TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Nate Oats suffered a late-season slide with Alabama basketball two seasons ago. He’s not expecting to endure another one this year.
For a while, No. 16 Alabama’s recent slump was beginning to resemble the team’s 2022 collapse, which saw the Tide drop five of its final seven games while ending the season with four straight losses. A game-saving 3 from Latrell Wrightsell Jr. followed by a strong performance in overtime against Arkansas on Saturday ensured the Tide won’t suffer the same fate this season. However, Oats doesn’t see his side folding in that manner regardless.
“This group’s different,” Oats said following Alabama’s 92-88 win over Arkansas. “I didn’t ever get the feeling that these guys have like quit on each other at all. We may have played bad, we may have quit in the game against Florida, but these guys like each other a lot, they play for each other.”
Leading up to the win over Arkansas, Alabama had dropped three of its last four outings. Those losses came by a combined 47 points as the Tide suffered blowout defeats at Kentucky and Florida while letting a second-half lead and a chance at the SEC regular-season title slip away during a home game against Tennessee.
For much of Saturday’s game, it looked like Alabama would suffer a fourth loss in five games. The Crimson Tide trailed by as many as 15 points in the first half and didn’t take a lead once during regulation. In fact, Wrightsell’s game-tying 3 with 22.1 seconds remaining in the second half marked the first time Arkansas lost the lead since going up 2-0 to start the game.
Coming off a 105-87 loss at Florida earlier this week, Oats gathered his players during their first-half struggles Saturday, delivering a get-right speech that spurred a late run to cut the halftime deficit to 6 points.
“I thought the guys had a little quit in them at Florida, and we let them know we’re not doing that again.” Oats said. “This isn’t who we are. We may not play well, but we’re going to keep on fighting and playing hard until the end.”
While Wrightsell saved the day late, Oats credited Mark Sears as one of the catalysts for Alabama’s comeback against Arkansas. Despite getting off to a slow start in the first half, Sears finished the game with a team-high 22 points to go with six assists over 42 minutes.
Those stats were essential to the Tide’s wins. However, Oats was equally impressed with Sears' leadership, crediting the senior for talking up his teammates and getting other players into the game.
“I thought he made a huge jump in his leadership,” Oats said. “We get into the huddles and he’s talking, not letting guys quit. Trelly’s [Latrell Wrightsell] on fire, he’s like, ‘Let’s run something for Trelly. Let’s get Trelly a shot.’ I thought Mark Sears' leadership today was as good as I’ve seen all year, and that’s what we’re going to need from him moving forward.”
Along with Sears, Oats called graduate guard Aaron Estrada “one of the best kids you’ll ever meet,” while praising senior Nick Pringle for his leadership and the emotion he brings to the team. The head coach also praised Wrightsell and fellow senior Grant Nelson as key voices in the locker room.
While Oats made sure not to point out that the 2022 team wasn’t completely devoid of leadership, he said this year’s bunch has a “definitely different” mentality.
“I feel like this group wants to keep playing together,” Oats said. “They love playing with each other, so it’s different.”
With its win Saturday, Alabama (21-10, 13-5 in the SEC) will enter next week’s SEC Tournament as either the No. 2 or No. 3 seed, meaning it won’t need to begin play until the quarterfinal round on Friday. Despite ending its recent skid heading into the postseason, Oats said it will be important for his team to continue to learn from its mistakes.
Saturday, Alabama learned a little bit about its makeup and why there’s still plenty of hope moving forward.
“We need to know that we’ve got winners,” Oats said. “We’ve got guys who are seasoned veterans, who know how to win games when you’re not playing your best.”
