Evidence again shows Nate Oats is one smart guy

Nate Oats is a college basketball wizard. He is maybe - even the wizard of college basketball. Some across the college hoops world may question such a claim. Alabama basketball fans are realizing any Nate Oats doubters are mistaken.

Step back to April when John Calipari and the Kentucky Wildcats parted ways. Numerous reports stated that Oats was at the top of Kentucky's next head coach list. This week, Nate Oats admitted he gave the job some thought.

As reported by On3's Charlie Potter, Oats said, "The job was never offered to me. It didn’t get to that point at all." That is no an indication Oats was not a top candidate. No offers are made before feelers are made through third parties, to assess interest. Nate Oats quickly decided he was not interested.

Oats also praised Greg Byrne and said he would like to work for Byrne for the rest of his career. Oast earned a bump in salary, along with a contract extension. The bump did not make him the SEC's highest paid basketball coach. Oats explained, "I’m not the highest-paid coach in the league. I didn’t ask for that. But I’m making a lot more money than I’d ever thought I would make. And they’ve made it clear they want to keep me here."

Alabama Crimson Tide fans could not be more pleased. Another statement from Oats is spot on, and at the same time mind-boggling. He said, " I think we’ve got a chance to win a national championship at Alabama, and I think it would mean a lot more winning one here than maybe it would be winning one somewhere where they’ve won with lots of different coaches ..."

Nate Oats, Alabama Basketball and National Championships

Kentucky has won eight National Championships. Only UCLA, with 11, has won more. Left unsaid by Oats, is an obvious conclusion. Nate Oats believes his chance to win a National Championship is at least as good in Tuscaloosa as it would have been in Lexington. A hunch is Oats believes he has a better chance with Alabama than he might have had with Kentucky.

Moving to a true college basketball blue blood program for even more money would have been a smart move for Oats. Showing how smart Nate Oats is - he understood old glory and the most dollars don't match the opportunity he has in Tuscaloosa.