Alabama has reached unprecedented heights under head coach Nate Oats, including four straight appearances in the Sweet 16 or better, including the program’s first-ever Final Four.
What eventually brought Oats to Tuscaloosa was a stunning loss from former Crimson Tide head coach Avery Johnson’s squad in the National Invitation Tournament, which led to his ouster.
Back-to-back late February conference wins lifted Avery Johnson’s 2018 Alabama basketball team into prime position to make its second straight NCAA Tournament, a feat that hadn’t been accomplished since 2005-06.
Johnson’s squad finished 2017 hot, ending with two SEC Tournament wins, including the famed Collin Sexton buzzer beater against Texas A&M, and defeating Virginia Tech in the Big Dance.
The 2018 group was seeking a similar finish, only it went about as poorly as it could for the Crimson Tide. The team dropped four of five to end the season, two of which were double-digit losses to unranked opponents. After being firmly in the field just a couple of weeks prior, Johnson’s team fell out of NCAA Tournament contention entirely.
Fans breathed a sigh of relief. At least the team potentially could end the season as NIT champions and gain some momentum instead of suffering an inevitable blowout loss to a top-seed.
Alabama was set to face Norfolk State for Round 1 of the NIT.
The Spartans began the season at 5-10, losing to their only previous power conference opponents by an average of 18 points per game.
They rallied at the end of the season, finishing 14-2 in MEAC play and winning the regular season championship. However, a late-season conference tournament loss eliminated them from the tournament — reminiscent of the team they were set to face in Tuscaloosa.
Alabama weathered the storm in the first half, holding Norfolk State to just 28 points and leading by 7.
Despite leading by as many as 10 in the second half, the Crimson Tide found itself going to overtime.
Herbert Jones, not yet established as the program legend he became, buried a triple with nine seconds left to cut the Spartan lead to 1. Johnson’s team managed to force a steal, but forward Riley Norris missed a floater as time expired, and the Crimson Tide fell 80-79.
The win was no surprise to Norfolk State head guard Steven Whitley.
“Honestly, we saw it in warmups,” Whitley said. “The way they were lagging around and things like that. We talked about it in the locker room, and we made sure we came out punch heavy, ready to win.”
Johnson threw his usual postgame bone to the fans about how he expected better, a copout fans were all but tired of hearing, and freshman guard Kira Lewis, a future NBA lottery pick, admitted that it was hard for the team to get up for an NIT game.
The two did not mix well for Johnson’s status.
After being hired at Alabama, Johnson made the usual promises of not just winning, but bringing Crimson Tide basketball into its glory age.
“Remember that, buckle your seatbelt, we’re going somewhere. We’re going to recreate the atmosphere in Coleman Coliseum,” Johnson said. “The fans are going to be more involved than they’ve been in the last 10 years of the University or 15 years of The University of Alabama’s program.”
There were just 2,806 fans in attendance the night Alabama lost to Norfolk State in the first round of the NIT, and Johnson was fired shortly after. He was 75-62 during his tenure in Tuscaloosa.
The search for a new head coach began, and it landed on Buffalo’s Nate Oats.
Oats made the NCAA Tournament in three of his four seasons with the Bulls, leading them to a 32-4 record and an NCAA Tournament win in 2019.
Flash forward to 2026, and Oats is arguably the greatest coach in Alabama men’s basketball history.
The program just accomplished its fifth Sweet 16 appearance or better in the last six seasons. Oats has only been at Alabama for seven seasons.
He also has the most tournament wins in program history, with 11, and brought the school its first-ever Final Four appearance in 2024.
Oats has done everything and more promised by his predecessor — not just creating a winning culture, but bringing Alabama basketball into its most successful stretch in program history.
In fact, Oats began the rise of the program with multiple former Johnson players. Forwards Jones, Alex Reese, and guard John Petty Jr. were all members of the team that lost in the NIT to end the 2019 season — they were also members of Oats’ first SEC championship team in 2021.
Jones, who led the team in scoring in the Norfolk State loss, won SEC Player of the Year and SEC Defensive Player of the Year in 2021 under Oats.
Many fans were disappointed with Alabama after falling to one-seeded Michigan in the 2026 Sweet 16, but the fact that a Sweet 16 loss is disappointing to many shows the level to which Oats has raised Crimson Tide basketball.
Just over 24 hours after the team’s season ended, Alabama Athletic Director Greg Byrne made the all-important announcement that Oats would not be going anywhere.
“I love Alabama. My girls love Alabama. I love working with the administration I work with,” Oats said. “I’d love to be the coach to bring us our first national championship. So, to me, there’s absolutely no reason to leave here.”
