Alabama's new Head Coach Nate Oats: A profile

After firing Avery Johnson earlier this month, Alabama has replaced him with Nate Oats from Buffalo. Only his second career head coaching job, Oats takes over an Alabama basketball program that needs to be rejuvenated.

Here is what Oats has to offer for the Crimson Tide

Assistant Coaching Experience

Maranatha Baptist (1997-2000)

Wisconsin-Whitewater (2000-2003)

Buffalo (2013-2016)

This is his only real notable assistant coaching job. Under Bobby Hurley, Buffalo won their first ever MAC tournament and had their first appearance in the NCAA tournament.

Head Coaching Experience

Romulus High School (2002-2013)

Yes, it is high school, but Oats still went 222-52 in his 11 years at Romulus. In his final season, the team went 27-1 while winning the Class A state championship in the state of Michigan. The impressive 2013 season led him to get his assistant coaching job at Buffalo.

Buffalo (2015-2019)

In April of 2015, Bobby Hurley left Buffalo for Arizona State University. Buffalo named Oats the interim coach for the Bulls. All of the players advocated for Oats to be the next head coach and Hurley threatened to take him to Arizona State if they did not make him the permanent coach. Buffalo officially hired him five days after Hurley announced he was leaving and Oats has been great for the Bulls ever since.

Head Coaching Accomplishments

2 MAC Regular Season Championships (2018,2019)

3 MAC Tournament Championships (2016, 2018, 2019)

2x MAC Coach of the Year (2018,2019)

3 NCAA tournament appearances

2016 - Buffalo got in as 14 seed in the South region. They squared off with 3 seed Miami and lost 79-72.

2018 - After winning the MAC tournament again, Buffalo got seeded as a 13 seed to face 3 seed Arizona. With star DeAndre Ayton, Arizona was a favorite to make a run in the tournament. Buffalo upsetted Arizona, blowing them out them 89-68. Kentucky took care of business in the Round of 32 against them though, with a score of 95-75.

2019 - A second straight tournament appearance saw the Bulls seeded higher. After 31-3 in the entire regular season, the Bulls earned a 6 seed in the West. The opponent, Bobby Hurley’s Arizona State, lost to the Bulls 91-74. Earning his second win in the NCAA tournament, Oats led to Bulls into a matchup with the 3 seeded Texas Tech Red Raiders, where they lost 78-58.

Was this a good hire of Alabama?

10/10 hire for the Crimson Tide. Crimson Tide fans do not expect THAT much out of the basketball program. Stay competitive in the SEC while finishing in the top half of the conference. The days of waiting to see if we get into the tournament on should be done. Win a couple of SEC tournament games, get an automatic qualifier spot, and be competitive in the first couple rounds of the NCAA tournament. This is not championship or bust like the football team, but some competitiveness is expected. Oats has double the amount of tournament wins under his belt as Avery Johnson did at Alabama and he coached at a mid major MAC school. Oats is going to recruit well and hopefully turn this Alabama basketball team into a consistent program.