About a year ago, with Duke legend Mike Krzyzewski about to ride off into the sunset, I wrote a column wondering who would become college basketball’s next great villain. Such a figure would need to combine arrogance with victory, infusing a talented team with an infuriating they-hate-us-’cause-they-ain’t-us attitude.
I didn’t mention Alabama and Nate Oats in that column, but the Crimson Tide and their head coach are now deep in serious villain territory, not the sports-talk Coach K version, barreling into the 2023 NCAA tournament with the wagons circled and the sports bar arguments ready to go.