Nate Oats rarely bites his tongue. He's never been afraid to speak his mind. He will call out his team, and individual players, to the media if he believes that's what it'll take to motivate them.
Oats will hold his guys accountable, that's something he has proven time and time again throughout his tenure as the Alabama head coach. But his words following Alabama's loss to Texas, its second straight loss in SEC play after falling at Vanderbilt on Wednesday, don't carry the usual weight when he's having to repeat himself.
Because the issues Oats discussed on Saturday night aren't new. They are the same issues that have plagued the Crimson Tide all season so far. And none of it is due to talent. It's all about effort; effort on the glass, effort on the defensive end of the floor.
And the fact that he keeps having to talk about it when we're already in January is a problem. And it's a problem that will likely keep this team from making as deep an NCAA Tournament run as they otherwise could.
"It’s not a talent problem," Oats told the media after the game. "It’s a focus, an effort, a competitive juice problem.
"...They obviously don’t respect their teammates enough to give a winning effort out there, because some of the guys are really bought into winning. But not everybody. So, we gotta get everybody bought into winning.”
Nate Oats is still trying to find the balance between effort guys and his scorers
This Alabama team has a lot of offensive firepower. It ranks 2nd in KenPom in offensive efficiency. Labaron Philon and Aden Holloway make up a lethal scoring backcourt, and there are wings aplenty who can knock down shots around them.
But the problem, which has been an obvious issue for the Crimson Tide the last several years, is on the defensive end of the court. Alabama ranks 78th in defensive efficiency in KenPom, a mark that will prevent them from being serious national championship contenders.
The problem for Oats is finding the right balance between his willing defenders and his offensive firepower. That starts with getting Philon and Holloway to play better on defense. Alabama can't continue to get abused by opposing guards. That's what happened against Texas and Vanderbilt.
Part of the problem has been Alabama's struggles to get healthy. You could argue that the Tide's two best perimeter defenders are Latrell Wrightsell and Davion Hannah. Both missed Saturday night's game.
Philon doesn't look that close to 100%, and while Aiden Sherrell was able to play despite being a game-time decision, he was a step slower, too.
Perhaps getting healthy is all Alabama needs to begin playing harder on both ends. Or maybe different combinations of players on the floor.
Whatever it is, Oats is going to have to figure it out quickly. Alabama's hopes of competing for the SEC Championship in the regular season took a devastating blow with the home loss to Texas. And with back-to-back road games next week in Starkville and Norman, changes need to come swiftly.
If not, Alabama's going to dig itself a hole it might not be able to climb out of.