Nate Oats has built his Alabama basketball program into something that even the blue bloods are envious of. On Friday, Jeff Goodman reported that Indiana, with new head coach Darian DeVries at the helm, made a run at coveted Crimson Tide assistant coach Preston Murphy, but those overtures were rejected by Murphy:
New Indiana coach Darian DeVries took a swing at Alabama assistant Preston Murphy, who he worked with at Creighton, source told @thefieldof68.
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) April 11, 2025
But made sense that Murphy opted to stay in Tuscaloosa - Crimson Tide have been winning at such a high level in recent years and Murphy…
Murphy is one of the most sought-after assistant coaches in college basketball. He has been part of Nate Oats' staff for the last two seasons and is the program's de facto "General Manager." While Alabama was still in the NCAA Tournament, Murphy was spearheading the efforts in the Transfer Portal.
As Goodman states in his post, Murphy is one of the best recruiters in the country and has helped Alabama sign multiple impressive freshman classes as well as land some of the most coveted recruits in the Transfer Portal every offseason.
In late March, Alabama rewarded Murphy with a raise and contract extension, raising his annual salary to $675,000 per year.
Alabama is not a blue blood in basketball. Instead, as Murphy has coined, they are a "new blood." Oats has elevated the Tide's program to among the best in the country with the best three-year stretch in program history. Alabama has finished in the Top 10 of the final AP Poll for three consecutive seasons, making a Sweet 16, Final Four, and Elite Eight.
Alabama basketball still has an assistant coaching vacancy
There's been no news as of yet on Alabama replacing Ryan Pannone, who left the Crimson Tide to take over as head coach at Arkansas State. Currently, Oats has Murphy and "defensive coordinator" Brian Adams on staff.
He will be looking to bring in an "offensive coordinator" to replace Pannone. With the delay in making a move, it seems that Oats could be targeting an NBA assistant for his staff. The NBA regular season comes to an end on Sunday. We could see movement on Alabama's assistant coaching vacancy after that.
Oats has had success pulling assistants from the NBA in the past. Pannone was previously an assistant for the New Orleans Pelicans and the head coach of the Pelicans' G-League team. Adams previously served as an assistant coach for both the 76ers and Pistons.