Nate Oats Admits 'Mistake On My Part' Following Loss to Purdue

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — No. 8 Alabama men's basketball fell to No. 2 Purdue 87-80 Thursday night, and while rebounds were the main story, the Crimson Tide was a bit shorthanded.

Alabama head coach Nate Oats said on Wednesday that forward Keitenn Bristow was "highly doubtful" to play and he was later ruled out. He also mentioned that freshman center Collins Onyejiaka will be out indefinitely due to a medical condition, and that freshman guard Davion Hannah was "highly likely" to be available.

With 12 minutes left in the first half against St. John's last Saturday, Hannah got blocked on a dunk attempt and went down hard around his tailbone. Oats went right up to him after play stopped and he limped off the court with Holter. After being checked in the locker room, he was able to return and played a couple of minutes in the second half.

But on Thursday night, Hannah only played for about five minutes. Oats gave an update on his health after the game and admitted a personal misstep.

"He's not 100 percent, but I maybe should have played him more, because he is tough," Oats said during the postgame press conference. "He can rebound the ball. His tailbone is still not 100 percent, but he could have played more. That's a mistake on my part, to be honest with you."

As previously stated, rebounding struggles were the main takeaway for the Crimson Tide. The Boilermakers finished the game with 19 offensive rebounds compared to Alabama's seven, and 52 total boards to the Crimson Tide's 28. This 24-rebound difference is the second-largest negative margin of the Nate Oats era and worst since 2019, when Alabama was outrebounded by North Carolina by 29.

Oats said multiple times that "the tougher team won tonight," and not having a player that Oats called "tough" on the floor may have hurt Alabama a bit in this stat category. Hannah had three rebounds in the North Dakota game, five in the Furman exhibition and seven in the Florida State exhibition.

Oats and Alabama assistant coach Brian Adams emphasized defense throughout the offseason, and perhaps freshman guard Davion Hannah is leading the way. In fact, his lockdown mentality during practice led Oats to make the bold statement that he's "maybe as good a perimeter defender as this program has seen since maybe Herb Jones," and that "he can guard one through four."

Former Alabama guard Mark Sears was one of three backcourt players named Unanimous All-Americans. Purdue's Braden Smith is one of the other two guards in that elite group, and he proved why on Thursday night.

Although Hannah isn't a starter, he still would've likely shadowed Smith whenever the two shared the court, as his defensive prowess would truly be tested. But with Hannah not on the floor for a heavy majority of the game, and Smith finished with 29 points, including 21 in the second half, seven rebounds and four assists.

"I think he’s the best point guard in the country. I mean, we’ll see how it plays out, but I think he showed it tonight. I mean, 29, seven and four is pretty good. He had seven rebounds and our leading rebounder had four. What do they list him at? I don’t want to disrespect him at all, but I’m guessing he’s 5-10, 5-9. A 5-10 point guard has seven rebounds, and our starting frontcourt has six combined."

Of course, while Oats admits the mistake, it's completely understandable why Hannah only played five minutes. This was just the third contest of the season, and although it was an important home matchup against the No. 2 team in the country, being cautious with a versatile, athletic, two-way 6-foot-6 freshman guard who isn't 100 percent healthy is nothing to be ashamed of.

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