It isn’t easy being Nate Oats. The Alabama Crimson Tide head coach has had to deal with several off-court issues this year. While the Charles Bediako saga was a long, drawn-out affair that drew a lot of criticism towards Oats and the Alabama college program, the Aden Holloway arrest has put the team in another pickle ahead of the NCAA Tournament.

Holloway was removed from campus after his dr*g arrest. And just like the Bediako situation, Nate Oats continues to be in Holloway’s corner, helping him deal with the aftereffects of the incident.

“Now’s not the time to ignore a kid you’ve built a relationship with. Now’s the time he needs more love from the adults in his life… If you disappear when they make a mistake, I’m not so sure that’s a genuine relationship you’ve built,” Oats said before adding,” I won’t be disappearing on him. I talked to him yesterday morning on the phone. I talked to him the night before that. I’ve talked to him every day so far. I’m gonna continue to talk to him, love him, help him through this, and we’ll see where it all takes us.”

In Aden Holloway’s case, the junior guard was arrested on a felony dr*g charge, according to a spokesperson for the Tuscaloosa Police. He faces charges of Class C felony dr*g possession and failure to affix a tax stamp. Both charges are felonies and carry a maximum sentence of 10 years and a $15,000 fine.

He had posted $5,000 bail, securing his release shortly after his arrest. He has been off campus and will be off the team until the Alabama college program conducts its own investigation.

The 21-year-old is averaging 16.8 points per game for the Crimson Tide and is a primary reason behind Alabama’s offensive prowess. Labaron Philon Jr. is having an excellent season and is the only one outscoring Holloway on the Alabama team right now.

Nate Oats would prefer Holloway back at some point in the NCAA Tournament, and in such a scenario, the head coach would want to ensure the 21-year-old’s mental focus is in the right place.

For now, the focus shifts to Alabama’s NCAA Tournament opener against Hofstra, which they will have to play without the 21-year-old.

Nate Oats is preparing his Alabama team to play in the NCAA Tournament without Holloway

While any head coach would prefer a player like Aden Holloway to return to the fold and help the team in the National Tournament, Nate Oats has learned from the Charles Bediako situation and is preparing his side to take the court without the 21-year-old, especially as the internal investigation is yet to conclude.

Nate Oats talked about the Holloway situation in depth ahead of their tournament opener against Hofstra.

“We’ll kind of address things as they come up. But for right now, the team is just preparing to play with who’s at practice, and he’s obviously not there. We’ll prepare to play without him and address that matter if it comes up… As good as Aden is for us, and he’s been great for us, he’s shot the ball well and done a lot of things, we were best equipped to lose somebody in the backcourt more than anywhere else with this team,” the 51-year-old said.

Latrell Wrightsell has shown he can step up when it matters and is coming into form at the right time of the season. Then there’s Houston Mallette, who should be the one getting more game time in Holloway’s absence. Alternatively, Nate Oats can use the situation to play a frontcourt-heavy five to counter threats posed by physically dominant sides in the Midwest bracket.

While Nate Oats continues to mentally and tactically prepare his Alabama side for the NCAA Tournament, he has been coy on Holloway’s potential return to the fold.