Everything Nate Oats said after Alabama's 90-86 win over Illinois

The No. 11-ranked Alabama basketball team defeated No. 8 Illinois, 90-86, on Wednesday night in Chicago’s United Center. Following the Crimson Tide’s third win of the 2025-26 season, head coach Nate Oats spoke to reporters. Here is everything Oats said after the top-10 matchup.

Oats’ opening statement…

“That’s a really good team we just played. I mean, they’re going to be competing for a national championship, in my opinion. They’re going to be in the mix. They’re talented. They’ve got depth. They’re hard to keep off the glass. I thought our guys fought, and we still got out-rebounded, but we fought a lot harder than we did against Purdue. It certainly helped to have Keitenn Bristow, but Amari Allen showed up with 11 rebounds. For a freshman, he’s really stepped up in some big games. We still got out-rebounded … 

“So I was happy our guys kind of answered the bell. I thought Labaron, being a foul trouble in the first half, it kind of slowed him down a little bit. The fact he was able to play with four fouls as long as he did, we needed all of his points in the second half, so he’s been good. Houston Mallette, we tell them we’re bringing him off the bench, and for some rotation purposes, he kind of helped with some rebounding and some different stuff. 

“And Trelly Wrightsell’s been great for us. He’s still coming back off that Achilles and has had a finger injury. He’s still not close to 100%, but so we put him in. Houston thanks me for giving him an opportunity. He’s super happy. He comes off the bench, scores in double figures, and seals the game with two free throws, so I think he deserves to play well. We’ll get him going. I think he’s got a lot more in him, even.

“But just a lot of different guys answered the bell. Pretty tight-knit group. They’re pulling for each other. We were down the whole first half, never quit fighting. To be within one at half with how much we were getting killed on the glass, I thought we were fortunate, and I thought we came out of the half a lot better. Took the lead, made the run, and then held them off. Made some tough plays down the stretch.”

Oats on Keitenn Bristow…

“Keitenn’s made a huge difference. I mean, he played less than 20 minutes. He’s still not in great shape. You can see, he had to ask for some breaks, but he gives us everything he’s got when he’s out there. But defensively, rebounding-wise, it was huge. I think he can make a difference. It’s nice to have him back and healthy. It’d be nice to keep our other bigs on the floor a little more. Aiden Sherell, he was in foul trouble. But I thought we found something that worked with him playing some small-ball five, was switching. Thought they got a little bit stagnant when we went to it, and we were able to rebound it pretty well. Only lose the glass by two with the size that they had out there with us playing four guards most of the second half, I didn’t think it was too bad.”

Oats Labaron Philon down the stretch…

“What’d he score nine straight points somewhere in that stretch. I don’t know where exactly that all was. But he has a lot of fun playing basketball. He competes. I’m on him about playing harder, being smarter. He’s got to stay in the game. The fouls he has, he’s got to stop with it. He had a bad gamble defensively there when we needed him to get a stop. But I think playing with four fouls, I was hoping to get a steal and not have to guard. I think it was on Stojakovic. It was either Boswell or Stojakovic, I can’t remember.

“Look, man, offensively, he’s super-talented. And I told him our team’s gonna go as he goes a lot. So he’s gonna create a lot of shots for — we’ve got some elite shooters that I think can get better shots. Holloway is a way better shooter than what he showed tonight, because I didn’t think we necessarily got him great shots. Houston Mallette’s a better shooter. Those guys, Houston Mallette, Wrightsell and Holloway are a lot better than 25% like they were tonight. But I think Baron, being as aggressive as he was to score, I think can open some stuff up for those guys down the road and get those shooters going. But man, we needed his points there in the second half tonight, for sure.”

Oats on finding out Philon was coming back…

“He was working out for teams. We were getting feedback. We knew he was late first, early second. I think he had a guarantee early second. And he called me late in the afternoon the day. He said, ‘Coach, what if I told you I always wanted to come back?’ And I said, ‘Shoot, Roll Tide. Let’s go win one.’ He still had to sort through a few things, but we got him back. I mean, he’s a great kid. He’s an Alabama kid that wants to take Alabama further than it’s ever gone before. And we’re able to make the Final Four the year before he got here, and we got beat in the Elite Eight last year. I mean, he came back to compete for a national championship, and I think we got a team that can do it.

“We played Purdue pretty tough. I mean, he missed the front end of the one-and-one to tie the game with just over a minute to go, as poorly as we did rebound it, and we didn’t have Keitenn. So I think when we get our full team, we can play with the best teams in the country. We showed it tonight. We showed it against St. John’s. We’re gonna have maybe the best team on Ken Pom, from what they told me, in Gonzaga coming up. So we put ourselves a pretty tough schedule together, and he’s keeping us in every game. And we’ve won two out of these three here in this stretch.”

Oats on his thoughts on Illinois…

“I think they get the pieces. Boswell’s as tough a lead guard. I mean, he’s a winner. He gets the ball downhill. He can shoot. Some of the point guards in college, you can kind of sag them, kind of muck the paint up a little bit. I mean, he can shoot off the dribble. I mean, he’s shooting — I think we had him at like 58% off the dribble coming into this game. So when you got a tough point guard like him that can do everything, and then you’ve got spacing bigs, and then Mirkovic can score it like he can inside. Shoot, he hit two threes tonight. And then Stojakovic, I mean, shoot, if Boswell doesn’t have it going — shoot, they both had it going tonight. Shoot, he got 26 tonight, and we didn’t have much of an answer for him. 

“So you’ve got multiple guards. You’ve got shooting with Ben. Wagler’s been kind of a pretty good find for him. Shoot, he wasn’t ranked very high. Whoever got that one done was — he’s a lot better player than what he’s ranked. So they just, they’ve got depth, and then they’ve got Big Z and Big T — I don’t know what you guys call him, Tomislav. Like, I mean, Big Z’s been in the SEC, and they have them both. They can make threes, and they both made a three tonight. You’ve got guys that are 7-foot-2 that make threes. It’s like, they can go inside on you. They can drive it on you. They can go outside with the entire lineup, one through five. 

“I just, I think they’re pretty good. And they didn’t play bad tonight, they just missed a bunch of free throws. Shoot, if they make their free throws, they’ll probably win.”

Oats on Illinois having several Balkan players…. 

“They’ve gone to the Balkan region and got some pretty skilled, tough players. I mean, Mirkovic is great. The Ivisic twins are super skilled. Stojakovic, shoot, I loved watching his dad play, man. His dad could — I mean, shoot, Andre’s pretty good too. He just dropped 26 on us. But man, his dad was one of my favorite players growing up. He could shoot it. He was on some of those real good teams. So yeah, I mean, they’ve kind of found a niche, like bringing those Balkan players over, and it’s worked for them. I think this could be one of the best teams in the country this year. 

“(They can help lead the team to the championship?) Yeah, they can. I mean, certainly capable. You get them to make some free throws here, and they’re gonna be good. They’re gonna be in the mix at the end. I certainly think they can. They’re tough. They’re physical. They know how to play. And they got high IQs. And they’re super skilled, with great size.”

Oats on how unusual Illinois is; how often he faces a team this big/long…

“Not often, not in college, and not that play the way they play. So they’re big, but aren’t trying to just punch it in, and the paint’s not all clogged up. Most teams that would be this big in college would have posts on the block, another one on the other block, or they’d have one at the elbow, and the whole lane would be clogged up. I mean, these guys have big guys that can also space the floor. And then they run pick-and-rolls with Mirkovic handling, guards setting, Boswell rolling.

“Look, man, I got a lot of respect for Brad. I mean, he’s changed, he’s evolved. He’s playing a very modern style of basketball. I think a lot of teams are gonna have a hard time guarding these guys. Shoot, we did. I mean, it’s not like we shut them down. I mean, we had like a 1.2 and they were a 1.16. So it was not a defensive clinic that either team was putting on, but I think it’s both teams are really hard to guard. We both play a pretty modern style of basketball, and they’ve got a lot bigger size to do it. We went smaller, and we’re able to, fortunately, get enough rebounds to win the game and get a few stops there late. But they’re gonna cause some teams some problems with the style that they play with the size of the guys that can play that way.”

Not a member, Alabama fans? Join BOL today!

Have you subscribed to BamaOnLine.com yet? You can sign up for ONE MONTH of premium access to our Alabama coverage for just $11.99! Be able to read all of BOL’s premium articles and nuggets covering Alabama sports and recruiting, and also join thousands of other Crimson Tide fans around the globe on the BOL Round Table message board! CLICK HERE!