Alabama head coach Nate Oats said he overheard inappropriate comments coming from the Missouri student section during yesterday’s game.
Oats told reporters after Alabama’s 85-64 win that he heard some fans making remarks about former Alabama basketball player Darius Miles, who is one of two men charged with capital murder in the shooting death of 23-year-old Jamea Jonae Harris last weekend.
Miles was dismissed from the Crimson Tide in the immediate aftermath of his arrest. He is currently being held without bond in advance of a probable cause hearing on Feb. 7.
Oats credited Missouri head coach Dennis Gates and the school’s administration with handing yesterday’s issue.
Prior to Saturday’s game, Oats said he spoke with his players about how to handle fans taunting them about their ex-teammate.
“I’ve talked to our team about that,” Oats said, via AL.com. “Basically I told them this: if people want to be ignorant, and say things that are completely out of line — and in this case, I would think, this isn’t a case where somebody got into some trouble. These are serious matters. There’s a five-year old, Kaine, that doesn’t have a mother anymore.
“This is not, to me, something that students should be joking about. If somebody does happen to say something, I just told our guys, you’ve got to be strong enough, tough enough. We’re here to play basketball. We know who we are, what we’ve done. We’re not — if they’re yelling things at us, they’re completely out of line. Ignore them. Move on.”
Alabama returns home to host Mississippi State on Wednesday evening before going back on the road to face Oklahoma next Saturday.