Basketball from Alabama didn’t just lose a game last Saturday. Oklahoma dominated the Crimson Tide.
The 93-69 loss was the worst of coach Nate Oats’ four-year tenure at UA. It was also their first loss to Gonzaga since December 17.
Alabama was close to defeat earlier in the week when it fought back from behind on Jan. 25 and won against Mississippi State by a bucket of potential. After the Oklahoma loss, freshman guard Rylan Griffen said he didn’t think the players had heeded the coaching staff’s warning that such a loss might be on the horizon.
Is Alabama listening now?
“I think the wake-up call has been received,” Oats said Monday.
No. 5 Alabama will have its first opportunity to show that in a game Tuesday (7:30 p.m. SEC Network) when it takes on Vanderbilt (10-11, 3-5 SEC) at the Coleman Coliseum.
But Oats based his statement that the wake-up call was received on how he watched the team train on Sunday and Monday.
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For Sunday practice, Alabama had some live parts. Oats said that’s not typical the day after a game.
“We didn’t last long, but we went live,” Oats said. “I thought some guys played a lot harder last night too.”
Then in training on Monday he saw that continue.
“It was a lot more intense,” Oats said. “We had two teams that came through. Some guys who came on played extremely hard I think to re-establish themselves as if they deserved a few minutes. Based on practice they do. “
Oats have emphasized playing hard and trying in the last few games, pointing out that element needs to improve for Alabama (18-3, 8-0 SEC). He mentioned it several times after the Mississippi State Game. The message was clear: If you don’t play hard, you don’t stay in the game.
“There’s no warm-up time to play hard,” Oats said. “Once you get into the game, you have to play hard. Once the ball is tipped, you have to play hard. The training was definitely intense.”
When the effort comes, Oats expects an improvement. That’s a key element of good defense, and playing hard on offense will help players who worry too much about how well or not they’re shooting.
“We have to play aggressively,” said Oats. “We need to recover on both sides of the ball.”
NNick Kelly reports on Alabama football and men’s basketball for The Tuscaloosa News/USA TODAY Network. Reach him via email: [email protected] Follow him on Twitter: @_NickKelly.