Nate Oats has long described his Alabama teams as "blue-collar basketball." For the uninitiated, that's a description that simply means doing the dirty work, all the little things it takes to win basketball games. It means being first to the floor; it means hustling for 40 minutes. It means fighting for rebounds and taking charges. It means being the toughest team on the floor night in and night out.
That will be put to the ultimate test on Saturday at Madison Square Garden against Rick Pitino's St. John's. The Red Storm are the embodiment of that style of basketball, and if you don't show up ready for a bare-knuckle street fight, you're liable to get knocked on your ass.
St. John's will come to Madison Square Garden looking for a fight. Alabama needs to be ready to oblige them.
Oats knows what to expect. Speaking to reporters on Friday before the Crimson Tide departed for New York, used "MMA, wrestling, and football" to describe the Johnnies' play style.
"We're going to have to match their physicality," Oats said. "We got to rebound the basketball. We got to show some toughness. We’ve got to get in gaps and make defensive plays; we’ve got to be more active on the defensive end. We talk about all of our blue-collar points, that’s the stuff – deflections, all of that. Defensive plays, rebounding on both ends, really, but defensive rebounding is gonna be huge. We got to show some toughness and make a lot of blue-collar plays.”
Nate Oats stressed the importance of Alabama matching St. John's physicality
Alabama will have to do so without a player who will likely be a staple of blue-collar basketball this season. Tarleton State transfer Keitenn Bristow is not expected to play on Saturday, according to Oats. Bristow rolled his ankle in practice last week. He missed the season opener against North Dakota - alongside Latrell Wrightsell and Aden Holloway - and while there was optimism that he would be able to play this weekend, he's now considered doubtful.
Holloway and Wrightsell should be able to go, though.
St. John's will hit the glass hard. They will fight for extra possessions. Pitino will look to muddy the water and slow the game down whenever he can. They aren't going to want to get into a running match with the Crimson Tide.
The Red Storm will want to make it a rock fight. Past great Alabama teams have been able to play any style and still win games. That was the earmark of the 2022-23 team that was the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament.
For better or worse, we'll find out a lot about what this team is made of tomorrow.