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TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Nate Oats is finding things a bit easier than expected during his first few months in charge of Alabama’s basketball team.
The first-year head coach admitted that he was pleasantly surprised with the transition of some of his returning players since taking over the team in late March. One of the most notable developments from Wednesday’s skill session was Alabama’s apparent progression from the 3-point line.
At one point during the workout inside of Coleman Coliseum freshman guards Jaden Shackelford and Jaylen Forbes and junior forward Alex Reese combined to hit seven straight 3s, never once hitting the rim. Perhaps an even more surprising sight occurred on the opposite side of the gym as junior forward Galin Smith found the bottom of the net on a handful of shots from beyond the arc.
Smith has yet to attempt a single 3-point shot in his two seasons at Alabama. It wasn’t part of the 6-foot-9, 245-pound forward’s job description under former head coach Avery Johnson, who typically positioned him near the basket in the low post. That figures to change under Oats’ fast, open-court attack which calls for every player on the court to be able to knock down uncontested shots.
“We chart our guys on made 3s, and Galin’s been in the gym working,” Oats said following the workout. “We explained to these guys, if you look at the way we played in Buffalo, our bigs shot a lot of 3s. So we’re encouraging (that).”
Last season, Alabama finished ninth in the SEC, attempting 688 shots from beyond the arc. By comparison, Oats’ Buffalo team led the MAC with a whopping 969 attempts from distance.
Oats prefers a smaller lineup, generally using four guards and a forward on the floor. However, his bigs were not excluded from 3-point responsibilities. Six-foot-8 forward Nick Perkins shot 37.3 percent on 126 attempts from beyond the arc, while 6-foot-10 starter Montell McRae shot 35.5 percent on 76 attempts. In contrast, Alabama’s primary post players — Donta Hall, Daniel Giddens and Smith — combined to make just 1 of 2 attempts from beyond the arc.
Wednesday, Oats noted an improvement not only from Smith but also from redshirt freshman Javian Davis-Fleming and junior Herbert Jones.
“I just think the culture has gotten a lot better over the two and a half months or so to where guys want to get in on their own because they know they're going to have the freedom to actually use what they’re working on in the games,” Oats said. “We’re encouraging them to shoot 3s, so they’re working on them. I’ve been pleasantly surprised with how well some of the guys have progressed even in the two and a half months since we’ve been here.”
It’s worth noting that Alabama’s bigs didn’t totally lack a propensity to shoot the 3 last season. While guards John Petty Jr. and Kira Lewis Jr. led the team in 3-point attempts with 171 and 151 respectively, stretch fours Tevin Mack (6-foot-6, 225 pounds) and Riley Norris (6-foot-7, 212 pounds) finished next on the list with 144 attempts and 84 attempts respectively.
While Mack and Norris are no longer with the team, Alabama brings back a taller 3-point presence in Reese. The 6-foot-9, 238-pound junior is the Crimson Tide’s top returning 3-point shooter after averaging 37.5 percent on his 72 attempts from beyond the arc last season. He hit a career-high five 3s in Alabama’s NIT loss to Norfolk State.
Reese is back to 100 percent after missing the spring with a minor injury. Wednesday, Oats said the junior is one of the players who has surprised him the most since taking the job.
“He can make plays like a true three-four with his size and his reads on ball screens,” Oats said. “We used to run a lot of four-five ball screens at Buffalo. Our fours are more like two-guards. I think he can do some of that stuff, so he’s been surprising a little bit that way. I did like his upside on film because he could shoot it with his length.”
Jones offers another source of encouragement as the junior appears to be finding his stroke after a poor shooting display last season. The 6-foot-7, 206-pound guard shot just 28.6 percent from beyond the arc but has made significant strides in his short time under Oats.
This offseason, Oats has implemented a drill called “NBA 100” where his players shoot 100 3s and are tracked on their percentage. Jones knocked down 44 shots during his first trial but has since improved that number to 59 makes recently.
“As long as I put in the work, I’ll gain confidence,” Jones said. “As long as I keep working at it, my confidence will grow.”
Alabama’s ability to adapt that mindset across its roster will likely play a big role in how quickly the team is able to transition into Oats’ style of play. So far, it appears the head coach is ahead of schedule.
“It’s just a confidence level that Coach puts into these guys,” Petty said. “He lets them know that for you to play you have to be able to shoot the ball. So I think that’s something he instills in them that drives them to get in gear and get shots up. He also lets them know like ‘Don’t be scared to shoot the ball.’ Maybe in the past, they were scared to shoot or felt like, ‘That’s not what I’m supposed to do.’ But now he’s letting them know, ‘You are going to have to be able to shoot.’ I think that helps them a lot.”
