Myron MedcalfMar 16, 2026, 09:14 PM ET
- Covers college basketball
- Joined ESPN.com in 2011
- Graduate of Minnesota State University, Mankato
Alabama head coach Nate Oats said the team is preparing to play "without" star Aden Holloway in the NCAA tournament following his arrest Monday morning on a felony drug charge.
Holloway was "removed from campus" and is not with the team four days before an NCAA tournament matchup against Hofstra on Friday, per a team spokesperson, after authorities allegedly found more than a pound of marijuana at a home.
"We got standards in our program and we've got ways we've held our guys accountable. And we try to keep everything in-house, obviously some of the situations you can't, and this is one of those," Oats said on his radio show on Monday evening about Holloway, who is second on the team in scoring at 16.8 PPG. "We found out about what was going on this morning, I found out this morning. I guess it all went down this morning. And we had to suspend him pending the investigation. ...
"We're certainly disappointed in his behavior. But that being said, we still love him, he's still our guy. We're helping him get the help that he needs and we're gonna continue to help him whatever way we can. But as far as our team goes, I thought we had a great practice, we're preparing to play without him this weekend."
According to Tuscaloosa County police spokesperson Stephanie Taylor, the 6-foot-1 guard was arrested Monday morning and transported to the Tuscaloosa County jail after agents with the West Alabama Narcotics Task Force searched a local residence and "recovered more than a pound of marijuana, paraphernalia and cash." He is facing a first-degree drug possession charge and a failure to affix a tax stamp charge, both felonies. In the state of Alabama, a first degree drug possession charge can carry a penalty up to 10 years in jail or a $15,000 fine.
Holloway is a star for an Alabama team that's ranked third in adjusted offensive efficiency. The Crimson Tide are also leading the nation at 91.7 PPG. With Holloway on the court this season, Alabama has been 9.7 points per 100 possessions better on offense, according to EvanMiya.com, than they've been without him. He has also been the leading scorer in four of the team's last 11 games. He's an elite 3-point shooter (44 percent) and possesses the highest offensive rating on the team, per KenPom.
His absence would put more pressure on Labaron Philon Jr., a projected first-round pick in the NBA draft this summer. Alabama shoots more 3-pointers, per possession, than any team in America and Holloway is the team's top 3-point shooter.
He scored 18 points on Friday in his team's loss to Ole Miss in the opening round of the SEC tournament.
Holloway posted a $5,000 bond and was released from jail on Monday morning.
As for the NCAA tournament, Alabama could be without one of its best players against a Hofstra squad that's lost one game since Jan. 29. Oats said his team has to move forward.
"While at the same time, Aden is one of our guys and everybody wants to wrap their arms around and love him. Everybody makes mistakes in life, but they also understand, we've gotta move on and we've got a whole other group of guys and the team's gotta go play Friday. I thought we did a good job of that this morning, kind of addressing the situation," Oats said on his radio show.
He added: "I did tell our team, this team -- more than any team I've ever coached -- is better equipped to handle a situation like this. We've won plenty of games with guys not available."
ESPN's Pete Thamel and Jeff Borzello contributed to this report.
