Five reasons why Alabama Basketball is here to stay

3. Withstanding staff turnover

Oats’ most recent coaching job was arguably his most impressive, due in large part to the staff turnover he experienced last offseason. All three of his long-time assistants, Charlie Henry, Bryan Hodgson, and Antoine Pettway, moved on to head coaching jobs following the 2022-23 season. As proven by their next jobs, this was an elite collection of coaches who had also established a great deal of continuity, having been together for four years. 

While it's the mark of a healthy program to have assistants move on to head coaching gigs, nobody expected Oats to lose all three at the same time.

Still, briefly operating on his own, Coach Oats was able to assemble a competitive roster that ultimately peaked at the right time. He was also able to quickly build yet another elite staff; Austin Claunch has already since landed a head coaching job and moved on, while Preston Murphy and Ryan Pannone are two of the brightest young stars in the coaching world.

With regard to Oats’ level of adaptability in this particular area, the sample size is fairly small. His entire Alabama career with the exception of one season was spent with the same staff. Still, the display he has put on over the last calendar year is very promising.

If Alabama Basketball continues to have success at the anticipated rate, Coach Oats may have to replace assistants more regularly, so this is an important skill to have.