Lessons from a legend
Saban, others gave Tide’s Oats advice before tournament
LOS ANGELES — Nate Oats has Nick Saban on speed dial.
Yet the Alabama men's basketball coach knew he needed as much input as possible as his team was reeling heading into the NCAA Tournament.
The result? The Crimson Tide are making their first appearance in the Final Four. They have won four straight, including an 89-82 victory over Clemson in Saturday night's West Regional final.
“The best team doesn't always win because it's a one-game elimination tournament. You've got to be hot at the right time. And we looked like we were not hot at the right time,” Oats said.
Alabama entered March Madness with four losses in six games, three of which were by 14 points or more. After their loss to Florida in the SEC Tournament quarterfinals, Oats spent the weekend before the selection show picking the brains of former Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim and Umass' Frank Martin, who led South Carolina to the Final Four in 2017.
Both coaches took their teams on deep tournament runs after struggling late in the regular season. Oats also got advice from Saban and used that to his advantage.
“He kind of gave me the ‘next' idea — next, next, next,” Oats said. “So guys bought in. We can make this run. Other teams have done it. We have the capability to do it . ... We can have the No. 1 offense in the country; we had it for the majority of the year.
“Let's put a top-20 defense together and we can make a Final Four.”
Since arriving in Tuscaloosa in 2019, Oats hasn't been afraid or concerned about being shadowed by Saban and the football program. Oats also asked Patrick Murphy, who has led the softball program to four national championships, to speak to his team in January. Murphy's hourlong talk was about “Mudita” — which means having vicarious joy in someone else's success.
Oats has matched Saban when it comes to rebuilding a roster and surpassing expectations. Many picked Alabama to reach the Final Four last year as the top overall seed, but it lost to San Diego State in the Sweet 16.
Going into this season, Oats had only three returning players. He also had to replace three assistant coaches after they got head coaching jobs.
Mark Sears emerged as the Crimson Tide's leader and was a second-team Associated Press All-america selection. He also was the West Regional MVP after scoring 23 points against Clemson, including seven 3-pointers.