Season six in Tuscaloosa is different for Nate Oats. Things are different with the Alabama Crimson Tide basketball program. After the program's first-ever Final Four appearance, Nate Oats and his players are talking about winning it all in the 2024-25 season.

The bold speech is justified. Recently, Oats said of the national championship goals: “I like the fact that they have big goals. I don't think we want people who sell themselves short. I think we have the talent, we should talk about it.

Last season, a very good Alabama basketball team was missing a key component to championship success. Alabama lacked consistent rim protection. This season, Cliff Omoruyi is one who is an all-around solid defender, shot blocker, tenacious rebounder and aggressive offensive player.

Omoruyi isn't the only important addition to the Tide's roster. Nate Oats has everything it takes to fight for the championship. Alabama's roster has never been more deep or full of talent. Distributing logs will be a challenge. Two or three good players won't get many minutes. One or more players could even redshirt, the most likely being Naas Cunningham.

When the season begins Monday night against UNC-Asheville, roster rotation will be easier. Chris Youngblood is still recovering from an injury. Grant Nelson, Latrell Wrightsell Jr. and newcomer Aiden Sherrell are expected to play. The trio is not at 100% and is being carefully worked into the regular rotation by starting the season with a minute restriction.

As usual with Nate Oats, the 2024-25 schedule is fraught with difficulty. Excluding last season's SEC teams, the schedule includes seven NCAA Tournament teams from last season; Three are 1-seed teams in the Big Dance. Three lesser-known non-conference opponents are projected to win their respective leagues. Purdue and Houston are among the top favorites to win the Big Ten and Big 12. To make matters worse, every SEC road game will once again pose a significant challenge.

Winning a national championship in college basketball is more difficult than other college and team sports. In the end, you have to win six (or seven for a play-in team) games in a row, usually two or three of those games against top teams that are playing their best at the end of the season.

As hard as it is to win it all, the 2024-25 season could be a triple championship season for the Alabama Crimson Tide.