Nate Oats provides update on Jusaun Holt after absence vs. LSU

Alabama forward Jusaun Holt did not play for Nate Oats in Saturday’s 80-77 road loss against LSU and was not seen with the team on the bench either. The unranked freshman has seen spot minutes on and off all season, but his future now appears in doubt after a strange postgame response.

During his postgame press conference, Nate Oats spoke through technical difficulties about a developing situation off the court surrounding Jusaun Holt and his future at Alabama.

“Me and him are going to meet this weekend and figure out his status with the team moving forward,” said Oats as the audio cut in and out. “Internal issue. No, just, team issue.”

Holt has averaged 0.4 points and 1.6 rebounds in his freshman season, playing spot minutes in most of Alabama’s games but making an impact in others. Against Ole Miss in February, he appeared to give the coaching staff the boost it was seeking and played a career-high 26 minutes.

On a team which Nate Oats has admitted he has trouble motivating, another off-court story now appears to have the Crimson Tide’s focus elsewhere after the benching of point guard Jahvon Quinerly and suspension of forward Darius Miles earlier this season.

Nate Oats’ previous praise for Jusaun Holt

After two straight losses against Auburn and Kentucky, Alabama bounced back with a 97-83 win over Ole Miss on Wednesday. Behind a career-high performance from Jaden Shackelford and efficient night by freshman JD Davison, Nate Oats could not let the play of breakout forward Jusaun Holt go unnoticed.

During his postgame press conference in early February, Nate Oats acknowledged the work of Jusaun Holt, a freshman who had made his way into the lineup as the coaching staff looked to shake things up and find consistency late in the season.

“He gave us some quality minutes,” Oats said, via AL.com’s Mike Rodak. “I thought he played well on defense. He flew around. We were plus-22 in the 26 minutes he played in the game. He’s been working hard in practice and almost led us in rebounding with six rebounds. I was happy with his play.”

Despite the dissatisfaction from Nate Oats after the Texas A&M and LSU losses, which has persisted all season with inconsistency the only consistent factor, Alabama remains firmly in the NCAA Tournament field after playing KenPom’s toughest schedule in the country with key wins over Baylor and Gonzaga.