Nate Oats Evaluates Aden Holloway's Adjustment to System After First Year

The junior guard is averaging 18.2 points per game in six contests this season, his second on the Alabama roster.

Dec 29, 2024; Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide guard Aden Holloway (2) shoots against South Dakota State Jackrabbits guard Joe Sayler (3) during the second half at Coleman Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Will McLelland-Imagn Images | Will McLelland-Imagn Images

TUSCALOOSA, Ala.— When the Alabama men's basketball program added sharpshooter Aden Holloway to the mix last year, both team and player found success, with an Elite Eight appearance capping off a 28-win campaign. Holloway came off the bench in every game, serving as an offensive spark, and has fit into the system even after shifting to a starting role in 2025.

"Some of the guards, we play a lot different than a lot of places play. There's a lot more freedom. We want them to be way less robotic, more instinctual," head coach Nate Oats said on Tuesday. "There's structure of freedom. So, you've gotta learn when to attack. We want you attacking every time possible, when it's appropriate."

Holloway can do a lot of things well that are necessary for a starting guard in a power conference; he distributes, he can drive to the paint and can score at multiple levels. However, the area where the former Auburn Tiger shines is three-point shooting. The lowest number of such shots he has taken in six games (all starts) so far during his second go-around as a member of the Crimson Tide is six.

Oats feels that Holloway took too many contested shots in the No. 12 Crimson Tide's 95-85 loss to Gonzaga last Monday. He logged 13 points, but only hit on two out of 10 from three-point range. In the Crimson Tide's system, taking a chance at a three-point basket will rarely be discouraged, particularly for someone like Holloway, who shot 41.2 percent from deep last season.

"I don't want to make it sound like they're just out there doing whatever they want, because that's kinda what they gotta learn," Oats said. "Learning all that, getting the confidence to play that way, us instilling the confidence, them having a whole year... Aden's super talented. He understood, he had the one game he took 19 threes, but, shoot, I'm fine with him taking even more."

The game Oats referred to was actually from last season, during Holloway's first year in the program. Holloway launched 19 attempts from three-point range in a win against South Dakota State and hit eight, scoring a career-high 26 overall points, a number he went on to tie last Tuesday against UNLV at the Players Era Festival.

"As long as you're open, shoot it every time you're open," Oats said. "You gotta understand, depending on how teams are gonna guard you, some games that may be 20 threes for him, which would be great. He's one of the best shooters in the country. Some games, you may get 10, 12, 15 assists because of the way they guard you. He got it figured out pretty well. Second year in the program, he really knows what we want."

Holloway followed his night against the Runnin' Rebels with a 17-point,10-assist double-double against Maryland the day before Thanksgiving. He's averaging 4.3 assists per game while shooting 47.5 percent from the field, connecting on 10 of his 13 shots from beyond the arc over his last two showings.

Alabama (5-2) faces Clemson at home on Wednesday as part of the ACC/SEC Challenge (6:15 p.m. CT, ESPNU. It will only be Holloway's second home game of his junior year, since he didn't play in the season opener opposite North Dakota.