In the 2023-24 season, Coach Nate Oats’ Alabama Basketball team boasted one of the most prolific offenses in the country, averaging over 90 points per game (1st nationally) and scoring 100+ points on 10 different occasions.
Deficiencies on the defensive end of the floor caused the team to be inconsistent throughout most of the regular season before the Crimson Tide put together a historic Final Four run.
Coach Oats and his staff did a good job of talent acquisition this offseason, which should result in a much improved defensive effort. Elite shot blocker Clifford Omoruyi will cover a multitude of sins at the rim, along with Grant Nelson who led the Tide with 60 blocks last season.
Bama also has Latrell Wrightsell returning in the backcourt and 5-star freshman wing Derrion Reid to give it a solid perimeter presence. USF transfer Chris Youngblood will only add to the Tide’s defensive fortitude when he returns from injury.
One thing that won’t change for Bama Hoops
While UNC-Asheville was overmatched in the first game of the season, Alabama Basketball was able to show flashes of its newfound defensive prowess. However, it also reaffirmed that Coach Oats’ uptempo, high-octane offense isn’t going anywhere in its 110-54 romp of the Bulldogs.
Since the 2022-23 season, Oats’ teams have now hit the century mark 16 times. Bama’s season-opening win over UNC-Asheville was its second-highest total of that time period (111 against Eastern Kentucky last season) and the third-highest of the entire Oats era.
Alabama shot over 44 percent from the three-point line and a blistering 71 percent from two in the game (63.3 percent from the field). Every Bama player who checked in scored, and Mark Sears’ effortless 20 points paced seven double-figure scorers for the Crimson Tide.
In addition to being a more complete team this season, Bama Hoops will continue to play at a fast pace and hit shots at an impressive clip. Look for the Tide to light up scoreboards all season long as they play one of the most exciting styles in the country.