Notes from @AlabamaMBB head coach Nate Oats' presser at SEC Media Days: 1) It's the Tide's most grueling and developmental exhibition schedule yet. -- Alabama's exhibition matchup vs. Furman last Thursday was the earliest a Tide team has started preseason under Oats. Plus SEC exhibition matchups vs. Ole Miss and Auburn are still ahead before the regular season even begins. 2) Both sides will treat the Bama-Auburn exhibition like a regular season matchup. -- It's the IBOB. Oats said, "it'll matter in the state of Alabama." Both teams are going to want this one regardless of the fact it won't affect their records. 3) Holloway, Richardson and Diaz update. 🤒 -- Aden Holloway is serving his suspension with a great attitude and has grown throughout the off-season. Jaxon Richardson is minorly banged up and was dealing with sickness that kept him out vs. Furman, should be back by the season opener at the latest. Anderson Diaz is dealing with an elbow injury, approximately a month recovery period before he sees the floor. 4) The off-season goal was clear: get significantly BIGGER. -- Oats cited last year's losses vs. Purdue, Arizona, Texas, Florida, Tennessee and Ole Miss as his reasoning as Alabama was in Oats' words, "man-handled on the glass" in those losses. He sought out guys that could play the 4 and 5 to fix rebounding and defenses issues. 5) Oats wants Alabama to return to it's former glory of defensive prowess. -- Oats wants this year's team to look like the 2022-23 team that boasted a top-4 defense in the country. This desire helped drive off-season roster construction. 6) The Bamalytics philosophy isn't changing anytime soon. -- A reporter asked if the Alabama coaches ever need to take a look and step back from shooting so many threes...but that's Oats' philosophy. It simply depends on the game. "It depends on the quality of looks," Oats said. 7) Oats was not a fan of the possibility for players transferring within the SEC to have to sit for a season. -- "It doesn't make sense," Oats said. He said it would've hurt the SEC, which he believes is the best league in basketball right now. It would also deter players from wanting to commit to SEC schools. Oats said he hopes the idea is never brought up again...unless everyone in the country does it. 8) Amari Allen will be a primary ball-handler, alongside others... 👀 -- Oats believes Allen can take his sophomore leap with the ball in his hands. He also said that Qayden Samuels is also capable to take the ball up the court, it's something Cole Cloer can work on and even Brandon Garrison can grab boards + push the floor. "We don't play with a point guard..." Oats said.

Full first half highlights from Coleman Coliseum and @AlabamaMBB's 111-93 exhibition win over @FurmanMBB. This could be Oats' best Tide squad yet. @garyharris_wvua @AlexBootheTV @WVUA23Sports