It's time.
With due respect to Wimp Sanderson, it's no longer worth the argument: Nate Oats is the best coach in Alabama basketball history. It's not even really close anymore.
After a 90-65 beatdown of Texas Tech in the 2nd Round of the NCAA Tournament in Tampa on Sunday night, Alabama advanced to the Sweet 16 for the fourth consecutive season. That's the longest streak in program history.
And it's just the latest history-making result for Oats during his time in Tuscaloosa.
This program's glass ceiling used to be the Sweet 16. Before Oats, Alabama had made it to the Regional Semifinals eight times in program history, logging a 1-8 record with the lone win coming during the improbable run to the Elite Eight for an 8-seeded Crimson Tide team in 2004.
Entering his fifth Sweet 16 with the Crimson Tide, Oats has a 2-2 record. Alabama has advanced past the Sweet 16 in each of its last two trips, making the 2024 Final Four - the first in program history - and then making it to the Elite Eight last year.
Alabama's win over Texas Tech was the 13th NCAA Tournament win for Oats in Tuscaloosa, breaking a tie with Sanderson for the most in program history.
Nate Oats has led Alabama to a program-record 4 straight Sweet 16 appearances
Winning in March is hard. Even the best coaches slip up in the early rounds from time-to-time. We saw it on Sunday when Todd Golden, coaching the defending National Champion Florida Gators as a 1-seed once again, fell to Iowa.
And yet, Oats keeps making the opening weekend look easy.
Only Alabama, Houston, and Tennessee have advanced to the Sweet 16 now for four consecutive seasons. That's it. That's the list.
There's a reason that Oats' name gets consistently brought up when Blue Blood programs have vacancies. He's one of the best coaches in college basketball. One day, he's going to win a national championship. Hopefully, that will come at Alabama, something the program has never done.
Alabama AD Greg Byrne must continue to do whatever it takes - at whatever cost - to keep Oats in Tuscaloosa. We are living in the golden age of Alabama basketball, and those days shouldn't be anywhere close to coming to an end.