Oats Still Sees Room For Improvement

Beating a tough conference foe to remain in first place in your league by 25 points at home is a good thing, right?

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Well, any good coach will tell you his team could have done better in at least one phase. Here's what Nate Oats said after No. 15 Alabama beat Texas A&M 100-75 Saturday at Coeman Coliseum:

Opening Statement

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"That's a big win. We've got teams right on our tail in the SEC.

'We didn't do a good job on the  glass. They rebounded 52 per cent of their misses.

"We've got to box out and rebound, and after they get an offensive rebound we've got to get a stop. We did a decent job after they got offensive boards but 21 second chance points is a lot.

"We were fortunate we got them at home and shot the ball well."

On Nick Saban speaking to the team Friday

"To me he's the best team coach of any sport. I thought it would be good for our guys to hear from him on what it took to win

"I thought he was really good. He's won a ton of games."

On the defense

"You can be really good at a lot of things on defense and not be great. We were improved, but not where we needed to be.

"I thought Sears was better. He won the Hard Hat.

"We were better. No where close to where I'd like to see us but trending in the right direction."

On Latrell Wrightsell

"Why he would ever pass up on open shot is beyond me. Any time he's open, he should be shooting the ball.

"I should probably draw up more plays for him. When he gets double digits we're 8-0."

On Sam Walters

"We want him to be aggressive. He led us in rebounds. We want shooters and we want them to shoot."