Nate Oats Takes Jab at Coach K: "We Should 100 Percent Be Playing Basketball"

The Crimson Tide coach doesn't think the season should be suspended or delayed due to rising COVID-19 numbers.

After an 83-68 home loss to No. 6 Illinois earlier this week, No. 10 Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski called for the NCAA to reassess playing college basketball during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

"You have 2,000 deaths a day. You have 200,000 cases. People are saying the next six weeks are going be the worst. To me, it’s already pretty bad," Krzyzewski said. "On the other side of it, there are these vaccines that are coming out. By the end of the month 20 million vaccine shots will be given. By the end of January or in February, another 100 million. Should we not reassess that? See just what would be best?"

The comments followed the Blue Devils' second loss on Tuesday inside Cameron Indoor this season, with the first coming at the hands of No. 4 Michigan State, 75-69. 

"Look, I just got my butt beat by a lot. Anything I say, someone can say, ‘He’s saying that because he got his butt beat,'" Krzyzeswki said. "Do I think things should be done a little bit different? I mean, yeah. A lot of kids aren’t going to be able to go home for Christmas. It’s probably a time when they should, for mental health. But we’re just plowing through this."

Duke canceled its remaining nonconference games on Thursday.

Iona coach Rick Pitino has made similar comments.

However, Alabama coach Nate Oats doesn't agree, and insinuated Krzyzewski would feel differently if the Blue Devils were playing better.

"Let me ask you a question," Oats told reporters via Zoom on Thursday afternoon. "Do you think if Coach K hadn't lost the two non-conference games at home that he would still be saying that?"

"Here's my deal on it, we would have a lot more problems if we weren't playing games," Oats added. "Here's the other thing, if COVID is so bad—look, I'm trying to do my best to keep the mask up, I've already had COVID so I technically don't have to wear my mask because I'm still in the 150 days the NCAA recommends—I see other guys [coaches] who haven't had it and they are masked down the entire game. It's like they have a chin strap on. So if they are really worried about COVID, then you would think their mask would be up the whole game.

"We should be playing, in my opinion. We should 100 percent be playing basketball. No body talks about the mental aspect. There's a kid out of Detroit, I talked to his uncle the other day, and his cousin played for me when I was up there. He went to a high-major, then had a mental health issue and came home because he was quarantined for weeks on end when he got there.

"Like, what are they supposed to do? I've got three daughters and they need to be in school. Humans aren't made to sit in isolation for weeks and weeks on end. We gotta be careful on how we do life, but you still have to do life. A huge part of life for these guys that I'm coaching is being in the gym playing basketball. Their mental health is in a much better spot playing basketball and the school, the SEC, the NCAA has done a really nice job in making sure we are not putting any of them in danger. 

"I don't agree with them at all."