Oats and his assistant, Preston Murphy traveled up north to White Plains, NY to get a good look at the Ratliff twins – Darius and Adonis – the sons of former NBA All Star, Theo. Theo had grown up in Demopolis, AL -- just an hour drive to Tuscaloosa

The Ratliff twins have been at the center of the recruiting trail for college basketball coaches around the country. The coach of Pitt basketball, Jeff Capel and his assistant visited Archbishop Stepinac High School where Darius and Adonis play – along with Arkansas head coach John Calipari.

Not only that, assistants from Creighton, Florida, and Oklahoma State were in town this past Wednesday.

But the Ratliffs were convinced that the Crimson Tide were the most adamant about bringing them into Tuscaloosa.

“They’re recruiting hard,” Adonis told basketball reporter Adam Zagoria. “They want us to go to the school and just want us to be part of their team. They let their bigs play like a big guard position, make reads or pick and pop into a DHO or hitting a slip or hitting the back door cut, so even bringing the ball up. So it’s just a play style, like everyone [can] be a big guard.”

Adonis’ description of how Alabama views them seems to tie in perfectly with how Oats coaches his teams.

Oats likes to coach his teams with a lot of tempo, a lot of perimeter shooting, and emphasizing his players’ athleticism. He’s widely renowned as a “players coach,” someone highly values developing a relationship with his players and helping them develop to be the best players they can be.

Both Adonis and Darius stand at 6-foot-11 and are given a four-star rating from 247Sports, but what makes them both so special is their ability to stretch the floor at a high level.

Of course, they both have their father’s length, who led the NBA in blocks three separate times, but they can both shoot at a high level. Having two near-seven footers on the floor, can unlock the Crimson Tide on the hardwood.

This week has been a critical week in Tide Hoops recruiting. After seeing the Ratliff twins earlier this week, Alabama is currently hosting three of the nations top recruits in five-stars Caleb Holt, Dylan Mingo, and four-star Jaxon Richardson.

Richardson is another son of a former longtime NBA veteran in Jason, who played in the league for 13 years.

If Oats can secure even one of these recruits, it’ll be a massive win for the program. But from the looks of it, it seems as if the Ratliff twins are a package deal.

Will the twins follow in their father’s footsteps by playing in Alabama? It seems like Oats is adamant to secure them both.