The Alabama Crimson Tide are heading to the Elite 8 after upsetting the North Carolina Tar Heels on Thursday night. Led by an absolutely spectacular performance by transfer big man Grant Nelson, the Crimson Tide picked up an 89-87 win to earn a matchup with the Clemson Tigers for a spot in the Final Four.
The Tar Heels had absolutely nothing for Nelson, who had 24 points, 12 rebounds, and five blocks while shooting 6-for-9 from the field, 2-for-2 from three, and 10-for-13 from the free throw line. And in the immediate aftermath of the game, Alabama coach Nate Oats decided to take a few shots at Charles Barkley, who said before the game that the Crimson Tide are “frail” and “can’t handle North Carolina in the post.”
“Charles Barkley called us frail. I don’t think [Grant Nelson] was frail tonight.” – Alabama HC Nate Oats #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/YEKmvdcrNp
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) March 29, 2024
“Charles Barkley called us frail, I don’t think [Nelson] was frail tonight,” Oats said. “He showed up tonight.”
Oats then went into the locker room to address his team and once again decided to go after Barkley for his comment.
Tonight’s Hard Hat winner: Grant “Not so Frail” Nelson!#RollTide | #BlueCollarBasketball pic.twitter.com/k0KFZjcpd0
— Alabama Men’s Basketball (@AlabamaMBB) March 29, 2024
“Where’s the cameras?” Oats asked. “Charles Barkley called us frail. I think he was talking about Grant … Hey, we ain’t frail, we ain’t frail. And we’re in the Elite 8, and we’re one game away from a Final Four.”
Barkley’s comments also managed to draw the ire of some Alabama players, who took exception to him using the word frail. Barkley, of course, went to Auburn and famously once said that if Alabama played Afghanistan in anything, he’d root for Afghanistan, so our hunch is he didn’t love being on the receiving end of some jokes like this.