After the No. 13 Alabama basketball team lost to Vanderbilt last Wednesday, the team would lose its second straight game on Saturday against the unranked Texas Longhorns, 92-88. With the Alabama basketball program trying to bounce back after the Vanderbilt loss, they wouldn't do so against Texas, prompting ultra-blunt comments from head coach Nate Oats.
There were many opportunities for the Crimson Tide to take control of the game and beat the Longhorns, but they were ineffective in holding down the Longhorns. Oats would keep it real after the loss, questioning the effort of his team, expressing that Alabama has “guys that don't care enough to lock in and follow a game plan,” according to AL.com.
“Losing doesn’t bother them enough yet. I don’t know how many losses it’s going to take till it bothers them, but it’s bothering me. It bothers the coaching staff, and as soon as it starts bothering the players enough, I’m sure they’ll change,” Oats said.
“All of it starts with effort,” Oats continued on his team when talking about the defensive issues. “Want to. Competitive edge. Guys who just don’t want to lose, they’re gonna give you everything they got. Guys are apparently too comfortable with losing right now because they’re not giving us everything they got on that end of the floor. SO I think it starts with having guys that just refuse to lose, to start with.”
Alabama basketball's Nate Oats continues to not hold back on players
While the Alabama basketball team looks to fix its mistakes, Oats' comments could light a fire under the program to turn around this current stretch, having now started 1-2 in SEC play. Another aspect that hurt the Crimson Tide late was free-throw shooting, as, besides making 11-12 in the first half, they made 8-15 in the second, as Oats wouldn't hold back on players' lack of focus.
“And when you’re worried about a lot of stuff that’s a distraction, and you’re worried about stats and some other stuff, and you’re not locked in, that’s when you get to the line, and you miss,” Oats said.
Oats would credit Texas for getting out of their funk, saying that they were annoyed enough to change, saying, “Hopefully at some point it bothers our guys enough.”
Alabama is now 11-5, as they next face Mississippi State on Tuesday.
