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The Tuscaloosa News
Nick Saban told Alabama basketball not to give in to 'rat poison' on championship hunt
- Story byThe Tuscaloosa News
- Nick Saban told Alabama basketball not to give in to 'rat poison' on championship hunt
BIRMINGHAM — Alabama basketball 's mission is to end the 2024-25 season as national champion .
Before the Crimson Tide embark on another run to the Final Four, coach Nate Oats and his players spent some time with a guy who knows a thing or seven about being a champion.
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At SEC Media Day on Tuesday, Alabama guard Mark Sears said Alabama football coaching legend Nick Saban offered some words of wisdom to the team alongside basketball assistant coach Preston Murphy ahead of the 2024-25 season.
Alabama player Mark Sears signs a basketball for Tripp Freeman as he arrives for SEC Media Day at the Grand Bohemian Hotel in Mountain Brook Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024.
Final Four is 'old news': Alabama basketball coach Nate Oats ready to talk about the new at SEC media day
More SEC Media Day: Five things we learned from Mark Sears, Latrell Wrightsell Jr. about Alabama basketball
The phrase that stuck with Sears, freshly minted as SEC Preseason Player of the Year and CBS Preseason National Player of the Year, was "rat poison."
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"'You can't let all the rat poison get to you and cause you to stop working out, stop going hard at practice ...'" Sears recited.
Being complacent was never acceptable for Saban. It isn't something that's acceptable for Oats now.
Sep 7, 2024; Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA; Nick Saban and family are honored a half time with the renaming of the playing surface as Nick Saban Filed at Bryant-Denny Stadium. Nick Saban expresses his feelings about the honor during remarks made at halftime of the game with South Florida. Mandatory Credit: Gary Cosby Jr.-Imagn Images
That's why Alabama has portal additions like 6-foot-11 Rutgers transfer Clif Omoruyi, the projected rim protector, along with new faces on the coaching staff like former Detroit Pistons assistant Brian Adams.
When Oats reflected on the process that went into filling the third assistant position, he recalled saying, "If you can't coach a top-five defense in the country, don't bother applying."
Alabama head coach Nate Oats speaks during SEC Media Day at the Grand Bohemian Hotel in Mountain Brook Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024.
Players have adopted the same mentality. Especially Sears, who forwent the NBA draft and opted to return to Tuscaloosa for his final season of eligibility.
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To Sears, it was exactly what the team needed to hear because of all of the preseason recognition Alabama is receiving.
On Monday, it was announced that league and national media selected the Crimson Tide as the favorite to finish first in the SEC. Earlier that day, Alabama received its highest preseason ranking in program history from the Associated Press, landing at No. 2 in the top 25 behind Kansas with 14 first-place votes.
"We're going to be hunted ... throughout the season," Sears said.
Emilee Smarr covers Alabama basketball and Crimson Tide athletics for the Tuscaloosa News. She can be reached via email at esmarr@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Alabama basketball got advice from Nick Saban before championship hunt
