Oats, Alabama Basketball Players Not Backing Down From Scheduling Philosophy

Alabama basketball enters the 2022-23 season with one of many hardest schedules within the nation staring it lifeless within the face.

The Crimson Tide, which sits at No. 20 within the preseason AP Ballot, has eight video games in opposition to different ranked groups on its schedule, all of which sit within the top-15.

That is no completely different than a season in the past, the place Alabama confronted the No. 2 ranked energy of schedule in all of school basketball in accordance with the analytics service KenPom.

Final season’s schedule was a well-documented matter of discourse surrounding the curler coaster of a season that head coach Nate Oats’ third Alabama group went by way of. Alabama defeated three groups that went to the 2021 Remaining 4 – Gonzaga, Baylor and Houston – participated within the ESPN Occasions Invitational and defeated Miami – a 2022 elite eight participant – and likewise performed a number of mid-major convention champions earlier than enjoying within the ever-improving SEC the remainder of the season. 

By the tip of the season, Alabama held a report of 19-14, regardless of all of these huge wins, and lots of observers of this system assigned blame to the problem of the schedule.

Oats disagrees.

“I don’t suppose [the schedule] had something to do with it,” Oats stated. 

Oats put a lot of the blame of final season’s shortcomings on mindset, claiming that if his groups can stand up for video games in opposition to groups like Gonzaga, it should not have any downside being prepared for video games in opposition to lesser groups equivalent to Georgia, Missouri or Iona.

“You beat Gonzaga, everyone thinks they’ve bought it found out,” Oats stated. “It was extra of a mindset of bringing it each recreation, not feeling your self after an enormous win.”

Oats has stated on many events that he would like to check his group within the non-conference and be uncovered early within the season reasonably than being uncovered in convention play and as March approaches. He stated the group enjoying their greatest basketball in March is all the time the aim.

“I would like our guys to play in opposition to robust groups, whether or not it’s the non-conference, preseason, no matter,” Oats stated. “We’ll be higher for it, it’s good for us.”

Alabama graduate pupil ahead Noah Gurley returned to the Crimson Tide for his closing 12 months of eligibility after transferring in as a senior a season in the past. He feels that it is useful for the group to see different high quality groups exterior of the SEC earlier than attending to the NCAA Event.

“We’re enjoying groups that we haven’t seen earlier than within the NCAA Event,” Gurley stated. “After we schedule these groups within the non-conference they play completely different relying on what convention they’re from. They’ve completely different strengths, completely different weaknesses. It’ll give us a very good gist of school basketball throughout the nation generally.”

Gurley even gave an instance of the variations between just a few of Alabama’s upcoming non-conference opponents.

“Houston is an excessively bodily group. Gonzaga is a quick group. Memphis is a really proficient group. Totally different flavors of school basketball,” Gurley stated.

Similar to final season, the trio of Gonzaga, Houston and Memphis are on Alabama’s schedule, albeit this time the video games will happen in several arenas. The Crimson Tide will journey to the Fertitta Middle to tackle No. 3 Houston, No. 2 Gonzaga will go to Legacy Enviornment in Birmingham for the second annual C.M. Newton Traditional, and Memphis will play a return recreation in Coleman Coliseum. 

Moreover, Alabama will journey to Portland, Ore. throughout Thanksgiving week to play in one of the proficient multi-team occasion fields in all of school basketball within the Phil Knight Invitational.

Along with Alabama, the PKI area consists of host group Portland, in addition to Iowa State, UConn, Michigan State, No. 21 Oregon, No. 16 Villanova and No. 1 North Carolina. Alabama will face Michigan State within the first spherical, and can then play the winner or loser of Oregon/UConn.

Sophomore heart Charles Bediako is happy concerning the challenges that Alabama will face this upcoming season.

“We love competitors. We’re on the lookout for the toughest groups to play,” Bediako stated. “I’m actually wanting ahead to going at it a second time. Our new guys are simply realizing we glance to problem ourselves and play the hardest groups. All of it helps for March particularly.” 

As Bediako talked about, Alabama has a really younger group together with a four-man freshman class that every one has an opportunity to see vital minutes. Solely 4 member of Alabama’s group took the courtroom for the Crimson Tide final season, one in every of which is Jahvon Quinerly, who shall be out till not less than December recovering from an ACL tear.

Due to the youth that shall be contributing, it’s affordable to count on there to be a steep studying curve for a gaggle of youngsters as they modify to the school recreation, particularly in opposition to such a tough schedule. Oats believes it will likely be good for the group in the long term.

“I feel you’ll see a variety of progress from us from non-conference to convention play due to our youth that probably could possibly be starters,” Oats stated.

Even aside from the non-conference schedule, which has already been established to be tough, the SEC has developed into the most effective leagues within the sport. Alabama is the fifth-highest ranked group within the convention within the preseason AP Ballot, behind No. 4 Kentucky, No. 10 Arkansas, No. 11 Tennessee and No. 15 Auburn. Texas A&M and Florida additionally acquired votes within the ballot.

Regardless of the ever-improving SEC, Oats does not appear to have any aspirations of fixing the way in which he creates his schedules. He needs his groups to be examined, and this 12 months’s group shall be no completely different. The most important query that continues to be is that if Oats’ fourth Alabama group shall be extra mentally prepared than his third. 

“They need to have an enormous chip on their shoulders,” Oats stated. 

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