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Nate Oats comments on Alabama plan to slow down Cooper Flagg
By Sydney Hunte
Published:
Nate Oats and Alabama will face freshman sensation Cooper Flagg and Duke on Saturday, with the winner headed to the Final Four.
If the Crimson Tide want to move on, they’ll need to stop Flagg, who exploded for 30 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, and 3 blocks against Arizona. But how will they do it?
“We’re gonna have to try different guys on him for sure. He’s essentially their 4-man but plays like a 2-guard,” Oats said on “College GameDay” on Saturday. “You can’t out traditional 4s. But I think we’ve got 4s — Grant Nelson moves fairly well, (Mouhamed) Dioubate moves really well, Jarin Stevenson is 6-10 but he’s guarded guys like (North Carolina’s) RJ Davis (and) Josh Hubbard (from Mississippi State). He’s guarded small guys. He can move well. We’ve got Derrion Reid who’s in the same class as him that’s guarded him. He’s got decent size. We’ve got different options.”
As evidenced by his statline against Arizona, Flagg is a player that can hurt teams in a variety of ways.
“What we can’t have him doing is going for 30 and also getting 7 or 8 assists, and picking up a bunch of fouls and offensive rebounds. You’re going to have to somehow limit him in that regard,” Oats said.
Sydney is an Atlanta-based journalist who has covered everything from SEC and ACC football to MLS, the U.S. men's national soccer team and professional tennis. His work has appeared on such platforms as SB Nation, Cox Media Group and FanSided.
