Nate Oats addresses team's growth closing game this season

The Alabama Crimson Tide and head coach Nate Oats desperately needed a win against Arkansas. Quality wins have come against some of the best teams in the country, while the Crimson Tide have struggled with the weekly schedule inside of the SEC. Especially late in the game when attempting to secure those victories.

Against the Razorbacks, Alabama found themselves in another tight, late-game scenario with just a few seconds remaining on the clock. It’s been an area they have struggled in all season, not being able to close out the close matchups, falling on both the winning and losing sides.

On Saturday, Oats talked about where his team has grown in closing out games after the win against Arkansas. He said despite some of the players not playing great on the offensive end, there was no drop-off in the defensive effort, helping secure a much-needed victory.

“We needed to get some stops late,” Oats said. “Thought we had a couple of different lineups in there and got them. I think before, some guys would have quit playing hard with the struggles they had offensively, missing shots, and turning the ball over like we did. I thought JD (Davidson) and JQ (Javon Quinnerly) were both in there at different possessions late in the game to get stops and they both struggled a little bit with the turnovers but they kept playing hard. So, I think we’ve seen some growth in that area where guys continue to play hard even if they’re having a poor offensive game.”

Nate Oats expresses frustration over turnovers, calls out team

Alabama basketball won their second game in a row Saturday by defeating the Arkansas Razorbacks 68-67 at Coleman Coliseum. Despite this, head coach Nate Oats had some choice words for his team following their 24 turnover performance.

“I mean, our guys need to come and play with some more confidence,” Oats said of his team’s performance against the Razorbacks. “Some of them are just playing scared almost, which I get, like we want our guys playing aggressive, attack downhill, zone, we’re just careless.”

Oats called out his leading scorer Jaden Shackelford in particular for his five turnovers. Add JD Davison‘s six and Oats’ backcourt had 11 combined turnovers by themselves. Noah Gurley had four, Jahvon Quinerly had five and Charles Bediako and Darius Miles combined for four as well.

“Our two point guards had six and five each. Shackelford had five himself and he’s got to do a better job with that … there’s too many guys turning the ball over that we’re not asking to be primary playmakers. Like there’s just no reason for that,” Oats said.