Nate Oats on his new-look roster + the benefits of playing a tough schedule
Reading time: 5 minutes
Football season is still in full swing but mid-October always means the first signs of life for basketball season are here.
All 32 SEC basketball coaches made their way to Birmingham this week for the annual SEC Media Days at the Grand Bohemian Hotel in Mountain Brook.
Nate Oats took the podium Tuesday afternoon, coming off the Tide’s second consecutive Elite 8 appearance. The coach previewed the 2025-26 season, speaking on what he expects to see from this year’s roster + the benefits of playing a difficult schedule.
Keep reading to learn more about the team before the season starts + see what Oats had to say ahead of his seventh season in Tuscaloosa.
‘We lost quite a bit’
Alabama is the only team to reach a Final Four + two Elite Eights in the last two seasons. The Tide has finished in the top 6 of the final AP Poll in each of the last three seasons.
However, Alabama is just No. 15 in the preseason AP Poll. It’s still the fifth straight year the Tide has appeared in the preseason poll, the program’s longest streak since the 70s.
And while Oats has certainly gained some trust from the national media to keep things going, he knows there’s a good reason his team isn’t ranked even higher.
“We’re excited for the year. Obviously we lost a lot last year with (Mark) Sears, First Team All-American, had three really good years for us… We not only lost him, we lost Cliff (Omouryi), Grant (Nelson), lost multiple starters. Chris Youngblood is playing very well on the
Nate Oats
Thunder’s team in the exhibitions… We lost quite a bit but I think we’ve got good talent coming in.”
The returning core is led by Labaron Philon who starred as a freshman and has been named to the preseason All-SEC first team by the coaches.
Other names to keep an eye on include:
- Latrell Wrightsell
- Houston Mallette
- Aden Holloway
- Aiden Sherrell
- Noah Williamson
- Jalil Bethea
“This team could be really special. We got a lot of guys that want to be here and want to be on this team, and a lot of guys believe in Coach Oats and what he says. I think if we keep building on that, we’re going to be such a great team, and it’s going to be hard to stop us. We have a lot of guards that can play at a really high level. The frontcourt – the three bigs that we have now – it’s perfect for the way we play. We want to get guys open, attack the paint, and have shooting bigs to spread the opponent out.”
Labaron Philon at SEC Media Days
Strength of schedule
While playing in the SEC may be tough enough for some teams, there’s no denying Nate Oats likes to challenge his team early and often in the non-conference schedule.
That’s no different this season as he has set up a slate of games that includes:
- at No. 5 St. John’s
- No. 1 Purdue
- vs. No. 17 Illinois (in Chicago)
- vs. No. 21 Gonzaga (in Las Vegas)
- vs. No. 13 Arizona (in Birmingham)
And that’s just in non-conference play before starting the SEC schedule with a visit from No. 9 Kentucky. There are six total SEC teams ranked in the preseason AP Poll.
“I don’t think playing 13 cupcakes prepares you for SEC play. Whether we win or lose, I’ve never shied away from playing the best schedule in the country, we’ve had the number one strength of schedule for a number of years, had it last year, the year before, I believe. You play the best teams, you figure out where your weaknesses are, and you fix ’em immediately… I’d much rather be whatever it is, 8-5, 9-4, 10-3 going into conference play than 13-0 and having no idea what your weaknesses are, where you got to get better, all that.”
Nate Oats
Ballin’ in Boutwell
Fans will get their first chance at seeing this Crimson Tide team play Thursday night when they take on Florida State in an exhibition game at Boutwell Auditorium in Birmingham.
Here’s what you need to know:
- Who: Alabama vs. Florida State
- Where: Boutwell Auditorium | Birmingham, AL
- When: 7PM
- More info
“We’re excited to get this thing going again. Feels like we’ve been going against each other, starting first week of June, you get eight weeks in the summer. We started class the middle of August. Been going for two months now. Kind of going against each other for about four months now. It’s time. We’re ready to play, get the exhibition with Florida State on Thursday. Our guys are ready to go against somebody else.”
Nate Oats
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