Indiana Coach Search: Nate Oats Is An Offensive Guru, But Is He Attainable?

Alabama plays a modern style of basketball, but Oats has a steep price tag that might rule him out for Indiana.

Crimson Tide head coach Nate Oats during the first half against the Arkansas Razorbacks at Bud Walton Arena. / Nelson Chenault-Imagn Images

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – If your priority in hiring the next Indiana men’s basketball coach is to find someone who subscribes to the tenets of analytical basketball, look no further than Alabama coach Nate Oats.

According to Kenpom.com, Oats has the Crimson Tide ranked second in adjusted offensive efficiency. That comes on the heels of Alabama finishing second in the same category in 2024.

Since Oats took over at Alabama in 2020, the Tide have never ranked below 37th nationally in offensive efficiency.

Contrast that to Indiana, where the Hoosiers have only ranked in the top 50 in offensive efficiency once during the period in which Archie Miller and Mike Woodson have coached.

What Makes Oats An Attractive Choice

First, some background on Oats. He has taken an unconventional path to coaching stardom.

After a playing career at Marantha Baptist in Wisconsin, he was an assistant at Marantha Baptist and Division III Wisconsin-Whitewater from 1997-2002.

Oats then left college coaching and was a high school coach at Romulus (Mich.) High School in suburban Detroit from 2002-13. He won one state championship and three coach of the year awards at Romulus.

Oats returned to college coaching as an assistant on Bobby Hurley’s staff at Buffalo. After two years, Hurley left for Arizona State and Oats took over.

During four years at Buffalo, Oats was 96-43 and took the Bulls to three NCAA Tournaments. It was at Buffalo that Oats began to embrace offensive principles that make his teams so efficient. After Buffalo ranked below 100 in offensive efficiency his first two seasons, he had the Bulls 21st nationally by his final year in 2019.

He took those offensive principles with him to Tuscaloosa. After a 16-15 first season, Alabama has won 20 or more games four times. Since 2023, the Crimson Tide have done no worse than 13-5 in league play. Oats coached the Tide to the Final Four in 2024, the first in school history.

So what makes offenses work under Oats?

It seems so simple. It combines a lot of principles that you see used as singular philosophies.

It starts with creating offense from defense. Alabama’s teams aren’t as statistically impressive as their offensive stats, but the Crimson Tide defend well. Oats wants his defense to be aggressive to create easy scoring chances on the break.

Alabama’s first offensive option is to score off the break. Given that fast break buckets are often the highest-percentage shots a team can take, this fits with Oats’ analytics-driven ways.

If the Crimson Tide find themselves in a half-court set, then analytical friendly shots are paramount. Three-point shots and attempts at the rim fit that definition. Mid-range shots do not.

As with many other five-out teams, the idea is to spread out, create driving lanes, and either take the high-percentage shot at the rim or kick it out. Every player is a cutter or screener depending on what the menu of options presents for the players.

In addition to his coaching acumen, Oats is a Midwest native and knows the territory, having been a high school coach at a prominent school as well as a college coach in the Midwest-based Mid-American Conference. 

What Are Drawbacks With Oats?

If we’re speaking purely of coaching? There are almost no drawbacks to Oats.

If we’re speaking of availability? That’s another kettle of fish.

Alabama knew a good thing when it had it. Oats signed a contract extension in March that binds him to Alabama through the 2030 season. That redone contract pays him a base salary of $5 million per year now and will pay him $7.5 million by the end of the contract.

Those numbers are not a problem for Indiana. What is a problem is Oats’ buyout.

According to the Tuscaloosa News, Oats would have to pay Alabama $18 million if he leaves the Crimson Tide before March 31, 2026.

Indiana will devote a lot of money to making basketball right. Donors will very likely pony up to get the right guy, but $18 million is a very hefty price tag.

Moreover? Oats seems content with his situation at Alabama.

"We've got the commitment from the administration that they're going to continue to support us in the way I feel like we can compete to be a top 10, top 25 team year-in and year-out. I appreciate their support in keeping me here, take my name out of some of the other job openings that are there,” Oats said in March 2024.

Is It Realistic To Expect Oats To Take The Indiana Job?

Oats would be a great choice for the Hoosiers, but odds are against him being the next guy on the sideline for the Hoosiers.

The buyout is part of it, but Alabama – currently ranked No. 2 in the country – could be Final Four-bound for the second straight season.

If Indiana wants to wait for the right man and sacrifice time in the transfer portal? Oats would be well worth it.

The question is whether Oats is interested in making a move. While Alabama is a football-first school and Indiana still leans basketball-first, it’s clear that Alabama is committed to winning at both sports. So Oats might be content to build his legacy in Alabama crimson rather than Indiana’s hue.

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