Alabama's Oats questions Coach K's motives for wanting season reassessed

Alabama men's basketball coach Nate Oats is questioning Mike Krzyzewski's motives for calling on the NCAA to reassess its current playing schedule during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Let me ask you a question," Oats said Thursday, according to the Tuscaloosa News' Cecil Hurt. "Do you think Coach K would be saying that if he hadn't lost those two non-conference games at home?"

On Tuesday, the Hall of Fame Duke coach wondered aloud why the NCAA was continuing its basketball schedule with the pandemic causing multiple college athletics programs in the U.S. to suspend activities.

"I would just like for the safety, the mental and physical health of our players and staff, to assess where we're at," Krzyzewski said.

Duke is currently 2-2 on the season, its worst start since 1999-2000.

Krzyzewski has been criticized in some quarters before for something similar. The coach sat out the bulk of the 1994-95 season after undergoing back surgery in the midst of a 13-18 campaign, Duke's only losing season since 1982-83.