‘Psycho Competitor’ Nate Oats is All About Championships

Without a doubt, Alabama head coach Nate Oats has brought unprecedented success to the Crimson Tide men's basketball program. With two SEC tournament wins, Oats is hunting for his third in six seasons with Alabama.

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However, none of the three assistants on the staff were a part of the most recent championship in 2023, and only Mark Sears remains from that year's team.

Alabama was bounced in its first game of the SEC tournament last season by Florida, but Nate Oats found a silver lining despite the disappointing performance in Nashville.

"We were trying to win the SEC tournament," Oats said at the time, "but it might've been a blessing in disguise for an NCAA tournament run to get our legs a little more rested."

It was considered a blessing less than three weeks later, when Alabama made the Final Four for the first time in program history. Alternatively, the two times Alabama won the SEC tournament (2021 and 2023), the Crimson Tide was upset in the Sweet 16.

Alabama is currently projected as a high-level two-seed, with the chance to move to the one-seed line by Selection Sunday.

The term 'blessing in disguise' has been tossed around when discussing the health of this year's Alabama team going into the NCAA tournament, but don't expect Oats to understand that model of thinking.

"Nate Oats is a psycho, in a good way," Alabama assistant coach Ryan Pannone said to Gary Harris on Tide 100.9 on Thursday. "Nate Oats doesn't approach anything without 'we are winning this.' We are winning. We are coming to the SEC tournament to try and win the championship."

"Hey, if we battle our butts off and compete and out-tough teams and we happen to lose, then we can live with that," Pannone continued. "Which it happened last year. But there was nothing Nate Oats will ever be a part of that he ain't trying to win. That could be selling girl scout cookies, he's trying to win everything all the time, every day. It's his nature. It's who he is. It's how he's driven. It's how he's wired."

Pannone shared two anecdotes on just how competitive Oats is. One time, he proposed to Oats that there not be a winner and loser in a practice drill.

"You ever see someone that just can't comprehend what you're saying?" Pannone asked. "Nate Oats goes into practice to win practice."

"Oats is a competitive maniac. I mean anything. This guy plays pool, this guy plays ping-pong. He does a yearly weight-loss competition that he just won a portion of," Pannone said. "With him, as long as you compete, everything is okay."

Pannone knows Oats can't live without trying to win something - such as an SEC tournament championship.

"I don't think our fans would want it any other way<" Psnnone told Harris. "Our fans are here to win championships. The people that are supporting us, and our players. That's who we try to recruit."

Oats was asked about the potential to lose and get extra rest in the NCAA tournament on Wednesday.

"It's gone all different ways," Oats said. "We're going to try to win it. We're trying to win championships. We've won more championships in the SEC than anybody else since I've been here. This is a championship we're trying to win. If we don't end up winning it, there will be some positives we'll try to sell the guys on.

"But that's not the goal. The goal is to go there, win three in a row, win a championship and have ourselves on a run going into the NCAA tournament."

Want to listen to Gary Harris's full interview with Ryan Pannone on Tide 100.9? Click here!

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_.