It has been obvious all season that Nate Oats was doing the best he could do with a flawed Alabama roster.
With Keitenn Bristow and Collins Onyeyiaka missing the majority of the season, and various injuries to Taylor Bol Bowen, Alabama just hasn't had the size to match up with teams like Michigan. There's a reason Oats rolled the dice with Charles Bediako; Alabama had an obvious weakness that he hoped to patch mid-season.
Now that the season is over, and Alabama got beaten up on the glass in the second-half of a 13-point loss to Michigan in the Sweet 16, it's obvious to Oats that he's going to have to make some changes with his roster construction.
That was obvious to him after last season's loss to Duke in the Elite Eight, too, but circumstances led to this roster being a bit too similar to last year's, with a smaller backcourt, but a much more limited frontcourt.
Changes to that construction are coming.
"We know we have to change a little bit... we know we've got to get bigger," Oats said.
Nate Oats has already taken steps to adjust his Alabama roster-construction
Getting bigger and more versatile across the roster is an obvious point of emphasis for Oats and assistant coach Preston Murphy. It was obvious last offseason, too, and they took some steps to address it.
A quick look at Alabama's 2026 signing class makes that point abundantly clear. With Qayden Samuels, Tarris Bouie, and Jaxon Richardson, Oats has a three-man class of 6-foot-6 guard/wing hybris that are going to bring a different dynamic to next season's roster.
The trick will now be trying to retain Amari Allen and Aiden Sherrell, along with a few others. Finding another big man or two in the Transfer Portal, depending on Onyejiaka's status for next season, will be pivotal.
Alabama will also need to gain clarity on Aden Holloway's future soon. Building next season's roster around him was always the plan, but with his limited ability on the defensive end of the floor, surrounding him with as much size and defensive prowess as possible makes the most sense.
But there's no guarantee that he's going to be able to play.
Oats is stubborn about his style. He should be. It has proven to work. Only a handful of teams have won more NCAA Tournament games than Alabama over the last few years.
But he wants to win a national championship. To do so, he knows he's going to have to make a change to his roster construction.