Nate Oats downplays concerns over change in NCAA Tournament basketballs

The specific basketballs that the NCAA has opted to use for the NCAA Tournament have drawn some scrutiny. A few players and commentators who have noted the ball is perhaps bouncier than most basketballs, but Alabama head coach Nate Oats eschewed that idea ahead of the Crimson Tide’s Sweet Sixteen matchup with San Diego State.

Despite the seeming increased frequency of “wedgies” — where the ball gets lodged between the rim and backboard on a shot — during the first weekend and a gripe from his own player about the ball, Oats thinks it’s fine. As for any dip in offensive productivity, Oats noted that once you start getting further along in the NCAA Tournament, defenses get a lot better.

“I don’t see there’s an issue with the ball. I think defenses get better. You look at the teams that are still winning. Most of them have pretty good defenses. When the defenses get better, shooting percentages go down,” Oats said. “I’m sure the NCAA is on top of making sure the balls are all going to be correctly inflated and all that here for these Sweet 16 rounds. But we’ve got to do a great job of getting our shooters open shots. And I’m not going to be too worried about the ball. I’m going to worry about the stuff I can control.”

The specific ball in question, a Wilson Evo NXT, was actually first used in the 2022 NCAA Tournament, where most observed it to be a brighter hue of orange than most other basketballs. There was not much discussion of the new basketballs being used affecting play.

Now though, some seem to feel that the new basketballs are altering the course of the competition. That includes Alabama senior point guard Jahvon Quinerly, who had already noted his dislike for the Evo NXT’s on Twitter. He addressed it further ahead of the Sweet Sixteen.

“Yeah, I just feel like sometimes the balls are just a little too bouncy,” Quinerly said. “I don’t think it’s affected me personally this tournament, but, you know, it’s been something that the guys talk about in the locker room.”

Oats doesn’t think that’s the case, plus it’s not anything he or his team is in a position to change, anyways.

“We preach it to our players all the time. I have zero control over the ball. I don’t think there’s an issue with it. Let’s make sure we get our really good shooters as many good looks as we can and get the percentages up to where they need to be,” Oats said.