Charles Barkley recalls fearing Nate Oats prior to landing Alabama job: 'I hated him when he came to the SEC'

The profile of basketball in the SEC has rapidly risen. A major part of that has been the coaching talent currently in the conference, though Auburn Tigers alumni Charles Barkley would still prefer at least one of those talented coaches not to have ever come to the SEC.

Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Nate Oats has been with the program since 2019. During that time, he’s taken the Crimson Tide to the Final Four and has made three Sweet Sixteen appearances. It’s exactly the result that Barkley feared would happen and why he hated when Oats came to the SEC.

“Let me tell you something, about that guy Coach Oats,” Barkley said. “I hated him when he came to the SEC because I’ve been watching three or four college games a day for the last two months, getting ready for March Madness. I was watching those Buffalo teams play, and I was like, ‘Man, that guy can really coach.’ And then, when the Alabama job opened up, I was like, ‘Man, I sure hope Coach Oats don’t get that job.'”

Prior to his time at Alabama, Oats was the head coach at Buffalo. He spent four seasons there and took the Bulls to the NCAA Tournament three times in that time. He had been an assistant at Buffalo before that and a high school head coach prior to that. That all came after he got his start in coaching at his alma mater, Maranatha Baptist.

“And he got the job, and the rest is history,” Barkley said. “Getting those guys to the Final Four was incredible. Bruce getting us to the Final Four. [John] Calipari at Arkansas. You’re right, Karl. Getting all these great coaches in the SEC, the commissioner [Greg Sankey], give him a lot of credit.”

Since getting to Alabama, Oats has continued to find success. In six seasons, he’s gone 140-59 with the Crimson Tide while winning the SEC regular season and conference tournament championships twice each.

This season, Oats’ Alabama and Barkley’s Auburn have been two of the best teams in the entire country. They’ve already met once this season too, and in that matchup, it was Barkley who earned bragging rights. Auburn won that game 94-85 in a major win in Tuscaloosa. Still, Oats and the Crimson Tide will have their chance to return the favor on March 8th when they meet for a game that Auburn will host in Neville Arena.

First, however, Alabama is going to take on an excellent Tennessee Volunteers team in Knoxville.