Alabama basketball coach Nate Oats was emotional Wednesday remembering late Crimson Tide superfan Luke Ratliff.

Oats was asked about Ratliff, affectionately known as Fluff, during the Wednesday media session for signing day.

“We’re going to find a way to honor Fluff here,” Oats told reporters, “Hopefully keep his legacy around the program for as long as I’m here – hopefully for a lot longer than that.”

“He’s what embodies college athletics,” Oats added. “You’ve got a student section that’s passionate about their team, about their sport, about the individual players on the team, about the coaching staff.”

Oats, who attended the funeral, noted that he and assistant coach Bryan Hodgson spent time with Ratliff away from Coleman Coliseum.

“We felt like he was one of us,” Oats said. “To lose one of us was not easy. We’re gonna do everything that we can to honor his legacy here. My heart goes out to the family.”

Ratliff, 23, passed the night of April 2. Hodgson launched a GoFundMe page which raised over $58,000 for the family.