Ryan Pannone is back in Tuscaloosa this week, and Nate Oats made sure everyone understood exactly what kind of coach - and what kind of person - Alabama is getting ready to see across the sideline.
Pannone, now leading Arkansas State in his first season, brings a résumé Oats doesn’t take lightly. The Red Wolves were one of only two Division I men’s basketball teams to win at least 20 games last season after a complete roster reset, joining Miami (Florida) in that category. For Oats, that was no accident.
“He works extremely hard,” Oats said. “He watches probably more video than anybody I know.”
That kind of praise carries weight coming from Oats, who spent two seasons with Pannone on his staff. Those years lined up with some of Alabama’s best basketball under Oats: a Final Four run in Pannone’s first season and an Elite Eight trip the next.
On Friday, at Coleman Coliseum, the two will meet again when Alabama hosts Arkansas State at 6:30 p.m. CT on SEC Network+.
Oats said Pannone’s fingerprints were all over the Crimson Tide’s offense during that stretch. Alabama finished No. 2 and No. 4 nationally in offensive efficiency in those two seasons, according to KenPom, and scored 100 points or more 17 times. Oats said Pannone helped shape the style that eventually fueled Alabama’s run of three straight seasons leading the country in scoring and finishing in the top five in offensive efficiency.
“Ryan’s a great coach, both sides of the ball,” Oats said. “He came here to really get our offense, we’d been pretty good, but he kind of started that run where we’ve had three straight years leading the country in scoring, being top five in offensive efficiency.
So they run very similar stuff. He’s tailored it to his personnel more.
But they’re good.”
The respect goes beyond the results. Oats said Pannone was already sending him video before he ever hired him, and that habit never changed. Pannone, a former New Orleans Pelicans assistant and G-League head coach who has also worked overseas, has built a reputation for living in the film room.
“The thing that separates Ryan from a lot of the other guys in the profession is, the amount of time he puts into his craft,” Oats said. “I’ve had really good coaches. I’ve got guys who work really hard, guys who work really hard right now.”
Pannone once laid out just how obsessive that routine could be. In a 2024 interview with The Tuscaloosa News, he said he would wake up at 6 a.m., get to the office an hour later, watch film until 8 a.m., then keep watching during a team film session.
After practice, more film. He would step away from 4 to 8 p.m.
CT to spend time with his family, then return to film until about 1 a.m. Pannone also said he doesn’t have any hobbies.
There’s one more thing Oats wanted to make sure people knew about his former assistant: he knows food. Oats told reporters to get Pannone’s number if they ever want a recommendation, and said Pannone planned to hit some of his favorite Tuscaloosa spots while in town, including taking Arkansas State to Chuck’s Fish. Oats even joked the game might be sponsored by TuscNY pizza.
“Not only is he an elite basketball coach,” Oats said, “he’s an elite foodie.”
For Oats, Friday night also means another chance to stay unbeaten against one of his former assistants. And while the matchup brings familiar schemes and familiar faces, Oats still sounds like a coach who knows exactly what he’s up against.
“He’s a fun guy to be around,” Oats said.
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