Goodman: Alabama’s big test is here, and the Tide is ready

This is an opinion column.

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There are two key similarities between Alabama basketball coach Nate Oats and former Alabama football coach Nick Saban.

No.1, they both know how to dress, or at least understand that maintaining a classy image in public comes with the job and is a sign of respect for the people they represent.

This might seem trivial to some, but those are probably just the guys who think it’s OK to wear flannel shirts with dress slacks, flip-flops away from the beach, workout attire away from the gym, sweatpants in public, tactical pants to church, saggy jeans anywhere, camo, team jerseys outside of stadiums, tucked in T-shirts and square-toed shoes or boots.

Everyone else appreciates the fact that Oats isn’t the best dressed coach in college basketball by accident and that Saban (or at least Miss Terry) has impeccable fashion sense. Attention to detail matters all the way down to the buttons on the shirt.

Secondly — and this might be a little more important — Oats is like Saban in that he never wavers from the coaching ethos that winning is all that matters.

Too cutthroat? Maybe for some, but that’s one of the things that makes Oats good at his job.

Oats hasn’t turned Alabama basketball into a national contender by handing out participation trophies, which is why sitting point guard Mark Sears against LSU didn’t come as much of a surprise.

The broadcasters calling the game for ESPN made a big deal about Sears being on the bench, but it’s not the first time that Oats has kept Sears out of the rotation this season and it might not be the last either.

Maybe Oats was trying to send a message by putting his best offensive player on the bench, or maybe Alabama’s coach just wanted more length on defense for the second half. Either way, it was the right call. Alabama won and Oats even noted afterwards that it was some of the best defense Alabama had played all season to end a game.

Sears was back in the lineup on Wednesday against Mississippi State and led Alabama with 17 points, six rebounds and nine assists. Once again, though, Oats made the correct decision late in the game when he subbed out Mark Sears and Aden Holloway in favor of taller players.

If only the football coach at Alabama knew how to manage his team so effectively.

No.4 Alabama basketball (18-3, 7-1 in the SEC) returns to action on Saturday with a home game against Georgia. The Tide is one of the deepest teams in the country, and Oats is going to need it to finish out this season. The remaining schedule is like nothing I’ve ever seen. Ten games remain and Alabama’s final seven opponents are all currently ranked in the AP Top 25.

Alabama could make it all the way to the championship game of the NCAA Tournament and have an easier road.

No one has it easy in the SEC, of course. The league has never been better. Some are calling it the best conference in college basketball history. Maybe so. No.1 Auburn (19-1, 7-0) plays eight ranked opponents across its final 11 games. Tennessee, which has lost three of its last four games, is grinding through a stretch of nine ranked teams in its first 10 conference games.

Coach John Calipari left Kentucky for Arkansas this season, but the Hogs are only 1-6 in the SEC.

Lamont Paris won SEC Coach of the Year in 2024, but his South Carolina Gamecocks are 0-8 to begin conference play this season.

The toughest football conference in the country is now the best basketball conference, too. The SEC’s greatest February of hoops begins on Saturday, but that’s just a build up for the big finish.

With Auburn and Alabama one and two in the SEC standings, it looks like league bragging rights and the regular-season title will go through the Heart of Dixie. Alabama and Auburn play twice over the final three weeks of the season. It will be a test of mental toughness like this league has never seen.

In benching Sears, Oats made sure that his point guard would be ready for the fight. And if Sears needs a rest, well, Alabama’s cutthroat, win-first coach planned ahead by taking Auburn’s old point guard and making him better.

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Joseph Goodman is the lead sports columnist for the Alabama Media Group, and author of the book “We Want Bama: A Season of Hope and the Making of Nick Saban’s Ultimate Team.”