Nate Oats assesses Alabama basketball roster after offseason additions

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Nate Oats appears to like where his Alabama basketball roster stands.

The Crimson Tide is still waiting on NBA decisions from senior guard Mark Sears and freshman forward Jarin Stevenson – who have until May 29 to either remain in the draft or return – but with two seniors coming back and eight newcomers (four transfers, four freshmen) coming in, Oats didn’t shy away from the lofty expectations he has for his team.

“We’ve got a chance to go win a national championship with the team we’ve got coming back,” said Oats on Tuesday evening before speaking to fans at a Yea Alabama event.

The sixth-year head coach went on to praise several pieces, new and old, to the 2024-25 puzzle for the Alabama basketball team – the first time Oats has publicly discussed many of the Tide’s offseason additions. Below is everything he said about the new-look roster.

Oats on Grant Nelson, Latrell Wrightsell Jr. coming back…

“It was huge. You like to have some veteran guys. I thought Grant was just coming around. He got healthy. I thought you saw what he was capable of in that North Carolina game. Latrell was, I think, the fourth most efficient player in the country on KenPom, so he figured out how to play in our system. We’ve gotta try to keep him healthier next year, get a full year out of him.

“But both of those guys know how to play in our system, have been in it, and I think they can look at the jumps guys make from Year 1 to Year 2 in our system, and hopefully, they both make big jumps.”

Oats on Auburn transfer Aden Holloway…

“He’s a super skilled guard. He can pass, dribble and shoot. We’ve done really well with those guards that can pass, dribble and shoot. He can really stretch the floor. We lost Aaron Estrada. There’s a lot of minutes there. Aaron played great for us last year. Mark plays well with the ball, Mark plays well without the ball. I think Aden can play with or without the ball. We like to have all our perimeter players be able to shoot the ball. Aden can really pass, but he can really shoot it, too. We’re looking forward to getting him on the floor. I think he’ll be great in our system.”

Oats on South Florida transfer Chris Youngblood… 

“Youngblood gives us that tough, physical, versatile guard. If you like to play four guards, he’s big, strong, physical, tough. You can play him kind of more as a two, you can get really big across the board. Youngblood hasn’t been talked about enough, in my opinion. He was co-player of the year. Johnell Davis is obviously a really good player. Well, Youngblood was the player of the year in that league along with him. He’s a super talented player, and he’s from Tuscaloosa. He grew up in Tuscaloosa until high school when he moved over to the Atlanta area.”

Oats on Rutgers transfer Clifford Omoruyi…

“Cliff gives us the rim protector that we haven’t had really since (Charles) Bediako. I think he’s gonna really improve our defense. We were able to make a Final Four, but defensively, we weren’t where we needed to be last year. Everybody we recruited, we wanted to make sure could really guard.

“You kind of go down the line – Houston Mallette’s got length and can guard. Chris Youngblood’s got real size, can guard. Obviously, Grant’s coming back. You look at Derrion Reid’s a big, strong, tough, physical guard/wing. Aiden Sherrell’s long and athletic. Labaron (Philon) is athletic. Shoot, you go down that whole list. I mean, Naas Cunningham with his length. You kind of get back to two years ago when Brandon Miller, Naas is long like that.

“You’ve got length and size, and then you add a rim protector to go with it, and I think we’re in a great spot.”

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