Nate Oats wasn't taking shot at Jahvon Quinerly at SEC Media Day: 'All love for JQ'
MOUNTAIN BROOK — Alabama basketball coach Nate Oats made a comment about point guards that resulted in some raised eyebrows at SEC Media Days on Wednesday.
But Oats didn't intend it that way.
In answering a question about transfer guard Aaron Estrada, Oats praised Estrada's work ethic, which included saying, "I think that makes us a lot better as a team when you don't have to beg your point guard to bring effort every day."
The reaction in the basketball world interpreted Oats' comments to be a shot at former guard Jahvon Quinerly, who originally announced he was staying at Alabama for one more year before transferring to Memphis.
"All love for JQ," Oats told The Tuscaloosa News. "Was just trying to pump up our point guard this year and how good he's been. We had a great run with JQ. We were the No. 1 team in the country with him. He helped raise our program to unprecedented heights here."
UPCOMING RECRUITING VISITS: Alabama basketball: Two top 2024 recruits set to visit during Tennessee weekend
NATE OATS: How Nate Oats turned offseason curveballs into home runs for Alabama basketball
Estrada joins Mark Sears as well as transfer Latrell Wrightsell Jr., Davin Cosby Jr. and Rylan Griffen at guard.
Here's the full comment from Oats on Estrada and the guards as a whole as Alabama prepares to open its season on Nov. 6 at Coleman Coliseum against Morehead State.
“He’s assimilated great," Oats said. "He’s an unbelievable kid. Great leader. Plays hard. One of the hardest working guys I’ve ever been around. His skill level is really high. His at the rim finishing percentage is as high as any guard I’ve ever had. I think he’s got the whole finishing package. He shoots well from three and he’s a great defender. He’s not missing much and really to be honest about you, one of the best things he does for our team is he brings it every day. He is not up and down. Every single day, you know what you’re getting from Aaron. He’s a hard playing guy. He’s going to have some days he shoots a lot better than others. Last week, he had one day he went 10 of 15 from three one day. He’s not going to do that every day. But he is going to play hard and he’s going to bring everything he’s got every day. I think that makes us a lot better as a team when you don’t have to beg your point guard to bring effort every day, between him and Sears … Wrightsell too. I think all three of those guys are every day guys who just bring it every day. It sets the tone for your team and I think it allows you to have tough, gritty defensive minded, blue collar type of guys and the type of team we want to have.”
Nick Kelly covers Alabama football and men's basketball for The Tuscaloosa News, part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at nkelly@gannett.com or follow him @_NickKelly on X, the social media app formerly known as Twitter.
This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Nate Oats wasn't trying to take shot at Jahvon Quinerly at SEC Media Day
