Nate Oats explains changing relationship with Kalen DeBoer, Nick Saban

From the get-go, Nate Oats has had a great relationship with the Alabama football program. Oats was open about his respect for Nick Saban before even moving down to Tuscaloosa from Buffalo. But Kalen DeBoer is now running the show, meaning a new relationship is being built.

So far, so good between DeBoer and Oats. When Chris Paul was in town to speak to the football team, the NBA star also spoke to basketball. Overall, Oats is excited to see what DeBoer can do moving forward, noting his long track record of success in other places.

“He’s been very cordial,” Oats said Tuesday night on SEC Now. “We’ve talked a fair amount, I just talked to him yesterday a little bit. They had Chris Paul in to talk… Our football team tends to get some basketball guys to come through. [Nick] Saban had Kobe come through, Doc Rivers last year. So, Chris Paul spoke to our and football team today and (DeBoer) talked to me about that. He’s been great.

“I think he’s got a super sharp offensive mind. He’s won everywhere he’s been. I think that’s going to continue for sure. I’m looking forward to what he does.”

Saban is not completely gone, though. He still has a role within the athletic department and Oats still plans to use Saban as a resource moving forward. When you have somebody with the amount of success Saban does, going to him for advice has to be fairly easy.

“It’s nice to have Coach Saban around too. I think he’s the best team sport coach in modern sports history. It’s great to have him be here, be another resource to talk to about team dynamics.”

Football can be huge for the basketball program on multiple different fronts. Oats has spoken on the revenue football can bring in, directly leading to better facilities for his own team. A nice pitch to use when recruits are in town.

Speaking of recruiting, Oats makes sure to use the Bryant-Denny Stadium atmosphere to his advantage for official visit weekends. The latest example is Five-Star Plus+ forward AJ Dybantsa coming to Tuscaloosa on Sept. 27, the same time Alabama faces Georgia arguably the SEC game of the year.

DeBoer and Oats might be in the early stages on their relationship but thus far, both have been resources for each other in order to strengthen their respective teams.