Nate Oats and his "Blue Collar Basketball" are a force to be reckoned with, leading the Crimson Tide to the top of the SEC. And of all the battles he has had to go up against on the court, the hardest one yet was the one that took place off of it.
In a hospital room in October 2015, his wife, Crystal Oats, was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive form of cancer. The diagnosis came at a pivotal moment in Nate’s career.
He had just been promoted to head coach at the University of Buffalo after Bobby Hurley left for Arizona State. While Nate was preparing to lead a Division I program for the first time, Crystal was beginning an intensive fight against double-hit lymphoma.
Double-hit lymphoma is a particularly "fast-acting" subtype of B-cell lymphoma. Due to its aggressive nature, Crystal Oats had to undergo grueling rounds of chemotherapy.
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The treatment required her to be hospitalized for five days at a time every three weeks. During this period, the Buffalo community and the college basketball world rallied around the Oats family with #OatsStrong.
Despite the physical toll of the treatment, the strength with which Crystal went through with it became an inspirational force in the Bulls' locker room. With a whole support system rallying behind them, the family received the news they were waiting for in August 2016: Crystal was officially in remission.
The Oats family — including daughters, Lexie, Jocie and Brielle — has since used their platform to support cancer research and patient advocacy. Crystal is now over a decade cancer-free and remains a constant fixture behind the Alabama bench.
The Crimson Tide are in the Sweet 16 for the fifth time in Oats' seven seasons at the helm. Alabama, a No. 4 seed, will take on No. 1 seed Michigan at 7:35 p.m. ET on Friday in the Midwest Regional in Chicago.
