The Alabama Crimson Tide will begin its NCAA Tournament run on Friday afternoon against Hofstra as Nate Oats tries to get his team back to the Final Four, but he will be doing so without one of his most important players.

Star guard Aden Holloway was arrested on Monday on a felony marijuana charge after authorities found more than two pounds of marijuana in his apartment following the execution of a search warrant.

Holloway is currently removed from campus and not with the team as both his basketball and legal status remain up in the air, but that has not stopped Oats from communicating with the player.

While speaking at his press conference upon the team’s arrival to Tampa Bay, Oats said he will continue to love and support Holloway in any way he can rather than just ignoring him because he made a mistake.

“I’m an adult. I’ve made mistakes. We all have things we’d like to do differently,” Oats said after revealing that he had met with Holloway both in person and over the phone. “Now is not the time to ignore a kid you’ve built a real relationship with. Now is the time he needs more love from the adults in his life at any point…You get into [coaching] to help impact young men’s lives. If you disappear when they made a mistake, not so sure that’s a genuine relationship you built. I’ve got three daughters — they’ve made mistakes. You don’t disappear on them when they need your help.”

Though Holloway clearly is not in a great situation, hopefully having his coach there for him will help his personal and professional development both now and in the future.