News Article: Alabama Hires Nate Oats From Buffalo

[imauafan]

A few things that aren't being considered about the hiring of Coach Oats:

1) He can take over the concession sales at Coleman to help raise money to build a new arena
2) He can tutor all the players in their math classes
3) Free throw shooting should improve dramatically given Coach Oats background in advanced math. It's all about angles, force, gravity, and stuff like that. I'm sure we will see players taking their time at the free throw line as they run through the calculation in the heads: free throw = cosine squared plus the tangent times gravity divided by two plus force. I believe Einstein first came up with this general formula and then later Dr. Naismith perfected it. As they get better at doing this math in their head it will go more quickly so we need to be patient early on. I predict free throw shooting should go up to 80% for the entire team, perhaps even more.
4) Players nutrition should improve because I'm sure they will be eating more oats instead of pop tarts for breakfast.

Have I left anything out?

 

[day-day]

I sure hope we don’t call him Coach O.

I was thinking the same thing. Sad that he did so well in his press conference as we will soon need an interpreter.

 

[B1GTide]

I have been out in CA and have not really had a chance to keep up, but this looks like a very good hire to me. Better than Matta? Not sure. But as good a hire as Alabama fans could reasonably hope for (sorry (not sorry) to those wishing for Pitino :wink.

He is a skilled teacher and rumors have it that he creates a very competitive locker room. He believes in himself and is going to do things his way. Players are going to get on board or get left behind. That is exactly what you hope for in a young coach.

I am excited to see what this translates to over the next few years.

Roll Tide!

 

[RTR91]

https://twitter.com/cecilhurt/status/1111616808375721984?s=21


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[rolltide_21]

I sure hope we don’t call him Coach O.

Amen.


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[mlh]

The more I read about Coach Oats the more I like him. I also saw part of his press conference and thought he did a great job. I like his work ethic. I like that he's young and could be here for a long time. I like what he did at Buffalo. He had a couple of really good seasons once he had time to recruit and get his system in place. And he seems to be very impressed with Coach Saban and what he's done with our football program. That tells me he's not overly concerned with being at a "basketball school."

I may actually start watching Bama basketball again. It will be interesting to see what he can do.

 

[BAMARICH]

That's fair, and I would add not my personal cause for concern.

Has Alabama ever hired a guy with power conference head coaching experience? That's remarkable but I'm not sure they have. What I hoped to see was someone who came from a well established program, who could come in and turn things upside down within the program. Show them how to do it, show them the support staff they need to have in place, the facilities they have in place, someone who built something and sustained. So not necessarily a Matta, or a Donovan, or a Barnes or a Pearl, but someone who can come back and say at ____ this is how we did it and that's how we reached the level we have.

Oats isn't that guy, obviously. He followed Hurley at Buffalo, who got Buffalo into the tournament before he left for Arizona St. and Oats took Buffalo to new heights. But honestly, I didn't want someone to come in and look at Alabama and go wow, this is nice. I wanted someone to come in and go wow, there's a lot of stuff we need to improve. That's what I wanted.

Now, all that aside... I have 0 issue with his performance as a coach. His performance is remarkable and I think their NET last year was around 10 (that is a big boy number). I like his style, I like his philosophy, and just because he's not far removed from high school doesn't mean he won't have some ideas that can improve the infrastructure as well. Nick Saban started at Toledo, Billy Donovan started at Marshall (which was in the MAC at the time), so it's not written in stone that a MAC guy can't come in and show an SEC school how to do things.

For the last time on this thread, I’ll tell you that we can’t get a guy like you’re talking about. You speak as if we can attract that kind of guy.

For the past three coaching hires, we’ve gotten a guy that’s an “up and comer”. That ought to tell us something as fans - the commitment for basketball here is not as high as some want it to be. I get you wanting a proven coach... I get you wanting more cash for facilities... and so on. But in the end, there’s the dream and there’s the reality. Personally, I’m moving on - supporting our new coach and willing to accept what our basketball program is and isn’t.

 

[teamplayer]

The more I read about Coach Oats the more I like him. I also saw part of his press conference and thought he did a great job. I like his work ethic. I like that he's young and could be here for a long time. I like what he did at Buffalo. He had a couple of really good seasons once he had time to recruit and get his system in place. And he seems to be very impressed with Coach Saban and what he's done with our football program. That tells me he's not overly concerned with being at a "basketball school."

I may actually start watching Bama basketball again. It will be interesting to see what he can do.

I agree. I hope in four years we are hoping that he wants to stay at Bama and build on the success that he has already had (fingers crossed). Do I expect Bama to compete for national titles every year in basketball? No, I don't, but I do think we should expect to be in the NCAA tournament four out of five years (80%), reach the sweet 16 two out of five years (40%), and be a team that plays hard with good fundamentals. I hope we can do even better than that, but I think those are the minimum expectations that we should have. I hope Coach Oats raises those expectations to where I start expecting to see some elite eight and final four appearances. He seems like a solid hire to me, but only time will tell.

 

[TideEngineer08]

I agree. I hope in four years we are hoping that he wants to stay at Bama and build on the success that he has already had (fingers crossed). Do I expect Bama to compete for national titles every year in basketball? No, I don't, but I do think we should expect to be in the NCAA tournament four out of five years (80%), reach the sweet 16 two out of five years (40%), and be a team that plays hard with good fundamentals. I hope we can do even better than that, but I think those are the minimum expectations that we should have. I hope Coach Oats raises those expectations to where I start expecting to see some elite eight and final four appearances. He seems like a solid hire to me, but only time will tell.

There is no reason why we cannot be what Auburn has been the past 2 years. What we see a team like Texas Tech doing right now. No we aren't going to be a Duke/UNC/Kentucky. But a given year could be our year, and we should be able to be competitive.

 

[CajunCrimson]

There is no reason why we cannot be what Auburn has been the past 2 years. What we see a team like Texas Tech doing right now. No we aren't going to be a Duke/UNC/Kentucky. But a given year could be our year, and we should be able to be competitive.

You mean....hire a blowhard -- who likely is committing NCAA Violations that haven't surfaced yet?

No, I didn't forget the blue font

 

[TideEngineer08]

You mean....hire a blowhard -- who likely is committing NCAA Violations that haven't surfaced yet?

No, I didn't forget the blue font

Good grief man. I'm talking about results. Not how they got there.

 

[CajunCrimson]

Good grief man. I'm talking about results. Not how they got there.

You are thinking "How they got there?" and "results" aren't the same thing?

 

[TideEngineer08]

You are thinking "How they got there?" and "results" aren't the same thing?

Of course. I'm not saying we need to be underhanded in order to achieve the same results. All I'm saying is there is no reason why Alabama cannot be 25-9 at the end of the regular season on a fairly regular basis. Remove team names from the equation.

 

[KrAzY3]

For the past three coaching hires, we’ve gotten a guy that’s an “up and comer”. That ought to tell us something as fans - the commitment for basketball here is not as high as some want it to be. I get you wanting a proven coach... I get you wanting more cash for facilities... and so on. But in the end, there’s the dream and there’s the reality. Personally, I’m moving on - supporting our new coach and willing to accept what our basketball program is and isn’t.

Not trying to continue a back and forth (so please don't feel obligated to respond, not trying to argue), but I also don't want to end things on a note that might make it seem like I don't support Oats, it's the way the program is run I don't support. I find it indefensible that Alabama has the most resources of any athletic department in the SEC, and yet they let programs like Auburn and Tennessee show more support for their basketball programs. I also think the resources they have used haven't necessarily been used wisely. Any frustration I have is not meant to be directed at Oats personally, none of this is his fault.

Some of the fans can be fickle, and yet they want success. They want the wins without the work. I desperately hope Oats is the guy to get them to wake up and support the program properly. That's all I want, that's what I wanted to see, and a good coach can at best mask those issues. I have my concerns he might not have enough influence initially. I hope Oats terms to Byrne were that he was going to get the facilities he needed, and not simply have what he was going to get dictated to him.The support Oats needs will exist outside of just players on a basketball court, and may be he's the one to get that through to people. Support isn't just hoping your team wins, support is saying ok I want them to have everything they need for success.

All I'm saying is there is no reason why Alabama cannot be 25-9 at the end of the regular season on a fairly regular basis. Remove team names from the equation.

There is a reason for that, and it's because the underlying support for the program isn't what it should be. Alabama has a rich athletic department and they seem to throw just enough money at the program to do something kind of splashy every now and then. However, there never seems to be the kind of focus and hard work it takes to really build something special. Even under Wimp, he wasn't winning because the Alabama basketball program was giving him the best of everything. He was winning despite basketball being relegated to second tier. Then, when Alabama basketball struggles, the fans vanish entirely and demand change, yet they don't consider that change has to involve more than just a new face coaching the team.

I remember the debate under Hobbs over whether or not Alabama even wanted to go to the NIT because it cost money. I remember a similar debate under Grant about the CBI. You can't have that kind of tepid, reluctant support for a program and expect big things. My frustration with this whole process is because I've seen this all before. The truth is we don't really know what some of these guys could have done if they had a program that was fully committed to their success, because we don't know what that looks like. There's no good reason why Alabama can't do that. There is a reason, Alabama just haven't shown enough commitment.

 

[DallasRTR]

You know, with all the comments about Nate Oats coming to Bama, I’m concerned that we are not looking at where he started his basketball coaching – at Romulus. Since we will now be related, does that make us Vulcan’s? I hope not, no emotion with those Vulcans.

 

[KrAzY3]

You know, with all the comments about Nate Oats coming to Bama, I’m concerned that we are not looking at where he started his basketball coaching – at Romulus. Since we will now be related, does that make us Vulcan’s? I hope not, no emotion with those Vulcans.

C.M. Newton came from Transylvania.

Vulcans and Vampires both have pointed earns. Next C.M Newton confirmed.

 

[Rama Jama]

We just hired a coach who will likely be the best we've had in years. He is relentless recruiter, he demands effort, he holds the players accountable, and know x's and o's. What more can you ask for. And BTW, he'll run a clean program. something little brother never seems to want to do. I believe if we can keep a few kids home and get the Watford kid, we have a shot at changing the culture with Oats. He reminds of a younger Wimp.

The reno is not due to begin for 2 to 4 more years so if he proves successful, maybe we can convince the PTB a new building is better than throwing money at an old building that in the long run cost less.
RTR

 

[cuda.1973]

You know, with all the comments about Nate Oats coming to Bama, I’m concerned that we are not looking at where he started his basketball coaching – at Romulus. Since we will now be related, does that make us Vulcan’s? I hope not, no emotion with those Vulcans.

Just because UAB didn't become the Vulcans.....................

(Actually, we would have to be Remus, and not Vulcan.) (Do you have to be Italian to know this?):biggrin2:

 

[TIDE-HSV]

Not trying to continue a back and forth (so please don't feel obligated to respond, not trying to argue), but I also don't want to end things on a note that might make it seem like I don't support Oats, it's the way the program is run I don't support. I find it indefensible that Alabama has the most resources of any athletic department in the SEC, and yet they let programs like Auburn and Tennessee show more support for their basketball programs. I also think the resources they have used haven't necessarily been used wisely. Any frustration I have is not meant to be directed at Oats personally, none of this is his fault.

Some of the fans can be fickle, and yet they want success. They want the wins without the work. I desperately hope Oats is the guy to get them to wake up and support the program properly. That's all I want, that's what I wanted to see, and a good coach can at best mask those issues. I have my concerns he might not have enough influence initially. I hope Oats terms to Byrne were that he was going to get the facilities he needed, and not simply have what he was going to get dictated to him.The support Oats needs will exist outside of just players on a basketball court, and may be he's the one to get that through to people. Support isn't just hoping your team wins, support is saying ok I want them to have everything they need for success.


There is a reason for that, and it's because the underlying support for the program isn't what it should be. Alabama has a rich athletic department and they seem to throw just enough money at the program to do something kind of splashy every now and then. However, there never seems to be the kind of focus and hard work it takes to really build something special. Even under Wimp, he wasn't winning because the Alabama basketball program was giving him the best of everything. He was winning despite basketball being relegated to second tier. Then, when Alabama basketball struggles, the fans vanish entirely and demand change, yet they don't consider that change has to involve more than just a new face coaching the team.

I remember the debate under Hobbs over whether or not Alabama even wanted to go to the NIT because it cost money. I remember a similar debate under Grant about the CBI. You can't have that kind of tepid, reluctant support for a program and expect big things. My frustration with this whole process is because I've seen this all before. The truth is we don't really know what some of these guys could have done if they had a program that was fully committed to their success, because we don't know what that looks like. There's no good reason why Alabama can't do that. There is a reason, Alabama just haven't shown enough commitment.

New basketball facilities can't be amortized out of football revenues. Are you aware that donors can earmark their donations for football or basketball - and do? Think...

 

[TideEngineer08]

New basketball facilities can't be amortized out of football revenues. Are you aware that donors can earmark their donations for football or basketball - and do? Think...

Maybe some of us that love basketball need to become rich. I'm doing the best I can.