Nate Oats Calls Out Alabama Returners to 'Prove Themselves' Against Purdue

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — No. 8 Alabama men's basketball is set to play its third game of the regular season at home against No. 2 Purdue on Thursday night.

It's the highest-ranked opponent to ever come to Coleman Coliseum, succeeding then-No. 4 Baylor in 2022 (which UA beat 87-78). Alabama head coach Nate Oats urged fans on Wednesday to "make it the best home environment in the country," as the Crimson Tide "will have our hands full" against the Boilermakers.

This matchup will complete the home-and-home series against Purdue, as the Crimson Tide traveled to West Lafayette, Ind., last season. This was then-No. 2 Alabama's first loss of the 2024-25 season as then-No. 13 Purdue took over late to win 87-78. UA has five players from last year's team who are aiming to avenge the loss.

"I think our returners will hopefully feel like they need to prove themselves against these guys," Oats said on Wednesday. "Labaron [Philon Jr.] played well, very good offensively. But on our defensive end, we weren't very good.

"And then we need the other guys in the backcourt to play well, too. We need Labaron to have a pretty good game well, too. He played well against St John's and he played well against these guys last year, but defensively, we've got to do a better job."

Oats admitted that shutting down head coach Matt Painter and Purdue is "easier said than done," and a big reason for that is the Boilermakers' roster retention. Four of their five starters from last year's game are still on the team, including a Consensus First Team All-American who scored 17 points, dished 10 assists and collected six rebounds during the previous meeting between these two programs.

"Braden Smith's one of the best all-around point guards," Oats said. "You talk about skill — pass, dribble, shoot, he sees the floor well, has a ridiculously high IQ — he knows how to run their offense. For basketball junkies, he's a fun player to watch. For the coach going against him, he's not very fun to watch. So, we've got to do a better job. We've got to have a better plan. ... Braden Smith is arguably the best point guard in the country. He’s looked really good against us."

Oats also commended fellow Purdue returning guards Fletcher Loyer (17 points) for being "one of the best shooters in the country," and C.J. Cox (11), who "killed us last year."

The Boilermakers had the lead for a heavy majority of the 2024 contest and had a massive run in the second half. And while the guards showed out, one of Purdue's forwards absolutely dominated the Crimson Tide down low.

"But the issue was, even as good as their backcourt was, we still should have won the game if our frontcourt had shown up. I mean, [Trey] Kaufman-Renn, if you remember, had 26 and just had his way with our frontcourt. So yeah, our backcourt has got to be better, but our bigger issue was our frontcourt last year, in my opinion."

Sophomore forward Aiden Sherrell is Alabama's only returning frontcourt player and he didn't play a single minute of last year's matchup. This spot is a bit thin for this game due to fellow forward Keitenn Bristow being doubtful with an ankle injury and center Collins Onyejiaka being out with a medical condition.

Kaufman-Renn missed Purdue's first two games of the season due to a minor hip injury, but he is expected to play against the Crimson Tide. Regardless, Oats has even higher expectations for Sherrell and the frontcourt this time around.

It's going to take an all-around effort for Alabama to take down Purdue in one of the biggest games in the history of Coleman Coliseum. Tipoff for this top-10 matchup is set for 6 p.m. CT on ESPN2.

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