Arkansas State coach Bryan Hodgson had no hard feelings after Friday night's loss to Alabama basketball .
The ex-Crimson Tide assistant called his former colleague Nate Oats the "best coach in college basketball" during postgame press conferences in Coleman Coliseum.
Hodgson commended how Oats has flipped Alabama (2-0) from the middle of the pack and a "hang-around team" in the SEC to the best team in the league.
From the time they started working together at Buffalo, to heading south for Tuscaloosa, Hodgson learned a deal about offense from the Crimson Tide's sixth-year skipper.
A night of Crimson Chaos: Covering Alabama basketball from rowdy student section
Instant takeaways: 13 things we learned from Alabama basketball vs. Arkansas State
Points off of turnovers by Arkansas State chipped into a 16-point first-half lead for Alabama, erasing it all for a tie game with 7:08 to play. Alabama survived the Red Wolves from there, winning 88-79 on Friday. A far cry from the Crimson Tide's healthy 89-65 win over Arkansas State last December.
"I thought I knew basketball when I went to work for Nate at Buffalo, and I learned quickly that he had forgotten more about basketball than I knew," Hodgson said. "But also, one thing about him that we've tried to emulate in our program is when shots aren't falling, find a way to win the basketball game, right?"
Hodgson said he thought Arkansas State found ways to win.
Alabama just did it "better."
The Crimson Tide return to action in Coleman Coliseum on Monday against McNeese State at 6 p.m. CT.
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: Bryan Hodgson: Alabama basketball has 'best coach' in college basketball
