So, Kentucky basketball, you want Alabama's Nate Oats? He's under lock and key | Toppmeyer

• Alabama is investing in Nate Oats and protecting its investment. Oats would owe an $18 million buyout if he leaves for another job before April 1, 2026.
• While Nate Oats is the face of new-age college basketball, Kentucky's John Calipari is a throwback to old school.
• On the backs of transfers, Alabama will play in its first Final Four in program history.

Who you gonna get?

That’s the relevant response when a disgruntled fan base wants to "fire everybody!"

I pondered that question while boiling-hot Kentucky fans wanted John Calipari on the first carriage out of town after the Wildcats’ first-round NCAA Tournament loss to Oakland.

OK, Big Blue Nation, who you gonna get?

You still stuck on Scott Drew? I often hear Baylor's coach mentioned atop the wish list. I’m not convinced Drew would skedaddle from Baylor, a lower-pressure job where he won a national championship and enjoys a nice payday.

Anyway, would Drew be worth the investment? Baylor won its national championship in 2021, but that’s the only time Drew advanced beyond the NCAA’s second round since 2018.

Kentucky decided to retain Calipari for another reload. If he fizzles again in 2025 and UK wants to swing big, shouldn’t it prefer Alabama’s Nate Oats to Drew?

The idea tempts some Cats fans, but could UK even afford to make a run at Oats?

Trying to pry loose Alabama's coach becomes more difficult with each contract extension.

Final Four increases Nate Oats' appeal, but he's got a whopper contract

Oats profiles as an appealing – albeit expensive – heir.

Kentucky fans agree. A recent poll on Kentucky’s Rivals.com site asked UK fans if they viewed Oats as an acceptable replacement to Calipari. Nearly 200 people voted, with 91% voting ‘yes.’

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“Nate Oates (sic). John Oates. Quaker Oates (sic). All preferred over Cal,” one fan wrote.

I can’t speak to Quaker’s basketball chops, but Nate Oats lifted a football school to its first Final Four ever.

Meanwhile, Calipari is about as welcome in Kentucky as a bourbon shortage. He fell behind, in part, because of his reluctance to embrace college hoops’ transfer era. In contrast, Oats welcomed transfers after he returned one starter from last season’s team that bowed out in the Sweet 16.

Oats doesn’t ignore talented recruits. He lined up three national top-50 prospects for next season. He just knows better than to trust the load to their shoulders.

And Alabama knows better than to let Oats slip out the side door.

His newest contract runs through 2030. He'll earn $5 million next season. The salary will increase throughout the deal. That’s the price for making basketball cool and successful in Tuscaloosa.

Here's the contract kicker: Oats' buyout for leaving before April 1, 2026, would be $18 million.

I think that translates to: Sorry, Cats. Oats remains under lock and key.

The Tide proved willing to uplift and invest in basketball, and athletics director Greg Byrne is known for hiring good coaches, not losing them.

Nate Oats once labeled John Calipari a whiner

Oats once described Kentucky fans as "spoiled." While Buffalo’s coach, Oats called Calipari a whiner. That made Oats an enemy of UK fans. Now, that comment would win BBN’s soul.  

If Calipari, 65, fronts the old school, then Oats, 49, leads a wave of Gen X whippersnappers. His gameday strategy relies on analytics – shoot from either 3 feet or 23 feet – and he plunders portal prizes who previously starred at midmajors. Veteran transfers are invaluable to deep NCAA Tournament runs.

The hero of Alabama’s Sweet 16 win over No. 1 North Carolina? A transfer. Mustachioed senior Grant Nelson wasn’t a blue-chip teenager like those Calipari attracts. He’s a 22-year-old North Dakota State transfer who played grown-man ball against the Tar Heels.

Aaron Estrada also delivered a big performance in against UNC. Estrada transferred to Alabama from Hofstra before the season.

Alabama’s best player, point guard Mark Sears, transferred to the Tide from Ohio in 2022.

Add ‘em up, and none of Alabama’s top three scorers signed to play for Oats out of high school.

Welcome to college basketball in 2024.

Maybe, Calipari finally will adapt how he builds his rosters, but he's got a sweet payday coming if he fails.

Calipari's buyout after next season would exceed $28 million, paid in monthly installments through 2029. Calipari’s buyout would be reduced if he gained new employment, but, might he just retire and count his severance?

So, the question facing Kentucky is really three questions: Who you gonna get? How much are you willing to pay? And would that coach even be interested?

Alabama made it to where Oats doesn’t need to go anywhere but the Final Four, while Calipari reassembles the pieces, and I continue to ponder: Who you gonna get, Kentucky?

Blake Toppmeyer is the USA TODAY Network's SEC Columnist. Email him at BToppmeyer@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter @btoppmeyer.

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