Assistant coach leaving Pelicans to join Nate Oats' Alabama staff

Nate Oats is pulling from the NBA ranks to replenish his coaching staff.

ESPN’s Jonathan Givony reported on Saturday that New Orleans Pelicans assistant coach Ryan Pannone has accepted an offer to become an assistant at the University of Alabama. Pannone will work under the Crimson Tide head coach Oats.

The 38-year-old Pannone has experience coaching in the state of Alabama, serving as an assistant for Wallace State Community College in 2011-12. He then coached as an assistant for professional teams in China, Germany and Israel before spending several seasons as a head coach in the NBA G League. Pannone just finished his first season as an assistant under Willie Green in New Orleans, which came to an end after a 42-40 regular-season record followed by a loss in the play-in tournament.

Givony notes that three Alabama assistant coaches from last season (Bryan Hodgson, Charlie Henry and Antoine Pettway) left to accept head-coaching jobs elsewhere. It was an up-and-down year for Oats and the Crimson Tide. They won 31 games, took home the SEC Championship and earned a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, but they were upset by San Diego State in the Sweet 16 and faced some major off-court controversies as well. Now Pannone will be part of the staff tasked with steadying the ship for next year.