Former UB Coach Nate Oats Named Finalist For Coach Of The Year

We were lucky enough to have him in Buffalo for a couple years to coach our UB Bulls, now he's moved on to Alabama and he's improved their team immensely too.

Congrats to Alabama's head coach Nate Oats.  He has been named a finalist for not one but two major "Coach of the Year" awards.

He's been the head coach of Alabama's basketball team since he left here in 2019.

His first season with Alabama they recorded a record of 16-15 record and were 8-10 in SEC play.  This year was a whole new story.  He made a major improvement with his team taking them to a 24-6 overall record in 2020-21 and a 16-2 mark in Southeastern Conference play according to RollTide.com.

That kind of improvement will definitely put you in talks for "Coach of the Year."

Sure enough, he is now a finalist for two different coach of the year awards.  He has been named a finalist for the 2021 Werner Ladder Naismith Men's Coach of the Year and the United States Basketball Writers Association Henry Iba Coach of the Year Award.

It seems to be the path that his career has taken him.  He started here in Buffalo as an assistant to Bobby Hurley in 2013.  Very few had heard his name before then.  But after Hurley moved on in 2015, Oats was named the interim head coach.  It's understating it to say that he developed a special relationship with those players.

In 2016, The Bulls were able to win the MAC Conference championship.  In the 2017-2018 season he was named the MAC Conference coach of the year.

He was one of the major turning points of that program and it was sad to see him go when he was offered the opportunity in Alabama.  But we obviously wish him the best.  And of course, congrats on becoming a finalist for coach of the year!