Aden Holloway's Alabama future is still murky. It's likely going to remain murky until the student conduct review process with the University takes place. It may remain murky until more clarity comes from his felony marijuana charges and whether they get reduced and/or pled down.
Because, as things stand, Holloway is facing up to 10 years in prison after being arrested on Monday with over two pounds of marijuana in his residence.
Holloway was "removed from campus" shortly after the charges were made public, and Nate Oats said his star guard was suspended pending the conduct review. With Alabama on Spring Break this week, that review isn't likely to come until next week sometime.
That means Holloway won't play this weekend in Tampa as Alabama looks to advance to the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament for a fourth consecutive season. Oats hasn't explicitly stated that, and has generally avoided any definitive statements about Holloway's future both for the remainder of this season and next year as well. And for good reason.
"I'm not sure where that's all going to go," Oats said when asked about the possibility of Holloway playing next week if he wins his student conduct appeal. "We'll kind of address things as they come up. But for right now, the team is just preparing to play with who's at practice, and he's obviously not there. We'll prepare to play without him and address that matter if it comes up."
Nate Oats isn't giving up on Aden Holloway
Nick Saban had one of his most iconic rants about not giving up on a player because they made a mistake. It feels like, particularly for high-profile athletes, that when one of them makes a mistake, the media and opposing fans want blood.
A college kid making a mistake is not exactly breaking news. Holloway's was particularly dumb, albeit harmless. That part of this whole thing is something that shouldn't be forgotten in the court of public opinion or inside a real courtroom.
It's likely that Holloway has played his final basketball game for Alabama this season. But he has a year of eligibility left and is a major part of next season's plan for Oats and the Crimson Tide. Holloway is expected to be the focal point of the 2026-27 roster, with Labaron Philon almost certainly taking his talents to the NBA.
So Oats is not going to condemn Holloway in the media. And he's not going to turn his back on him, either. The reasons for that are both selfish and unselfish: Holloway, like everyone, is deserving of a second chance and shouldn't have his life ruined over something as silly as marijuana, no matter how absurd the amount of it was.
And the truth of the matter is that Holloway is an exceptional basketball talent and Alabama - both this year and in the future - is better with him on the court.
"Now is not the time to ignore a kid that you've built a real relationship with. Now is the time he needs more love from the adults in his life than at any point," Oats said. ..."You get into it (coaching) to help impact young men's lives. Well, if you disappear when they make a mistake, I'm not so sure that's a genuine relationship you've built. ...I'm going to continue to talk to him, love him, help him through this, and we'll see where it all takes us."