Nate Oats Updates Injury Status of Team, Discusses Upcoming European Tour

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Alabama basketball hosted the fifth of its NCAA-approved 10 practices on Friday as the team continued preparations for its Foreign Tour to Europe next month.

On Aug. 5, the team will depart for Barcelona, Spain, where it will play the Spain Select Team on Aug. 8. From there, the team will travel to Paris, France, where it will take on the Lithuania Men's B Team as well as the Chinese National Team.

The team will return to Tuscaloosa on Aug. 14.

Following the conclusion of Friday's practice, head coach Nate Oats and six players spoke with the media, discussing the progress that the team has made since last season as well as expressing their excitement for the team's upcoming foreign tour.

"These are pros that we're going to play against over there," Oats said. "I mean, we're playing the China National Team over there. They've got guys that were drafted in the first round in the lottery that play for China. We're going to see real men."

The trip will mark the Crimson Tide's first action against another opponent since the team was ousted in the first round of the 2022 NCAA Tournament at the hands of Notre Dame. In that game, then-junior guard Jahvon Quinerly left the game with a torn ACL.

Alongside Quinerly, rising redshirt-sophomore guard Nimari Burnett was also still recovering from a right knee injury that required surgery. Freshman guard Jaden Bradley will also be limited in the Crimson Tide's foreign tour due to a foot injury that required surgery.

While Quinerly is still projected to miss most if not all of Alabama's non-conference schedule while he continues to recover, Oats had some positive news concerning all three players.

"[Quinerly]'s doing great," Oats said. "He's really focussed on his rehab, his nutrition — he's getting his body back to where he needs to be. [...] We were hoping to have him back by SEC play. We may get him back a little bit earlier — it'd be great if we could get him some non-conference games in before we hit SEC play.

"Nimari has not been limited for a while now. He can do everything in practice. He's pretty much a full go, and he's looked good, too. [...] Jaden Bradley's coming off the foot surgery; he's gonna be limited minutes on the foreign tour just to make sure we're smart with it."

During the limited media viewing portion of the practice, the standout players were junior forward Darius Miles alongside Bradley and fellow freshmen forward Brandon Miller. Another honorable mention was another freshman in guard Rylan Griffen.

For Miles, his defensive effort was noticeably improved. Additionally, Miles was a vocal leader on his squad during the practice session both on and off the court. While Oats has spoken before regarding Miles outspoken nature, the nature that Miles carried himself in practice seemed to be that of a much more mature, veteran player.

For Bradley, Miller and Griffen, the freshmen trio were nearly lights-out from beyond the three-point line. While no official stats were handed out from the scrimmage, the three players hit more shots than they missed in the brief media viewing.

Another positive sign that no doubt Alabama fans will enjoy hearing: the team was also frequently making mid-range jumpers.

While one practice is certainly not enough to judge a team heading into the season, there seems to be positive energy on this team. On top of that, the chemistry seems to be very much improved.

When asked about what a successful trip to Europe would be for him and his players, Oats noted that while winning is certainly the objective, it will also be a success if the players leave the continent having given it their all.

"I play every game to win," Oats said. "I think you guys know me well enough. I'm not going to go over there and just play everybody and lose. We're going to try to win the games, but I think to be successful — whether we win or lose — I just don't know how good these teams are gonna be. If they're great and we go 0-3, we can still have a successful trip, to be honest with you. And if they end up not being as good as maybe I think they are now and we go 3-0, I might not be that happy depending on how we play.

"I think if we give great effort on the defensive end the whole time — which didn't happen last year — and then we really move the ball and you can see the chemistry is there and everybody's just is pulling for the team to get a great shot and nobody's hunting their own, I think I'll feel great after the trip."