Nate Oats Debates Coach's Challenge, Quarters vs. Halves, Advancing Ball

Coach's Challenge

"I've been one to save my timeouts for late in the game," Oats said. "We had a clinic here on Monday. We had a bunch of NBA guys in here. I spent some time with a few NBA guys who had, you know, analytically, the analytics people tell you a possession's a possession. If it's the right time to challenge, you challenge the first play of the game.

"I'm an analytics guy, so that resonates on some level, but you screw up the first play of the game, you've got time to make up for. To me, there's probably a reason they've been able to go to the monitor in the last two minutes of games, because those plays seem to resonate a lot bigger with everyone, including the players, coaches and everybody.

"So, I think one [thing] is we got to get our film guy really good. You better give me a correct answer real fast on the bench. Do we challenge or not? Because I'm probably going to want to challenge like 20 calls. But I mean, unless it's an egregious one early, my gut is I'm probably going to be saving it for something that's later in the game. That's kind of a big momentum-shifting play possibly.

"And the one thing is you don't want to never use it all game and lose a game by one possession, saving it when you should have used it midway through the first half or the second half either.

"So there's going to definitely be some talk. The good thing I've got over here is we've got multiple NBA assistants that are on staff. I just hired Chris Fleming. He's been in the NBA for 10 years. Brian Adams has been in the NBA, I think for like 16 years.

"So we've got multiple NBA assistants who have done this. You know, Brian was head coach of the G League, so they've had it there. So we've got some guys on the bench that have some experience with this so they can hopefully help me out with it a little bit."

Quarters vs. Halves

"I'd be more for quarters," Oats said. "I think everybody else, I think men's college basketball is the only league that's not playing by quarters. So what are we still doing? The games played in high school, Europe, FIBA, NBA, women's, like why are we still the only ones doing it now?

"Now not just because everybody does it, that's not a good reason necessarily do it. But it gives a reset on the fouls for one. So you don't just live in the bonus all game. People aren't coming to just watch a free-throw contest. Some of these college games you might be in a bonus four minutes into the half and for 16 minutes you're in the bonus.

"So with quarters, the bonus can reset. There's more situational-type basketball where some some IQ comes into play, trying to play the 2 for one at the end of the quarters, try getting the proper shots. I think there's a little bit more coaching in it and kind of matches what everybody else is doing in basketball.

"But I think for a multitude of reasons, we should go to quarters. I don't know if they've got to get the rules committee and all that. They're redoing the committee with the new House settlement, the Power Four and all that stuff going on.

"So maybe when they get that settled, maybe they'll put me on a rules committee and we get something changed."

Advancing the Ball After Timeouts

"I'm for it." Oats said. "I like watching the NBA. I think it gives teams [a chance] late game.

"I mean, look, we're trying to compete. But it is an entertainment business. It makes the game more entertaining in my opinion when you can advance the ball to give yourself a chance to score late in the game off a timeout with three seconds to go.

"It's really hard to score full court, but you can advance the ball again in the front court. Give yourself 3 seconds and draw something. It also I think plays to being prepared as a coach, which anything to me that plays into all the more prepared teams, prepared coaches, to get a better chance to win, I'm all for it."