Nate Oats details what makes 2022-23 team different than past groups

This year’s Alabama team has already made history by knocking off two No. 1-ranked teams before the calendar flips. But Nate Oats listed another reason the Crimson Tide are different this season.

After Alabama fought off Memphis 91-88 on Tuesday, Oats talked about how the Crimson Tide plays as a team — not as individual players. He said that chemistry is essential to success, and he pointed to a specific example from Tuesday’s game to prove his point.

“I think they all are really, truly for the team,” Oats said. “Like even tonight, some guys didn’t play well, they’re upset they didn’t play well. But it’s more they’re upset their let the team down, not they’re upset because their individual numbers weren’t great. [Jahvon] Quinerly didn’t play great. He’s down on himself a little bit. Didn’t play great at Houston. He’s great. He’s happy the team won, knows he needs to play better to help the team, but he’s not mad about personal numbers.

“I just think we’ve got a group of kids that pulls for each other, that challenges each other. … We saw that a lot with year two when we won the SEC regular season tournament. Alex Reese, Herb Jones, ‘Just keep them in, Coach. They’re playing great.’ We’ve got a lot of that going on on this team. And we’re deep. We’ve got some talent. We’ve got a good mix of veteran guys, freshman. The guys get along. I think they all like each other, as far as I can tell, which is a good thing. They want each other to do well.”

Nate Oats reaffirms commitment to play tough non-conference schedule at Alabama

Alabama held off Memphis on Tuesday night for a 91-88 win which marked a fourth straight victory since dropping its only game of the season against UConn in November. Since the beginning of the Phil Knight Invitational, the Crimson Tide have played four ranked opponents, a Memphis team which received the most votes outside the Top 25 this week, and still has No. 15 Gonzaga on the schedule for Saturday.

Since his first days in Tuscaloosa, head coach Nate Oats and his staff have made a commitment to building the toughest non-conference schedule possible in order to test the team before SEC play. This season, it is paying off big time.

“We didn’t put too many cupcakes on the schedule for a reason,” Oats said. “And our guys are answering the bell. The schedule we’ve had, to be 9-1 right now, it says a lot about the group of kids we’ve got.”