His total of 1.1 defensive Win Shares in his first 23 games surpassed the 0.6 he amassed in 31 appearances as a freshman, and Shackelford is now a net plus defensively (plus-2.1 in defensive box score plus-minus). A stopper? A lock-down defender who causes opposing guards to go weak-kneed as they bring the ball up the floor? Not really, no. But Oats needed his top offensive option simply to be better on the other end, and now he is, and itās emblematic of a collective commitment to stopping teams instead of aiming to outrun and outgun them.
This coaching touch is straightforward: Focus on better defense. Act accordingly. Itās decidedly more complicated to assess a situationās potential to spiral out of control and do a thing that very well could increase the velocity of the spiral and the collateral damage around it.
Thatās where Oats found himself after a dispiriting December home loss to Western Kentucky, Alabamaās third of a young season. He had talked about the program having no āBCDā ā blaming, complaining, deflecting ā and there was instead an abundance of it. At that point, he decided he needed to give one of his best players space to think through whether he wanted to be part of the team.
Suspending John Petty Jr., a 1,000-point scorer and perhaps the Crimson Tideās top 3-point marksman on a team not lacking them, carried no small amount of risk. Oats conceded Petty might not have been disciplined for his transgressions elsewhere. It was possible that Petty, who considered entry into the NBA Draft last summer, might take his time away to decide to stay away. The group might have reacted poorly. In short, Alabamaās season was put in the balance, on purpose, by Oats. The stakes were high.
Oats just saw the stakes a little differently. āWe talked all summer and we worked all fall on culture-building, what our culture was going to be,ā he says. āAnd then it was just off. It was a lot of talk and not enough action.ā
Much like persuading a score-first guard to become a reliable defensive cog, Oats sold Petty on the notion that tapping the pause button was the best thing for him. Oats brought Pettyās mother into the discussion. He remained in contact with the player. Petty returned after missing one game, and heās now Alabamaās second-leading scorer (13 points per game) and leads the team in 3-pointers (56). He watches full games, per Oats, and offers thoughts on Alabamaās keys to winning instead of waiting for the coaches to tell him. In a loss at Oklahoma, Petty was at the scorerās table, set to check in, as the group on the floor went on a run. At the whistle, Oats couldnāt decide whom to take out. So Petty solved the issue: He told Oats to leave that group on the floor, and he returned to the bench.
āYouāre going to have conflict with any organization. Itās a matter of how you respond to it,ā Byrne says. āThat helped set the tone ā weāre not playing favorites, and letās make sure weāre focused on what the team is trying to accomplish. And everyone has responded very well to it.ā
Build whatever you want and stuff the toolbox however youād like. The human beings holding the tools determine how effectively theyāre used. The decisions that defined Alabama menās hoops this season most likely reinforced for Byrne the conclusion he reached about Nate Oats, people person, during the search process. He pulled a standard stealth-mode gambit and blocked his caller ID when he reached out to some of Oatsā former players, identifying himself only as Greg, Who Likes to Research Coaches. (āWhich is true,ā Byrne notes.) Still resonating to this day is the feedback from Blake Hamilton, who transferred to Buffalo after one nondescript season at Northern Arizona, entering Oatsā lab as an undersized power forward and emerging as a lead guard who scored 1,004 points in two seasons with the Bulls.
He saw an ability for me to play the game in a way I didnāt know that I could, was how Hamilton put it to Greg Who Likes to Research Coaches, while adding that Oats has stayed in regular contact as the years have passed. āThatās a great sign,ā Byrne says. āA special gift of player evaluation.ā That much he could vet before the hire. The other standard Byrne was after in the search process was simple: He wanted a ball coach. From his office window, Byrne can see Nick Saban in the mix at football practices, and not surprisingly he figured that to be a model worth replicating in his new menās basketball coach.
The expectation is to be great, but greatness doesnāt just happen. āNateās doing that exact same thing,ā Byrne says, referring to Sabanās hands-on approach. āHeās not sitting up above. Heās not sitting on a folding chair watching practice. Heās in the middle of it, working with the kids, working with the assistants. The intensity level is high. He creates a culture to where, by his own actions, hard work is expected. That attitude is contagious.ā
So of course the buildings and outsized toolboxes matter. They are a big help in the pursuit of greatness.
This is the inescapable reality of modern college athletics, and arguably a reflection of the modern university ambitions as a whole. As noted by Bell, Alabama welcomes a group of consultants annually who assess the schoolās facilities, rating everything from functionality to curb appeal. Itās hard data examined to ensure the university is relevant and sustaining a cutting-edge environment for the faculty, staff and students. A significant benefit of people valuing their time at a school is bringing business back to that school after they leave it. āWe want to make sure that they come,ā Bell says, ābut that they also finish here, that they have a great experience here, and when they leave here theyāre going to be recruiting people back here.ā
In the smaller context of Alabama menās hoops enjoying nice perks, there is Shackelford, walking into the athletics facility around 8 p.m and seeing people making meals for those matriculating through the building. āItās all A-1, top-tier stuff,ā he says of the resources on hand. āThereās definitely people that see it as just a football school, and I feel like itās hard to get a grasp on how much they care about everybody here until you get here.ā
This coaching touch is straightforward: Focus on better defense. Act accordingly. Itās decidedly more complicated to assess a situationās potential to spiral out of control and do a thing that very well could increase the velocity of the spiral and the collateral damage around it.
Thatās where Oats found himself after a dispiriting December home loss to Western Kentucky, Alabamaās third of a young season. He had talked about the program having no āBCDā ā blaming, complaining, deflecting ā and there was instead an abundance of it. At that point, he decided he needed to give one of his best players space to think through whether he wanted to be part of the team.
Suspending John Petty Jr., a 1,000-point scorer and perhaps the Crimson Tideās top 3-point marksman on a team not lacking them, carried no small amount of risk. Oats conceded Petty might not have been disciplined for his transgressions elsewhere. It was possible that Petty, who considered entry into the NBA Draft last summer, might take his time away to decide to stay away. The group might have reacted poorly. In short, Alabamaās season was put in the balance, on purpose, by Oats. The stakes were high.
Oats just saw the stakes a little differently. āWe talked all summer and we worked all fall on culture-building, what our culture was going to be,ā he says. āAnd then it was just off. It was a lot of talk and not enough action.ā
Much like persuading a score-first guard to become a reliable defensive cog, Oats sold Petty on the notion that tapping the pause button was the best thing for him. Oats brought Pettyās mother into the discussion. He remained in contact with the player. Petty returned after missing one game, and heās now Alabamaās second-leading scorer (13 points per game) and leads the team in 3-pointers (56). He watches full games, per Oats, and offers thoughts on Alabamaās keys to winning instead of waiting for the coaches to tell him. In a loss at Oklahoma, Petty was at the scorerās table, set to check in, as the group on the floor went on a run. At the whistle, Oats couldnāt decide whom to take out. So Petty solved the issue: He told Oats to leave that group on the floor, and he returned to the bench.
āYouāre going to have conflict with any organization. Itās a matter of how you respond to it,ā Byrne says. āThat helped set the tone ā weāre not playing favorites, and letās make sure weāre focused on what the team is trying to accomplish. And everyone has responded very well to it.ā
Build whatever you want and stuff the toolbox however youād like. The human beings holding the tools determine how effectively theyāre used. The decisions that defined Alabama menās hoops this season most likely reinforced for Byrne the conclusion he reached about Nate Oats, people person, during the search process. He pulled a standard stealth-mode gambit and blocked his caller ID when he reached out to some of Oatsā former players, identifying himself only as Greg, Who Likes to Research Coaches. (āWhich is true,ā Byrne notes.) Still resonating to this day is the feedback from Blake Hamilton, who transferred to Buffalo after one nondescript season at Northern Arizona, entering Oatsā lab as an undersized power forward and emerging as a lead guard who scored 1,004 points in two seasons with the Bulls.
He saw an ability for me to play the game in a way I didnāt know that I could, was how Hamilton put it to Greg Who Likes to Research Coaches, while adding that Oats has stayed in regular contact as the years have passed. āThatās a great sign,ā Byrne says. āA special gift of player evaluation.ā That much he could vet before the hire. The other standard Byrne was after in the search process was simple: He wanted a ball coach. From his office window, Byrne can see Nick Saban in the mix at football practices, and not surprisingly he figured that to be a model worth replicating in his new menās basketball coach.
The expectation is to be great, but greatness doesnāt just happen. āNateās doing that exact same thing,ā Byrne says, referring to Sabanās hands-on approach. āHeās not sitting up above. Heās not sitting on a folding chair watching practice. Heās in the middle of it, working with the kids, working with the assistants. The intensity level is high. He creates a culture to where, by his own actions, hard work is expected. That attitude is contagious.ā
So of course the buildings and outsized toolboxes matter. They are a big help in the pursuit of greatness.
This is the inescapable reality of modern college athletics, and arguably a reflection of the modern university ambitions as a whole. As noted by Bell, Alabama welcomes a group of consultants annually who assess the schoolās facilities, rating everything from functionality to curb appeal. Itās hard data examined to ensure the university is relevant and sustaining a cutting-edge environment for the faculty, staff and students. A significant benefit of people valuing their time at a school is bringing business back to that school after they leave it. āWe want to make sure that they come,ā Bell says, ābut that they also finish here, that they have a great experience here, and when they leave here theyāre going to be recruiting people back here.ā
In the smaller context of Alabama menās hoops enjoying nice perks, there is Shackelford, walking into the athletics facility around 8 p.m and seeing people making meals for those matriculating through the building. āItās all A-1, top-tier stuff,ā he says of the resources on hand. āThereās definitely people that see it as just a football school, and I feel like itās hard to get a grasp on how much they care about everybody here until you get here.ā
