Can Nate Oats make Alabama a basketball school? Or does football loom too large?

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Alabama, a blueblood football school, is navigating a new era.

Even in the wake of the retirement of coaching legend Nick Saban, the city of Tuscaloosa still buzzes with the excitement of gameday at Bryant-Denny Stadium in the fall. Lately, however, winter hasn’t been much different on campus.

Hackberry Lane and Paul W. Bryant Drive have been bumper to bumper with traffic some weekday evenings and Saturdays while bundled-up droves make their way to Coleman Coliseum.

Alabama’s football dynasty under Saban, which brought six national championships to Tuscaloosa in 17 seasons, is over, underscored by the Crimson Tide failing to make the expanded College Football Playoff in its first season after his retirement.

Could Alabama, with a 100-year tradition of championship football, become a basketball school? Does last season’s trip to the Final Four and coach Nate Oats’ four combined SEC regular-season and tournament championships in five seasons mean Crimson Tide basketball can take a place alongside football in national perception and in the hearts of fans?

A lot of folks around the sport already think it has.

More: A night of Crimson Chaos: Covering Alabama basketball from rowdy student section

More: Alabama basketball’s Nate Oats has team’s full attention after Sears benching | Goodbread

What even is a basketball school?

There are basketball schools and there are blue bloods. The two categories are separated by national championships and history.

“To me, when people think of blue bloods, they’re thinking of the guys that traditionally have been great, won multiple national championships, go to the Final Four every few years,” Oats said.

Generally, North Carolina, Duke, Kentucky and Kansas are consensus blue bloods.

A few others are up for debate: UCLA and Indiana have deep basketball history but are in championship droughts. Two-time defending NCAA Tournament champion UConn is making a case. Oats nominates Villanova for consideration.

What it means to be a blue blood differs from fan…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/nate-oats-alabama-basketball-school-101458349.html

Author : The Tuscaloosa News

Publish date : 2025-02-10 10:14:00

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