Why Alabama’s Shooting Has Fallen Short of Nate Oats’ Preseason Expectations

"I think we’ve got the potential to be the best shooting team we’ve had here."
Nate Oats, October 2025

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — When Nate Oats spoke in October about Alabama’s potential to be the best shooting team of his tenure, the confidence was understandable. Four months later, that belief has been shattered by injuries, inconsistent ball movement and a reality that looks far different from the preseason vision.

"It's not the best three-point shooting team we've had for a multitude of reasons," Oats said on Tuesday, correcting the preseason statement.

Alabama is shooting 35.1% from beyond the arc this season, a very respectable mark, but far below the elite-level forecast in the fall. The Tide is doing this while attempting the most three-pointers in the nation at 35.6 per game.

Alabama's Three-Point Shooting Metrics, Nate Oats' Tenure:

Year	Threes Attempted Per Game (rank in parentheses)	Three Point Percantage (rank in parentheses)
2019-20	30.9 (2nd)	34.9 (96th)
2020-21	30.0 (4th)	35.2% (113th)
2021-22	29.9 (8th)	30.9% (307th)
2022-23	29.5 (4th)	33.5% (218th)
2023-24	29.9 (4th)	37.3% (20th)
2024-25	29.8 (7th)	35.3% (100th)
2025-26	35.6 (1st)	35.1% (117th)

"Our pass quality hasn't been good. When we look at the passes our shooters are getting, they're not where they need to get them," Oats said. "We're not getting off the ball quickly enough and putting teams in the blender. Not getting to two-on-ones nearly enough. We've got available two-on-ones to play, but the ball doesn't get to them. So it's hard to shoot when you take too many contested shots.

Ball movement has been a struggle for the Crimson Tide this year. Oats has spoken at length about Alabama's offensive spacing, with a particular focus on the assumed boost to vertical spacing provided by the midseason addition of Charles Bediako.

"When he's running to the rim, and they (defenses) know he could catch a lob, you have got to bring help in," Oats said of Bediako following Alabama's win over Missouri last week. "We've got to be able to get our shooters off and open. And I think just kind of giving us some of that vertical spacing, being a lob target is going to make teams pull a third guy in to guard."

The impact has been noticeable over the past two games. The Crimson Tide went 15 for 38 (39%) in the aforementioned Missouri game and 14 for 34 (41%) in Sunday's loss to Florida. Those numbers could have very well been much higher, as the Crimson Tide is one of seven Power Five teams in the country currently attempting more threes than twos— something that has been done by just four high-major teams in NCAA history.

Any critique of Alabama's offense feels like nitpicking when considering how wildly successful the Oats' unit is analytically, boasting KenPom's third-highest-rated offense. The frustrating piece for those around the team comes not from the actual percentages, but from the clear room for improvement that exists in an offense that still has fundamental shot selection issues.

"Our shot quality is not helped by not moving the ball as well as we want to," Oats said. "Some guys end up forcing shots because they haven't gotten good shots. If a teammate misses you when you would have had a two-on-one, he misses you. You can't just force up a bad shot the next time you get the ball."

This offense still very much looks the part of a Nate Oats offense. The hallmarks— constant screening and an avoidance of non-rim twos— have stayed in place. Alabama is averaging 36 ball screens per game, which ranks in the 98th percentile nationally. Labaron Philon Jr. has effectively been given the green light from midrange, but the rest of the team has widely avoided taking what many refer to as 'the worst shot in basketball.'

It is impossible to address any of the issues this Alabama team has faced without acknowledging the nonstop barrage of injuries throughout the season. The Crimson Tide has been the least healthy team in the SEC, with Aiden Sherrell, Houston Mallette, Noah Williamson, and London Jemison being the only players in the rotation to not miss significant time with an injury at some point.

"The guys are not in rhythm with each other. It's hard practice together, like we usually do," Oats said. "We've got guys sitting out every day in practice... when they didn't play in the last two, three weeks of games, it's very hard to get chemistry going."

Latrell Wrightsell, the team's perceived sharpshooter entering the year, has shot just 32.7% from three this year, over a ten percent decrease from his last full season in 2024. Coming off a torn Achilles tendon the year before, he struggled in the beginning of the year, but has turned his play around as of the last week, shooting 10 for 17 from beyond the arc over the last week.

The sixth-year senior was a big part of the reason that Oats entered the season with such high expectations. A key player throughout Alabama's 2024 Final Four run, Wrightsell was supposed to be one of this team's many lights-out shooters. His sharp improvement is symbolic of the room for growth that exists for the entire team as Alabama approaches the home stretch of the regular season.

"I still think we have an accumulation of the most good shooters on a team I've ever had," Oats said. "It just hasn't translated to be the best shooting team we've had."

Whether Oats' belief ever fully materializes remains uncertain, but as Alabama enters the home stretch, the gap between what the team's shooting is and what it still could be remains as clear as it has all season.