Nate Oats hints at Trendon Watford, gives update on Kira Lewis Jr.
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Nate Oats didn’t name names, but he didn’t have to. During an appearance on JOX FM’s 3 Man Front, the newly-hired Alabama basketball coach hinted that the Crimson Tide is still very much pursuing five-star forward Trendon Watford as it looks to round out its roster for next season.
“We’ve got one open scholarship for a certain player here. I’m not allowed to comment on that,” Oats said. “If things go like we’d like them to go, we’ll have a full roster. We may have another defection or two. It’s just new coach, new system. Do they fit our system well? To be honest with you, I really like most of our roster. I did think when we got here, we maybe had a few too many bigs. We like to play spread-out. Four-out, one-in or even five-out. Shoot, our five men in Buffalo were shooting a lot of threes."
Watford, the No. 19 player overall in the 2019 class, is set to announce his college decision April 20. The 6-foot-9, 224-pound forward excels at taking the ball to the rim and has the athleticism to play in Oat's fast-paced style. Following his first on-court workout with the team, the head coach said Alabama players had an eye-opening experience while getting accustomed to how he wants to play.
“Things were definitely a lot different,” Oats said at during the Hey Coach radio show last week. “The pace of play is nothing like any of them had been accustomed to. They were a little gassed and worn out. We’re not doing any conditioning, just the drills we’re running at a little bit of a different pace than they’re used to doing. We were third in the country in offensive pace of play at Buffalo ... first in transition points per game. We’re going to run that system. We’ve athletes down here to run it, and we’ve just got to get the culture right to where they’re going hard every day in practice.”
Another player who could thrive in Oats’ system is starting point guard Kira Lewis Jr., who was named to the SEC All-Freshman team last season after leading Alabama in scoring (13.6 points per game), assists (2.9 per game) and minutes (31.6 per game). The freshman currently has his name listed in the NCAA’s transfer database, allowing schools to reach out to him about a potential move. However, there is a growing optimism around Tuscaloosa, Ala., that Lewis will return to the team next season. Monday, Oats gave what appears to be a positive update on the situation.
“I feel really good about it,” Oats said. “It’s just one of those deals where you don’t want to push and pressure a kid like that. But I mean, the kid’s a projected first-round pick. He just had his birthday, just turned 18. I’ve got an agent, and went through and looked. The average age of an NBA draft pick right now is 19.6 years old, I believe, and it’s getting lower and lower. The last five years it’s dropping further and furthe … He’s right where he needs to be. So, if he had to go somewhere and sit out, that doesn’t really help him achieve the goal he’s trying to get to. And our system is going to fit him great.
“The last two years we were top five in the country in scoring. We were No. 3 in pace of play on offense. The floor’s going to be spread and we’re going to play fast, and he’s as fast as you get playing the point. So, our system’s kind of tailor-made for him. We’re going to continue to develop a relationship with him and his family, and they’re going to be comfortable.”
Last week sophomore guard John Petty Jr. took his name out of the NCAA transfer database, leaving Lewis and redshirt juniors Dazon Ingram and Daniel Giddens as the three remaining Alabama players in the portal.
Alabama received a commitment from three-star center Raymond Hawkins last month. The Crimson Tide is also set to bring in four-star guards Jaden Shackelford and Jaylen Forbes as well as four-star forward Juwan Gary as part of this class.