Nate Oats reveals the moment he knew Grant Nelson had to be inserted into Alabama's lineup in order to beat Robert Morris
What makes March Madness so special is that on any given Thursday and Friday of opening week, a small school can take down a blue blood. And on Friday, the Alabama Crimson Tide aimed to coast to a round one victory against Robert Morris, letting big man Grant Nelson get his rest ahead of Sunday. […]
What makes March Madness so special is that on any given Thursday and Friday of opening week, a small school can take down a blue blood.
And on Friday, the Alabama Crimson Tide aimed to coast to a round one victory against Robert Morris, letting big man Grant Nelson get his rest ahead of Sunday.
Only, things weren't that easy, and to keep themselves from being on the receiving end of a Cinderella story, Alabama MBB HC Nate Oats had to pull out all the stops…
"When he [Grant Nelson] told me he was ready, I think he sensed it. We can't afford to lose this," Coach Oats told TruTV after the win. "He stood up, like, 'Put me in.' We were trying to get out of that game without playing him, but it does us no good if he doesn't play and we go home."
Nelson has been nursing a tweaked knee that originally had many Alabama supporters scared. It became clear in recent days, however, that Nelson and the Tide avoided a big one…
"Not sure he’ll be ready by Friday," Oats said earlier in the week. "We’re hoping at a minimum he’d be ready by Sunday with the possibility of maybe Friday… We dodged one, it wasn’t anything too serious with his knee but for sure will be questionable for Friday.”
That was far from the case, and Nelson had to appear when the Tide suddenly trailed RMU. Judging by their win, it's clear that inserting Nelson was a smart decision, even if the box score didn't show it.
"I trust him. He shows up big in big games. … I think he'll be alright," Oats said of Nelson after the game. "We got to him a bunch of rehab because we're for sure gonna need him no matter which team we play. They got a lot bigger front court, [whether it's] Saint Mary's or Vandy."
Expect Nelson to have a much bigger impact on Sunday, with the potential to see him inserted into the starting lineup.
It's clear the Tide will need him.
