The Nate Oats offense is known for launching threes, but it’s at its best when it has multiple ball-handlers who can put pressure on the rim and collapse the defense. On Friday, in the Crimson Tide’s 90-70 first-round NCAA Tournament win over Hofstra in Tampa, that task was left to Labaron Philon, who carried Alabama with 29 points and seven assists, but for most of the year, it’s been a responsibility Philon has shared with Aden Holloway.
In the latest twist of Alabama’s tumultuous season, Holloway was arrested on Monday and charged with felony drug possession for having over two pounds of marijuana. That led to his removal from campus, and while the legal proceedings play out, his removal from the team.
Oats’s team already had flaws that made another Final Four run, as he led in 2024 as a No. 4 seed, seem unlikely. However, without Holloway on the floor on Friday, missing his fifth game of the season and first since his arrest, another flaw was revealed, and this one will almost certainly cut Alabama’s stay in the big dance short.
Alabama’s lack of on-ball creation without Holloway is a huge issue
Without Holloway, a massive play-making burden falls on Philon’s shoulders. Against Hofstra, he was more than up for it. However, against a more physical defense, like say, Texas Tech, which Alabama plays on Sunday in the Round of 32, after the Red Raiders ousted Akron, even Philon may struggle to handle the defensive attention. In many ways, Holloway was a pressure-release valve for Philon, but he’s also a great creator in his own right, and the numbers reflected it.
Alabama | off rating | rim FGA/40 | paint FGA/40 | ATB 3s FG% | Corner 3s FG% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Holloway on | 129.9 | 21.0 | 8.5 | 37.8% | 37.6% |
Holloway off | 116.7 | 19.0 | 7.4 | 32.4% | 33.1% |
The assist rate drops with Holloway on the court because the offense can get a little more, ‘my turn,’ ‘your turn’ between Holloway and Philon, but it’s better in every other way. The spacing is better with Holloway’s 40 percent three-point stroke, but his ability to break down defenders and get into the paint also creates more attempts at the rim, in the paint, and lifts everybody’s three-point percentage. That goes both for above the break, where most of Holloway’s threes come from, and in the corner, where he and Philon often kick it out.
Against Hofstra, Alabama shot the three below its season average, finishing 12-36 (33 percent). Center Aiden Sherrell also struggled, going 4-12 from the field.
Holloway’s absence allowed Oats to play big, inserting London Jemison into the starting lineup alongside Aiden Sherrell with Amari Allen playing the three, his more natural position. With that front court, the Tide could overwhelm Hofstra defensively. 6-foot-1 guard Preston Edmead went off, but the Pride’s bigs were held completely in check. Alabama’s new lineup may even provide a higher ceiling on the defensive end, but the price it pays on offense is too high to win the Midwest Region.