Alabama men’s basketball coach Nate Oats revealed the source of the philosophy that sparked the Crimson Tide’s unlikely run to its first Final Four in school history:
Nick Saban.
Oats picked up the phone after Alabama was bounced by Florida in the SEC Tournament — the Crimson Tide’s fourth defeat in six games — and dialed the greatest coach in college football history.
“How do we get this thing turned around this late?” Oats asked, recounting the conversation with Saban on Thursday at State Farm Stadium. “We’re not playing our best basketball.”
Saban watches all the games, Oats said, and responded, “Coach, guys got to (mentally) go to the next play.”
“We talked about that a little bit as a group,” Oats said. “We’re going to make this real simple, we’re going to come in and we’re just ‘next.’”
Four straight NCAA Tournament victories, against Charleston, Grand Canyon, North Carolina and Clemson, has the Crimson Tide pitted against UConn in the Final Four on Saturday at State Farm Stadium. Alabama is a heavy underdog against the reigning national champions. The Huskies have won each tournament game by an average of 27 points.
They’re next.
“We’ll have some offensive struggles, guys will drop their heads, they’re thinking about the last pay on offensive instead of the next play on defense,” Oats said. “It’s the next action within the play. It’s the next play no matter what happens on offense, good or bad. Bad call by a referee, teammate misses you on an open kick-out, it doesn’t matter, just go to the next play and give everything you have to the next play. When we’re done with this game, move to the next game.
“I think it’s a great philosophy in life. There’s a lot of adversity you hit in life. Move to what’s the next best action. … Move to the next one…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/alabama-coach-nate-oats-reveals-235439042.html
Author : AZCentral | The Arizona Republic
Publish date : 2024-04-04 23:54:39
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