested in the success of.

What Did the 2023 Season Teach Us?

1. Nate Oats's style of offense is not just about shooting the 3 and playing fast, it’s all about efficiency. Alabama had for the majority of the season before injury the number 1 most efficient offense in the country by a fairly wide margin. Many fans who followed the team closely knew this fact already about efficiency, but I think that this season it really showed because there were multiple instances of Alabama being able to score seemingly at will even when the shots would not fall.

2. More important than any one player, Nate Oats’s system of offense and defense is about how the pieces and players work together. Mark Sears was an elite player all season and made some great plays, but last season Alabama had Brandon Miller. The difference between the 2 teams is the pieces that surrounded the players. A combination of portal finds and high school talent combined to give Mark a supporting cast that was a bit better prepared for March as they didn’t need to rely as much on just the output of Sears.

3. Scheduling tough opponents early may hurt in the moment but prepares you for the season to come. Some fans wrote off Alabama as no good when they dropped to 6-5 early in the season. Down the stretch Alabama was able to call back on games against teams all in the Sweet 16; what they did well and where they needed to fix to be best prepared for the run they went on in March. At the end of the day, the games in November and December prepare you for the tournaments in March, and this season’s run exemplifies that better than any other.

Now when we begin to look at the next season and what our expectations and hopes will be I think we must start with a better defense, I am of the mindset that many of our issues on that end of the ball were caused by lack of length and the incoming freshman and transfers should address that. Additionally, I think that Alabama going on this run also allows them to point to prospective players and say look what the system can accomplish. Nate had 2 top 5 defenses the 2 of the last 4 years and now a top offense so he clearly can coach based on the best skillset of the players in the system, now it is just time to have players who can be elite on both ends to try and push for top 20 in both categories.

Once all of the changes to the roster happen I will do full in-depth breakdowns of each incoming player and what I think is a realistic expectation for them going into next season.

If you are interested in information as it pertains to who we have already signed out of the portal or who is visiting follow me on Twitter as that is where I will keep everyone in the loop for who to keep an eye on.

At the time of writing this, we have 2 portal commits in 6-4 Chris Youngblood from USF and 6-5 Houston Mallette from Pepperdine, I expect us to add at least 3 more so keep an eye on that as names will surely be coming out as we contact and get visits on the books.

Thank You to Everyone who followed along this season and I will be beginning some football content as well very very soon. Please comment or message me if you are interested in anything specific.