Alabama coach Nate Oats on Final Four: 'Not a lot missing in the recruiting pitch now'
The University of Alabama — a basketball school?
Crimson Tide men’s basketball coach Nate Oats, thanks in part to a conversation with legendary Alabama football coach Nick Saban after Bama was bounced from the SEC tournament, has led his team to the Final Four for the first time in school history.
Alabama will face reigning national champion UConn on Saturday night at State Farm Stadium in Glendale for the right to play for the national title on Monday. The Crimson Tide is a heavy underdog, but regardless of outcome, the accomplishment and program’s growth in the five years since Oats took the helm in 2019 has changed national perception about hoops in Tuscaloosa, which should pay dividends on the recruiting trail.
“Certainly doesn’t hurt. If kids don’t want to be a part of a winning team, I probably don’t want to take ‘em,” Oats said Friday. “We’ve had one of the more … modern offenses, one of the more recruitable two offenses in the country over the last five years. We did a study. We improved our guys’ draft stock more than anybody in the country has over the last five years we’ve been there. We have the NBA deal, more lottery picks than anybody in the country, have the offense going.”
“We’ve won at a high level. Since I got to the SEC, they’ve given out nine trophies” for the regular season and tournament championships, excluding the year the postseason was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Alabama has four of them.
“We’ve won those championships,” Oats said. “We’ve got an offense. We put guys in the pros. Now we’re competing on a national stage in a Final Four to win a national championship.”
Alabama has won eight NCAA Tournament games, going 8-3, and has reached at least the Sweet 16 in three of the last four seasons under Oats.
Prior to his arrival, the Crimson Tide won seven tournament games over 26 seasons.
“There’s not a lot missing in the recruiting pitch now,” Oats said. “Assistant coach Preston (Murphy) is a big-time recruiter. He’s certainly using this Final Four run to our advantage, for sure. We’ll see what type of dividends we can gain from it moving forward this spring and summer.”
Oats also addressed recruiting through the transfer portal, which has been key to building his program.
Mark Sears played at Ohio, Aaron Estrada at Hofstra, Grant Nelson at North Dakota State, Latrell Wrightsell at Cal State Fullerton and Nick Pringle at Wofford.
“I think, used appropriately, you can build a good roster,” Oats said. “You have to be cognizant of the fact that you want these guys to graduate. You’ve got to make sure their credits transfer, you get them in the right programs so they can still get their college degree. That’s the one issue I see with being able to openly transfer whenever you want.
“These guys are now playing on the biggest stage. I think if you prove yourself – keep in mind that we’re still here to educate the guys – as long as they get their degree, I’m not opposed to the transfer portal. We used it to create this roster.”
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Alabama, basketball school? 'Not a lot missing in the recruiting pitch'
