Hoops insider says Alabama is in its ‘golden era’ under Nate Oats
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Hoops insider Jon Rothstein believes Alabama fans are living through the “golden era” of Crimson Tide basketball under head coach Nate Oats.
It’s hard to argue with the CBS Sports college basketball analyst. Alabama is once again highly ranked, at No. 11 right now, and is coming off a huge victory over No. 8 Illinois on Wednesday night in Chicago, which wasn’t a true road game but might as well have been, taking place down the road from the Fighting Illini’s campus in Champaign.
The win improved the Crimson Tide’s record to 3-1 early in what shapes up to be another strong season under Oats, who took over in 2019 and has led the program to unprecedented heights. Alabama’s only loss this season came on Nov. 13 at home against then-No. 2 Purdue, which is ranked No. 1 now. So, it was nothing to apologize over, and Oats’s accomplishments during his still-brief time in Tuscaloosa are something to behold.
Including that 3-1 start this season, Oats is 148-64 at Alabama, including a 75-33 record in the SEC. He’s led the Tide to SEC regular-season titles in 2021 and 2023 and to SEC tournament crowns in those same seasons. And, of course, Oats coached Alabama to the only Final Four in program history in 2024.
Sure, that special Crimson Tide team fell just short of winning it all, but just getting this football blue blood to its first Final Four was an incredible accomplishment in itself.
Rothstein has recognized all that and believes things have never been better in T-Town on the hardwood than now under Oats.
“This is now the golden era of Alabama basketball,” said Rothstein, who pointed to that victory on the road over Illinois as just another example of how far Crimson Tide basketball has come. “I got to thinking of the totality of what Nate Oats has done since he took over Alabama’s program in 2019 after an incredible run at Buffalo.”
The “pockets of success” that Alabama enjoyed before Oats got there are no longer just pockets, pointed out Rothstein during his positive rant on the Crimson Tide on Thursday.
“Alabama in my lifetime, in my 20 years of covering college basketball on a national level, has never been a consistent threat to always be on top in the SEC. Alabama has never been a consistent threat to always be a high seed in the NCAA Tournament. That has changed under Nate Oats,” Rothstein said.
Here is Rothstein’s full explanation of why this is the golden era of Bama basketball:
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
