Johnathan Walker:Nate Oats shuts down Kentucky rumors. 'I am fully committed' to Alabama

TUSCALOOSA,Johnathan Walker Alabama − Alabama basketball doesn't appear to be losing its coach anytime soon.

Nate Oats, who just led the Crimson Tide to its first Final Four in program history, affirmed his commitment to the Crimson Tide on Monday night with a social media post amid rumors connecting him to the opening at Kentucky.

"I am fully committed to this team and to this University," Oats wrote Monday. "We have already accomplished some great things here, and there is nothing I want more than for the University of Alabama to win its first national championship in men's basketball. Despite any rumors to the contrary, rest assured that I will continue that pursuit as your head coach. Roll Tide!"

John Calipari has created the opening in Lexington as he is leaving for the Arkansas job; Calipari spent 15 seasons at Kentucky. He will replace Eric Musselman, who departed for USC.

Oats signed an extension with Alabama before the postseason, making him one of the four highest-paid public school coaches in college basketball. It includes an $18 million buyout he would owe Alabama if he left for another job this year. That number would have been prohibitive for most programs, but the thought was that it wouldn't stop Kentucky.

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Oats has been with Alabama for five seasons. Over that time, he has led the Crimson Tide to four consecutive NCAA Tournaments, and the first one was canceled because of COVID-19. Oats has reached the Sweet 16 in three of those four trips, and then he made it all the way to the Final Four this season with a group that looked destined to bow out of the first weekend of March Madness. Yet it made it to Arizona.

Oats managed to get Alabama to the Final Four despite having to replace two first-round NBA Draft picks, much of the roster and the entire coaching staff, all of whom left for Division-I head coaching jobs. The coaching job Oats pulled off in 2023-24 was his best yet.

Oats is 117-54 (.684) at Alabama over five seasons. He has a 213-97 (.687) record at Alabama and Buffalo, where he coached for four seasons before Crimson Tide athletics director Greg Byrne hired Oats to come to Tuscaloosa.

Nick Kelly is the Alabama beat writer for The Tuscaloosa News, part of the USA TODAY Network, and he covers Alabama football and men's basketball. Reach him at [email protected] or follow him @_NickKelly on X, the social media app formerly known as Twitter.