Alabama Basketball Hiring Pelicans Assistant Ryan Pannone

Nate Oats has now filled two of his three replacement hires on his coaching staff.

Alabama Athletics

After losing all three assistant coaches from the 2022-23 season to head coaching jobs around the country, Alabama basketball and head coach Nate Oats have now filled two of three open spots on the coaching staff with the hiring of Ryan Pannone as an assistant coach.

Pannone, just 38 years old, has served as an assistant coach for the New Orleans Pelicans since 2022.

Prior to coaching for the Pelicans, Pannone was the head coach of the Pelicans' G-League affiliate Birmingham Squadron from 2019-2021. He has also spent time coaching overseas in Israel, Slovakia, Germany and China, as well as in the JUCO ranks in the United States.

While coaching the Squadron, he was a huge proponent of a fast-paced offensive style of play, which goes hand-in-hand with how Oats runs his offenses at the collegiate level.

Pannone's prowess in the X's and O's side of basketball makes him the logical replacement for now-Georgia Southern head coach Charlie Henry, who also was a G-League head coach before his Alabama tenure.

Joining Nicholls State head coach Austin Claunch who was reported last week to be taking one of the other remaining staff openings, Oats has one hire left to make to complete his staff for the 2023-24 season.

Alabama's roster still has turnover to deal with in addition to the coaching changes as the offseason trudges on, with three open scholarships for transfer portal players to fill and three players currently testing the NBA Draft waters. 

See also:

Alabama Basketball Roster Tracker: 2023 Offseason

Report: Alabama Basketball Hiring Nicholls State Head Coach as Assistant

Latest NBA Draft Projections for Brandon Miller, Noah Clowney