Alabama Basketball: Nate Oats said player workout was ‘eye-opening’

New Alabama basketball head coach shared a lot of information on ‘Hey Coach’ Monday night. He said his first workout with the players was “eye-opening.”

Every time new Alabama basketball coach Nate Oats is in a public setting, he wins over fans. Monday night was another example on the ‘Hey Coach’ radio show. The man is straight-forward, whether it is about himself, his family, his coaching style or expectations for success at Alabama. His is candid. When he speaks it is often with an uncommon mixture of being relaxed and intense at the same time.

It is easy to believe Nate Oats is a great recruiter. Smart young men who listen to him, cannot help but be impressed. Monday night, he talked about meeting with one of those smart young men, early that morning. Before Kira Lewis Jr. went to his first class, he and Nate Oats reviewed video and discussed Kira’s role in Oats’ offense.

Oats described Kira as,

"really, really talented at a high level. I think he’s perfect. I just went through an hour of video with him this morning before class … of just how he would fit in our system. We open the floor up, we give you a lot of space, we get downhill, we set a lot of pick-and-roll stuff real similar to spread stuff in the NBA. The floor’s going to be open for him to make plays, so we’ve got to put shooting around him."

Later in the day, Oats took his new Tide team through a workout. After 45 minutes of action, Oats said,

"The pace of play is nothing like any of them had been accustomed to. They were a little gassed and worn out. We’re not doing any conditioning, just the drills we’re running at a little bit of a different pace than they’re used to doing."

Maybe even more important for Alabama basketball fans is Oats’ clear enthusiasm about the University of Alabama. He directly stated this is not a stepping stone job for him.

"You get it rolling here, you just stay here and keep building it. You come here, you stay here for as long as you can keep this thing winning and just keep it rolling."

For Nate Oats getting the Alabama Crimson Tide rolling has no ceiling. He is aiming beyond becoming a top tier SEC team. Can he take Alabama basketball to a level higher than ever before? His plan is simple and he states it clearly. Build relationships with players as people, not just as basketball players. Instill a culture the head coach and all involved embrace. And develop player skills.

"We’ve got to do a lot of work on their skill development because we’re going to play basically four out, one in and we played even a lot of five out."

There is plenty of time before the season for Alabama basketball fans to consider the merits of ‘four out’ and ‘five out’ offensive schemes. Some returning players (like Kira) can thrive in these schemes. Others, as yet, don’t have the skills required. Nate Oats will sort all that out in due time.

Compliments to Charlie Potter of Bama Online for the transcription notes from the ‘Hey Coach’ radio show.

Mark this down Crimson Tide fans. When roundball rolls around next November, a Nate Oats team will play intense defense and an open-spaced, quick-pace offense. Year one game outcomes are unknown but the style of play will be exciting and it will engage fans.