Nate Oats has consistently signed high-end talent to come and play for Alabama basketball during his time in Tuscaloosa. He just landed another Top 25 overall prospect last week when Jaxon Richardson, the son of former NBA All-Star Jason Richardson, committed to the Crimson Tide.
But every time Oats and Alabama miss on a top prospect - whether that's in recruiting or the Transfer Portal - uncomfortable questions get raised about the program's NIL efforts and its commitment to funding in the shadow of football.
That has been the conversation again this week in the aftermath of 5-star Caleb Holt choosing Arizona over Alabama. Holt, an Alabama native, always seemed destined to join the Crimson Tide, but ultimately chose to go out west and join the Wildcats instead.
Oats and his staff did everything they could do. It was a full-court press on Holt since he was a freshman in high school. But it wasn't enough. Whether that was because of money or Holt's connection with Arizona head coach Tommy Lloyd for USA Basketball, we'll never know for sure.
But it's also clear, based on Oats' comments on Wednesday, that he isn't overly happy with how Greg Byrne and Alabama have allocated funds and expects more.
"We want players that want to come here for reasons that money isn't at the top," Oats said. "That being said, we've got to be fair, we've got to be in the market. ... I've had conversations with our administration. We're gonna be competitive."
Nate Oats wants Alabama basketball to be 'competitive' in the NIL market
Football is king at Alabama. That will never change. It's also not something that's a foreign concept to Oats. He knew it when he took the job.
But he's also won at a level that demands more of an investment. Nobody could have expected the level the program would rise to when Byrne hired Oats in 2019. Alabama is one of the top basketball programs in the country now, having made at least the Sweet 16 in three consecutive seasons and being the only program in the country to play in the last two Elite Eights.
Byrne and the University have invested heavily in the program. Oats is frequently able to build competitive rosters, and Alabama has broken ground on a $58 million practice facility that Oats has frequently raved about.
But missing out on Holt was a tough pill to swallow for Oats and Tide fans. It comes just a year after Alabama lost out on AJ Dybantsa to BYU, a player who easily could have been the difference in this team being a real national title contender.
Holt might be that same level of player next year, though Alabama has had no problem churning out high-level guards in recent years without paying a premium for them. That will be the case in 2026, too, and the money allocated for Holt might be better spent on other areas of need.
But this is the first time in Oats' tenure that he has ever seemed publicly frustrated with the administration.
Byrne and company will need to show their commitment to building a national championship roster for Oats, or a blue blood certainly will.