This stellar Nate Oats stat alone proves he’s been total gold for Alabama

Nate Oats has broken through with a Final Four appearance, but last year the Crimson Tide fell short in the Elite Eight, and with the unfortunate Aden Holloway news, this postseason looks as though it could be dead on arrival. Nate Oats has yet to bring Tuscaloosa a championship through his first six years, but a little perspective can quickly ease any simmering frustration with his tenure.

Before Oats, Alabama’s deepest tournament run was an Elite Eight appearance in 2004 under Mark Gottfried, but that was well in the rearview mirror by the time Oats arrived from Buffalo in 2019. And since Oats has shown up, the Tide have been one of the biggest basketball powerhouses in the SEC. 

A top-four seed in the NCAA Tournament can feel a bit underwhelming, considering Oats has grabbed a top seed in 2023 and No. 2 seeds in 2021 and 2025. Yet, it helped Alabama surpass the total number of top four seeds that the program had earned prior to the Oats era. Blake Byler of BamaOnLine pointed out the ridiculous stat that is all you need to know to understand just how impressive Oats has been since taking over. 

Nate Oats surpassed number of top-four seeds Alabama had earned prior to his arrival

The path through the Midwest Region looks difficult this year, especially considering that Holloway was removed from campus following his felony drug arrest on Monday. The team’s second-leading scorer is critical to Oats’s pace-and-space system, and now, not only is this run in jeopardy, but so is Holloway’s future in Tuscaloosa. 

As a junior, the former Auburn Tiger has one year of eligibility remaining and was likely to be the centerpiece of next year’s team after Labaron Philon Jr. leaves for the NBA. Oats may have to pivot his offseason plans depending on how Holloway’s situation plays out. 

While that would be a frustrating step back and continues to feed the perception that Oats is a bit too lax when it comes to disciplining his team, Alabama basketball will still be in a great spot as long as Oats is at the helm. 

Even if this season ends in a disappointing early exit, Alabama has to do whatever it can to hold onto Oats as long as it possibly can. For all the drama, the Charles Bediako eligibility dispute and now the Holloway situation, Oats is keeping Alabama basketball relevant in a way it never was before he arrived, and that’s important to remember.