Alabama

What Nate Oats is ‘Most Curious to See’ From Alabama Basketball Against LSU

Published

1 year ago

January 25, 2025

What Nate Oats is ‘Most Curious to See’ From Alabama Basketball Against LSU

TUSCALOOSA, Ala.— Being a top-10 team in any sport has its perks, but it also often comes with the consequences and frequency of overlooking opponents.

March Madness is built on this principle. And speaking of college basketball, the No. 4-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide has already succumbed to this practically inevitable concept when it fell to Ole Miss at home on Jan. 14 in what head coach Nate Oats described as a “disgusting” loss.

Ole Miss was undefeated in SEC play at the time but still didn’t have the respect that some of the top-ranked teams in the conference had. Alabama came off the loss to the Rebels with big wins against Kentucky and Vanderbilt, but now the Tide face LSU, who is 1-4 against the conference this season, on Saturday night. Alabama may be the heavy favorite, but Oats has no plans to fall into the overlooking trap once again.

“We’re going to have to see how mature we are to see what kind of effort we bring for the entire 40 minutes tomorrow,” Oats said during Friday’s press conference. “That’s what I’m most curious to see. I hope that our guys are taking these guys seriously. Obviously, we’re going to be a better team going in. That’s what everybody is going to think, but that doesn’t really matter. How many times do you watch college basketball and this team is supposed to win––they’ve got more wins, their record’s better––and if you don’t come to play, then none of that matters.

“I hope we’re mature enough, with enough seniors, and our leadership is good enough to know that these guys are more than capable of scoring it. They’ve got a lot of scores on the floor. And if we don’t take care of the ball and make it real easy for them to score off our turnovers lately, we’ve got a problem.”

Oats admitted to Alabama’s defensive issues of late as the Tide is 333rd in the country in points allowed per game (78.8), but this is a game he’s aiming to see a whole 40 minutes of cohesive defense as he’d “like to see that one time.” That said, this will not be an easy task.

“LSU is capable of beating us at home,” Oats said. “They’ve out-rebounded teams frequently enough and we’ve had an issue with some rebounding at times this year. They’ve gotten to the free-throw line, I think they’re 10-0 when they’ve shot more free throws than their opponents. We have to be able to guard without fouling––we’ve had an issue with that. So some stuff we’ve had issues with they do well.

“Our transition defense is going to have to be better. Our turnovers, we gotta make sure we’re taking care of the ball and getting quality shots up. I’m very curious to see whether we got enough leadership to play 40 minutes on the defensive end tomorrow or not.”

So, who are the LSU players that Oats expects his team to not overlook? Well, he first mentioned guard Cam Carter, who is fourth in the SEC in scoring when looking at just conference play. Oats said a plethora of other veteran Tigers “can definitely score the ball” and that they have “real rim protection” with forward Daimion Collins.

“You’re going to get your shot punched because you’re not being focused on playing the correct way,” Oats said. “Also, they’ve got transition out the other way, so they’re capable of scoring the ball if we don’t guard. If we don’t take care of the ball and turn it over, now all of a sudden you’ve got yourself a problem.”

Alabama Basketball vs. LSU Official Injury Report

Alabama Basketball is ‘Not Tolerating Dumb Turnovers’ Ahead of LSU

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Alabama

New Alabama football coach Adrian Klemm faces massive task | Goodbread

Published

8 hours ago

March 10, 2026

Press Room

New Alabama football coach Adrian Klemm faces massive task | Goodbread

Adrian Klemm, meet the challenge of a career.

Alabama football’s first-year offensive line coach is one of three new faces at Kalen DeBoer’s conference table. And, next year, history says there might be three more. At the major college level, heavy turnover among assistant coaches is business as usual. But make no mistake; Klemm was DeBoer’s most important hire of the offseason. He might well be the most important hire DeBoer has made in his 26 months on the job.

That’s the magnitude of the mess that Alabama’s 2025 offensive line left behind.

The Crimson Tide’s 2025 rushing attack was an insult to the word attack. It was more like a rushing surrender; ranked 123rd out of 134 FBS teams, and 15th of 16 SEC teams, at 104.1 yards per game. Rock bottom came in the SEC Championship Game, when Georgia sent it backward for minus-3 yards. It’s frankly remarkable that quarterback Ty Simpson assembled a 28-5 TD-INT ratio, as a first-year starter no less, with virtually zero help from a ground game. And while we’re on the subject of the passing game, Simpson wasn’t very well-protected, either. At 2.13 sacks allowed per game, UA ranked 90th in the country.

If Klemm even bothered to watch film of last year’s offensive line, he had to do it with one eye closed.

UA tried all sorts of combinations up front, looking for a solution to what was plainly its biggest problem. In 45 years paying attention to college football, I never saw so many substitutions on an offensive line as Alabama made in 2025. Backups got every chance that could have asked for. On one hand, it was understandable that now-fired offensive line coach Chris Kapilovic refused to stay with a failing five all season.

But it also smacked of desperation.

In the end, it was clear that no combination was effective; the first-team unit Kapilovic finally settled on late in the season was the one that got manhandled by Georgia in Atlanta.

It was a shock to the system for Alabama fans, who know what a dominant run game looks like whether they’re young or old. Jam Miller led Alabama with 504 rushing yards on the season; former UA star Derrick Henry once ran for 557 in a three-game stretch against Tennessee, LSU and Mississippi State.

Miller, of course, is no Henry. But the gap between those two is no bigger than the gap between Henry’s 2015 offensive line and the disastrous line that took the field a decade later.

Klemm is tasked with turning that mess around in a single offseason, with only one returning part-time starter in sophomore Michael Carroll, a promising cornerstone to be sure. But an offensive line is only as strong as its weakest link, and Klemm must find four links to line up beside Carroll. A collection of returning backups, transfers and incoming freshmen have a lot of improvements to make, along with a strong impression on a new position coach.

With spring practice underway, that process has begun in earnest.

And Klemm faces a taller task than any assistant on the practice field.

Tuscaloosa News columnist Chase Goodbread is also the weekly co-host of Crimson Cover TV on WVUA-23. Reach him at cgoodbread@gannett.com. Follow on X.com @chasegoodbread.

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Alabama

Mother who reported AL toddler missing now faces murder charge

Published

20 hours ago

March 9, 2026

Press Room

Mother who reported AL toddler missing now faces murder charge

The mother of an Enterprise toddler, reported missing Feb. 16, has been charged with capital murder, said Police Chief Michael Moore.

Adrienne Reid, mother of Genesis Nova Reid, reported her daughter as missing to authorities and said the two-year-old was not in the home and the door was open. On March 9, she was charged with capital murder of a child under the age of 14 and abuse of a corpse, Moore said. March 9 would have been Genesis’ birthday, he said. Adrienne Reid had previously been charged with filing a false report about her daughter’s disappearance.

She is being held without bond, Moore said. Adrienne Reid could not be reached for comment and court records do not show if she has an attorney.

The case shocked Enterprise and southeast Alabama. Hundreds of volunteers searched for her, and people were asked to wear pink to honor her.

Early on in the investigation neighbors told law enforcement that they hadn’t seen the child for several weeks.

Moore said evidence points to the capital murder charge even though Genesis’ body has not been found. The last time she was seen was Christmas night while visiting family in Dothan, Moore said. Video footage at the apartment complex where they lived showed Adrienne Reid about 11:30 p.m. Christmas night pulling a rolling duffle bag to a dumpster at the complex, and throwing the duffle bag inside, he said.

Coffee County Sheriff Scott Byrd said his office began the process of planning to search the landfill early in the investigation. The landfill covers 100 acres. He said the area where the contents of the dumpster that allegedly contained Genesis’ body was likely dumped has been narrowed down to an area covering a few hundred feet.

Active searches will begin soon, he said. District Attorney James Tarbox said the state will be seeking the death penalty.

Contact Montgomery Advertiser reporter Marty Roney at mroney@gannett.com. To support his work, please subscribe to the Montgomery Advertiser.

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