Former Alabama head football coach Nick Saban has been retired for over a month now, but his legacy and impact still resides in Tuscaloosa.

Making his appearance inside Coleman Coliseum Saturday afternoon to watch No. 15 Alabama face off against the Texas A&M Aggies, Saban sat courtside with his wife, Terry Saban, for the 100-75 blowout victory at home.

According to head coach Nate Oats, Saban talked to the basketball team Friday afternoon at practice. Despite him telling Oats that he “doesn’t know much about basketball,” the legendary head coach gave the young players some advice on what it takes to win and how to be successful.

“He’s had a bunch of successful teams, so he told us what he tells those teams,” sophomore Rylan Griffen said. “When he speaks, you just take everything in, just because he’s a legend, a living legend. So, you just take everything he says in, and apply it to your own personal life.

Although Saban isn’t necessarily a hoops fanatic, his coaching style and knowledge of competition fired up some of the Crimson Tide’s leaders on the squad. Namely, point guard Mark Sears.

“He talked about being a beast,” Sears said. “Everybody wants to win, but nobody wants to do what it takes to win. That’s something I really looked for to fulfill.”

Clearly, Saban’s message to Sears paid off as the senior dropped 23 points against the Aggies, shooting 8-for-14 from the field and coming away with three steals as well. Sears’ outing against Texas A&M marks his sixteenth 20-point game this season, tying Collin Sexton for the most in a single-season in program history.

Ever since Saban’s retirement on Jan. 10 this year, Oats has been planning the coach’s discussion with the team for a while.

“I talked to him shortly after he retired, and he told me when he’s coming back to town,” Oats said. “I asked him if he wouldn’t mind speaking to the team when he came back to town. This was in the window. We had a week off between games, and I thought it would be good for our guys to listen to a respected coach like him on what it took to win.”

However, Oats mentioned that it might not be the last time that Saban will be around to give a word to his players.

“I was fortunate enough to spend five football seasons with him and I learned a little bit,” Oats said. “Shoot, as long as he’s here I’m going to keep picking his brain to see if he’ll keep talking to our team as the years go on.”

Following the win over Texas A&M, the Crimson Tide still reside in first place in the SEC with a 10-2 record, followed by Auburn and South Carolina with a 9-3 record. Still with six conference games remaining before the SEC Tournament, the Crimson Tide still have to fight for the top.

Next up for Alabama is hosting the Florida Gators inside Coleman Coliseum on Feb. 21 at 6:00 p.m. CT.