Nate Oats at SEC Media Days

Nate Oats has taken Alabama basketball to unprecedented levels since arriving in Tuscaloosa in 2019. The Crimson Tide made its first Final Four in program history last season, and Oats has plans to take Alabama back in 2025.

Oats spoke to the media on Tuesday in Mountain Brook, Alabama ahead of the season. Here's what he had to say about his incredibly talented roster.

On being picked to finish first in the SEC for the second time in program history:

"Last year we were picked fifth. We've been picked fifth three times now. ... I was hoping we could get picked fifth again, it's worked out well for us. Our roster wasn't the case where that could happen this year."

On scheduling difficult teams during the non-conference portion of the schedule:

"We've put together a tough non-conference schedule to get us ready for the SEC schedule. 15 of our 31 games are against teams in the preseason top 25."

On using the Final Four as an advantage in recruiting:

"We obviously used it in recruiting to get some of them here. ... 8 of our 13 guys weren't on the team last year. It has nothing to do with what we've got going on this year."

On players who have been better than advertised so far:

"Some of the freshmen have been better than anticipated. First one that comes to mind is Labaron Philon."

On managing minutes when the roster is as deep as Alabama's will be:

"We keep telling them it's not about how many points, this and that. It's about if we're better with you on the floor. ... We're gonna try to reward effort, reward winning plays. There's going to have to be some sacrifices made to win a championship. ... It's more about what you do with your minutes than how many minutes you play."

Oats also said he spent time with New York Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau this offseason to learn how to improve his defensive coaching.

Oats mentioned an injury update as well. Latrell Wrightsell and Aiden Sherrell will both miss the first charity exhibition game against Wake Forest on October 18. However, Wrightsell should be back for Memphis at the end of October, and Sherrell will "hopefully" be back by game one. Chris Youngblood will be out until "sometime in December" with a lower-body injury.

Alabama Men's Basketball will officially begin its season at home on Nov. 4 against UNC-Asheville.

Wyatt Fulton is the TIde 100.9 DME and Brand Manager, primarily covering Alabama Crimson Tide football and men's basketball. For more Crimson Tide coverage, follow Wyatt on X (Formerly known as Twitter) at @FultonW_.