Five reasons why Alabama Basketball is here to stay

5. Growing popularity, awareness, and NIL

Long known as a football school first and foremost, Alabama is quickly gaining notoriety as a basketball program with Coach Oats at the helm. In just five years, he has completely transformed the program. Alabama now regularly goes toe-to-toe with the blue bloods in the sport, often out-competing them on the court as well as on the recruiting trail. 

The fact that Tuscaloosa is now a prime destination for 5-star recruits, in addition to being an attractive landing spot for the nation’s top transfers, is mind-blowing. The Tide’s blossoming NIL collective will only continue to grow, which will make all of its athletic teams even more competitive. 

As the popularity of the program continues to grow, quality recruits will be easier to come by. With a constant supply of top talent, the team will continue to have success, both in terms of winning championships and developing NBA Draft picks. This is the same self-fulfilling prophecy that the sport’s most legendary programs lean on constantly. While Alabama Basketball will never have the historical significance of a Kansas or a North Carolina, it has leveled the playing field with those schools in the modern age. 

The hardest part of Nate Oats’ job is done. Though it’s never easy to sustain greatness, it’s much more difficult to build a college basketball powerhouse virtually overnight. With Coach Oats likely to be in Tuscaloosa for the long haul, Alabama Hoops looks to be a mainstay on the college basketball scene for the foreseeable future.