Alabama's Nate Oats brings winning history back to Cleveland
Nate Oats is not new to the Cleveland area.
This latest trip for the first round of the NCAA Tournament with the Crimson Tide, bringing him back to "The Land" and Rocket arena, a place where he has had nothing but success.
"Got a lot of people in Cleveland from my MAC days. Personally, I've had a little bit of success in that arena in the postseason, in the MAC tournaments. Cleveland's a good city, enjoyed my time in Cleveland in the MAC," Oats said after Selection Sunday.
It goes back to his first head coaching job at Buffalo, where Oats led the Bulls to three Mid-American conference championships in Cleveland.
The first one coming in 2016, his first season at the helm. Forward Blake Hamilton hit the game-winning three against Akron to win the championship and send Oats to his first NCAA Tournament as a head coach.
Now less than 10 years from that game, Oats is back in Cleveland with a Crimson Tide team looking to make another Final Four run. A former player of his, Hamilton couldn't be happier for his old coach.
"Nobody can say anything bad about Oats in front of me. You know, he gave me an opportunity, he helped me out so much in my career, and it's been great to see. You know, Alabama's normally known for being a football school, but now they're at a place where it's like basketball for the past few years they've been thriving, and it's like a basketball school," Hamilton said.
Oats and Alabama are set to face Robert Morris in the first round of the NCAA tournament Friday at 11:40 a.m.