Nate Oats Calls Aden Holloway One of the 'Best Shooters' He's Ever Coached

In Alabama's 100-87 victory over Illinois on Wednesday, when the Tide avenged its first loss of the season, guard Mark Sears scored zero points on 0-for-5 shooting and didn't play during the final stretch of the game. 

In his place, transfer guard Aden Holloway scored 18 points while shooting 7-for-10 from the field and 3-for-4 from behind the arc. This prompted head coach Nate Oats to make a bold claim about his point guard. 

"He's one of the best shooters I've ever coached, so him going 3-of-4 is not surprising." Oats said. "I thought he pushed the pace tonight. He's super skilled."

The skills are unsurprising as Holloway was a consensus five-star recruit out of high school and was ranked as the No. 6 point guard in his class while also being named a McDonald's All-American. 

Last season, Holloway starred at Auburn, where he finished as an All-SEC Freshman after averaging 7.3 points and 2.7 assists per game. 

Holloway and freshman guard Labaron Philon were the two guards who played in place of the aforementioned Sears. Illinois didn't go away and produced multiple runs to cut the lead to single digits. Every single time, Philon and Holloway found a way to push that lead back out of reach.

After the Tide's loss on Friday night, one in which Alabama fell apart in the final 11 minutes. Wednesday night showed a team that learned how to finish a game. The Crimson Tide could've faltered just like Friday night, but it was a different story. Holloway was a crucial part of changing that.