Candidate Thread: Nate Oats (Alabama)

[Hoosierinbham 204]

Living in Birmingham with numerous Tide friends, I watch most of Bama's games.  Oates is solid and very well liked down here. He's also 1 bad season from complete obscurity to the football fanbase.   Their big money guys are ego driven, so the more they win this tournament,  the harder it would be to get him.

He plays a fun style of offense,  and aggressive D.  The offense relies heavily on his strong use of analytics, which means overemphasized use of the 3 pointer, or shots at the rim. Mid range shots seem to be very discouraged.  He has a math background,  so it's all about the numbers. The players and fans love his style, and recruiting has really picked up under Oates.

The rumor goes, the only jobs he would leave for are Wisconsin or Michigan State. He is a Midwest boy, so my personal opinion would be he would have to listen to an IU offer.  Gard isn't going anywhere,  and Izzo seems like he would get to choose his successor.  The major drawback would be his brevity of coaching experience at P5 level.  If this picks up any steam, I will have some good opportunities for information. 

 

 

[Josh 13,229]

I'm all in on Oats

[Feathery 4,005]

I wonder if the money there for Brad Stevens would also be there for Oats. If so, then fantastic. Add him to the shortlist and gauge his interest. 

[Hoosierinbham 204]

  On 3/20/2021 at 11:54 AM, Josh said:

I'm all in on Oats

He's up there if he would leave at this time. Definitely has the personality and confidence. I want to see how he does in the tourney in half court. They appear to be a "live by the three, die by the three" team right now.  The SEC was so weak this year, hard to tell.  

[ib4iu 570]

Anyone else feel like IU is going to consistently be used for other coaches to get raises at their existing school? Would love Oats but between his buyout and the pockets to give him a raise at Alabama he seems unlikely IMO. 

[Feathery 4,005]

  On 3/20/2021 at 12:57 PM, ib4iu said:

Anyone else feel like IU is going to consistently be used for other coaches to get raises at their existing school? Would love Oats but between his buyout and the pockets to give him a raise at Alabama he seems unlikely IMO. 

I think if they offer guys like Jay Wright/Few then IU will be used for a raise. I think guys like Musselman/Beard would be serious candidates. 

[kottke 919]

  On 3/20/2021 at 12:53 PM, Hoosierinbham said:

He's up there if he would leave at this time. Definitely has the personality and confidence. I want to see how he does in the tourney in half court. They appear to be a "live by the three, die by the three" team right now.  The SEC was so weak this year, hard to tell.  

That’s a good point about the SEC but I guess we’ll see how the conference fairs in the tournament. I think his teams would be a heck of a lot more fun to watch than the crap we’ve seen the past four years.

[Hoosierinbham 204]

  On 3/20/2021 at 1:03 PM, kottke said:

That’s a good point about the SEC but I guess we’ll see how the conference fairs in the tournament. I think his teams would be a heck of a lot more fun to watch than the crap we’ve seen the past four years.

It would definitely be more enjoyable to watch. As far as conference strength,  SEC is way down this year, even if they have a couple teams win a couple games. The B1G juggernaut this year was brutal.  And as my dad always told me, the wrestling match style of play in the B1G will usually hurt teams in tightly called tournament games. I guess we'll see.

[JSHoosier 22,210]

  On 3/20/2021 at 1:03 PM, kottke said:

That’s a good point about the SEC but I guess we’ll see how the conference fairs in the tournament. I think his teams would be a heck of a lot more fun to watch than the crap we’ve seen the past four years.

Frankly, I don't give two caps about "fun to watch"; in and of itself it's meaningless if results don't follow.  The results are fun and what ultimately matter.

[JSHoosier 22,210]

Before winning a bad SEC, he had two mid major titles and never got passed the second round.  We just fired a guy that came with 2 mid major titles to go with an Elite 8.

[Trish 14,473]

  On 3/20/2021 at 1:39 PM, JSHoosier said:

Before winning a bad SEC, he had two mid major titles and never got passed the second round.  We just fired a guy that came with 2 mid major titles to go with an Elite 8.

He’s got a point. 

[kottke 919]

  On 3/20/2021 at 1:37 PM, JSHoosier said:

Frankly, I don't give two caps about "fun to watch"; in and of itself it's meaningless if results don't follow.  The results are fun and what ultimately matter.

100% agree. Guess I should have been more specific. Winning is rolled into my “fun to watch”   criteria.

I’d like Beard just as much.

[IUHoosierJoe 2,151]

I love Oats.  Like Beard, he's a difference-maker, both at Buffalo and now Alabama.  Those are the guys you want, in my opinion.

[Hovadipo 61,420]

  On 3/20/2021 at 1:37 PM, JSHoosier said:

Frankly, I don't give two caps about "fun to watch"; in and of itself it's meaningless if results don't follow.  The results are fun and what ultimately matter.

Frankly, all he’s gotten as a head coach are good results. The 2nd round of the NCAA tournament at Buffalo is blowing through their ceiling. 

[kottke 919]

  On 3/20/2021 at 1:53 PM, IUHoosierJoe said:

I love Oats.  Like Beard, he's a difference-maker, both at Buffalo and now Alabama.  Those are the guys you want, in my opinion.

I concur sir.

Unfortunately, I am worried we won’t be able to get either.

[IUHoosierJoe 2,151]

  On 3/20/2021 at 1:59 PM, kottke said:

I concur sir.

Unfortunately, I am worried we won’t be able to get either.

We'll see.  We can speculate on who will come and who won't, but we don't know until we try.  I suspect good coaches will know they can come here and consistently win big, make a lot of money (at least it appears we are offering a lot), and be considered a hero in this state for bring the program back.  But again, we'll see. 

[Trish 14,473]

  On 3/20/2021 at 1:59 PM, kottke said:

I concur sir.

Unfortunately, I am worried we won’t be able to get either.

Neither of those guys are leaving. We’re looking at used Kia’s now. 

[Feathery 4,005]

  On 3/20/2021 at 1:37 PM, JSHoosier said:

Frankly, I don't give two caps about "fun to watch"; in and of itself it's meaningless if results don't follow.  The results are fun and what ultimately matter.

I don’t want to watch Wisconsin style basketball. It’s terrible. Even when Archie was winning games it wasn’t fun to watch. Style and winning do not have to be exclusive of each other. It’s possible to have both. 

[JSHoosier 22,210]

  On 3/20/2021 at 2:17 PM, Feathery said:

I don’t want to watch Wisconsin style basketball. It’s terrible. Even when Archie was winning games it wasn’t fun to watch. Style and winning do not have to be exclusive of each other. It’s possible to have both. 

They don't have to be, but as I said without winning style is meaningless.  Wins are what matter.

[goonaha 2,974]

Curious why this thread has more activity than Beard, when there's no way IU is paying his buyout and he publicly said he's not interested.

Meanwhile Beard has a far lower buyout and has flirted with us in the last week.