Will Wade may be gone, but Nate Oats still loves putting a whooping on the Tigers. When Nate Oats landed in Tuscaloosa almost six years ago, he found a roster that was middling on talent, but had some high-ceiling coachable players who wanted to win. You need those John Pettys, of course.
And no one really could foresee what Herb Jones would blossom into. But you also need star power in basketball. Coach Oats was behind the eight-ball, but there was one intriguing undeclared player just up the road in Mountain Brook: All-everything, No. Now that is the type of transformative star power that the Tide needed. Unfortunately, Nate was also introduced in his first month to how things are done at some places in the SEC And along the way, some bad blood was born.
Since that early spring day six years ago, there have been few if any teams Oats has loved punishing quite like LSU. He gets up for these games, and consequently, it should come as little surprise that it is the Coonass Kitties that he has enjoyed his most success against: and counting, including a head-to-head title matchup. Will Wade is gone.
But Nate only sees purple and gold. And when he sees purple and gold, he also sees red. But, aside from the truly anal retentive Matt Painter and Buzz Williams types, Alabama rarely sees opponents so wedded to an offensive philosophy like the one Matt McMahon brings into Tuscaloosa tonight.
McMahon another former guard- cum- coach , earned his national credibility as the skipper of those Murray State teams and, yes, he was the coach when Alabama fans were treated to that outstanding Young Bull vs. Ja shootout in Coleman. In five of his six seasons, the Racers were in the Top Third nationally in floor shooting, effective field goal percent, and scoring. And while the league has changed, and the tempo is up a bit, expect no surprises tonight: LSU plays every bit the same scheme that MSU did.
