Nate Oats After 102-78 Win Over Yale on Monday

Following Alabama's 102-78 win over Yale to close out 2025 and non-conference play, Crimson Tide head coach Nate Oats spoke to the media about his team's performance so far this season. He commented on what his team did successfully tonight and discussed return times for three injured players.

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Oats started his press conference by discussing his team's performance in its non-conference schedule. The Crimson Tide went 10-3, with losses to No. 5 Purdue, No. 7 Gonzaga, and No. 1 Arizona.

Since the 21-point loss to No. 1 Arizona on December 13th, the Crimson Tide has been on a three-game winning streak. All three wins during this streak were by double digits.

"Non-conference is over, you know, 10-3 with the schedule we played is not bad. I would've liked to have gotten a few more of those wins, but I think we got better, and this team's good." Oats added, "I think Yale is one of the best mid-major teams in the country."

Oats discussed his team's performance moving the ball on offense tonight. Alabama finished Monday's win with 22 assists and just five turnovers. The Tide's backcourt had zero turnovers and accounted for 17 of Alabama's 22 assists. Junior guard Aden Holloway led the team with seven assists.

"I thought the ball moved very well. We had guys take care of it. You go through four guards, where we had 17 assists and no turnovers," Oats said. "If you look at Amari with four (assists), Holloway with seven, Houston [Mallette] with three, and Wrightsell with three, those guys combined for 17 assists with zero turnovers."

Oats was asked about the chances Alabama's sophomore guard and leading scorer, Labaron Philon, would return for the conference opener against Kentucky on Saturday. Philon missed tonight's game with a left leg injury from a contusion suffered against Kennesaw State. Oats seemed hopeful Philon would be back. He also mentioned London Jemison could be ready by Saturday after a knee injury during Alabama's win against South Florida on December 17th.

Alabama's head coach also discussed Davion Hannah's injury and his expected return, noting that Hannah has been dealing with a medical condition.

"It's definitely not super serious, but I mean, he [Philon] couldn't play in a game now. We're off tomorrow, hopefully he gets a lot of rehab. I think it's pretty likely he plays Saturday, but I don't wanna say for sure." Oats added, "London [Jemison], we've been shooting for this game since he got hurt in the South Florida game, so hopefully the rehab goes as well as it's going and he's gonna be available Saturday, and then Davion's got just a medical condition that we're trying to manage and work him back in the game shape which he's just not quite there yet, and i don't know where he'll be."

Oats also discussed Jalil Bethea, who missed the first seven games after foot surgery in September. Bethea had a solid night, scoring 15 points with two assists and three rebounds. The sophomore transfer guard from Miami shot three-for-four from beyond the arc in Monday's win.

"Very talented scorer, obviously, you know he scored at a high level in high school, you know he was 3-of-four from three, didn't miss a free throw, you know 15 points in 20 minutes is pretty efficient," Oats said, "We know he can score it, which is good, he's getting in a rhythm offensively. We got to get him to be better for us on the defensive end like a lot of our guys do, to be honest with you, but he's starting to get his rhythm back."

To close the press conference, Oats was asked about Alabama's strong shooting effort tonight. The team set a season high with 22 made three-pointers in the win. Three players made at least four three-pointers each as the Tide defeated Yale by 24 points.

"I mean, when we move the ball like we did tonight, and we space the floor like we spaced the floor, it's a tough cover, I mean, shoot, our two centers each made a three, so you can really space it that way." Oats added, "When your centers can shoot, you know, everybody on the floor can shoot. You've got some of the best shooters in the country in Holloway, Mallette, Wrightsell, and Bethea. I think those guys can really put a strain on the defense."

Oats and the Crimson Tide will look to carry this performance into Saturday when Alabama opens conference play against Kentucky in Coleman Coliseum.

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