Nate Oats has tried just about everything to fix Alabama basketball’s slow starts. After slamming a whiteboard to the court during the Crimson Tide’s loss at Missouri earlier in the week, he threw the kitchen sink at Kentucky on Saturday evening.
Oats shook the eight ball until it told him what he wanted to see.
After rolling out a starting five consisting of Mark Sears, Chris Youngblood, Labaron Philon, Grant Nelson and Clifford Omoruyi, the head coach made eight substitutions over the game’s first six minutes. The constant sorting and sifting is part of a new zero-tolerance policy Oats is implementing whenever his players commit one of the team’s cardinal sins.
At Alabama, those include:
— Not giving full effort
— Not following the scouting report
— Turning the ball over
Slip up in one of those categories, and you might as well start jogging over to the bench.
“That’s the way it’s going to be moving forward,” Oats said. “I’m tired of the guys not being locked into the scouting report. If you grade our effort levels 1-10, it’s not like we’ve got anybody giving four, five, six, but there’s levels to this thing. We can’t be giving an eight or nine. We need a 10. We’ve just got to challenge the guys.”
The method is ruthless, and at times a bit chaotic, but it might provide the kick in the rear Alabama needs to get over its early-game woes. At the very least, it’s interesting to watch.
Less than a minute into Saturday’s game, Alabama freshman guard Labaron Philon let Kentucky’s Koby Brea breeze past him for an easy floater in the paint. By the time the Tide pulled the ball out of the net, an angry Oats was already marching down his bench to sub in Aden Holloway as a replacement.
Holloway was yanked 30 seconds later after missing a contested floater in the lane, and Oats sent Philon back onto the floor. Nothing personal, just business.
“You just take it on the chin and accept that you made a mistake,” Holloway said when asked about Oats’ quick trigger on substitutions. “Keep your head high and your attitude positive. Just be ready for when he puts you back in to make up for what you did wrong.”
Holloway did just that, knocking down four first-half 3s to help the Tide take a 47-40 lead into the break. Through his back-and-forth trips to and from the bench, the sophomore guard finished the night with 19 points on 5 of 12 shooting from deep.
Before Holloway got going, Alabama’s carousel of comings and goings landed back on its starting five after the Tide dug itself into a 20-9 deficit with 14:45 remaining in the half. A Sears’ 3 sparked a 7-0 run, and the Tide’s comeback was on.
From there, Nelson made a diving play to save a loose ball and set up a layup for Sears on the other end. A couple of minutes later, Omoruryi capped the run with a fastbreak jam to cut Kentucky’s lead to 20-16. Nelson and Omoruyi were both pulled by Oats before coming up big in their return to the court. When it came time for redemption, they were ready to answer the call.
“He’s just holding you accountable,” Sears said of Oats, “and you’ve just got to accept it and be coachable and understand what he’s doing.”
Alabama’s stars might understand the process for now, but there’s a chance it will lead to some conflict in the future. The Tide’s sub-happy rotation saw Nelson match his season low with 15 minutes on the court. That came after the graduate forward logged just 18 minutes during Alabama’s loss at Missouri.
When asked after the game, Oats said Nelson’s lack of action was due to foul trouble. While the forward did pick up a pair of fouls less than 10 minutes into Saturday’s game, that’s only half the story when it comes to his court time.
Nelson’s struggles have been noticeable lately. In Alabama’s previous two losses against Auburn and Missouri, he finished worst on the team in plus-minus, compiling a combined minus-40 point differential during his 48 minutes on the court.
Nelson finished plus-5 against Kentucky, recording just five points and three rebounds on 2 of 4 shooting. If he continues putting in lackluster performances, will Oats’ zero-tolerance policy apply to the starting lineup? And what will it mean for Nelson’s minutes moving forward?
We’ve seen Nelson turn around slumps earlier this season. His 25 points and 11 rebounds against Kentucky last month sparked a span of six straight games with double-digit scoring. Chances are, he’ll get back on track sooner rather than later. But with Alabama’s zero-tolerance policy, the starting forward better bring his A-game if he wants to see the court.
The same goes for anyone suiting up in crimson and white moving forward.
With four more ranked opponents on the horizon to wrap up regular-season play, the margin for error will only get smaller for Alabama. So will Oats’ patience.
Drink of the Week — Tough Love
Unlike the tough love Oats is doling out on the court, this week’s drink is easier to swallow. Our friends at Session Cocktails stirred up this cocktail for their Valentine's Day menu earlier, but if you ask nicely, I’m sure they’ll still serve it up.
The Tough Love cocktail is essentially a Gold Rush with a red wine floater. Think of it as adding Holloway to a hard-working lineup setup of Sears, Philon Nelson and Omoruyi. The drink consists of two ounces of bourbon, ¾ ounces of cane syrup, ¾ ounces of lemon juice topped with red wine. Like Alabama’s deep rotation, it offers a well-balanced blend of flavors. Try one the next time your’e in town.
Cheers!
(Commercial break: My drink of the week section is now sponsored by my friends at Session Cocktails in Tuscaloosa. Session has been a mainstay in Tuscaloosa’s cocktail scene since 2019 and offers some of the tastiest drinks in town. Stop by and tell them I said hi!)
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