The Alabama Crimson Tide men’s basketball team are among the most hyped up preseason teams in the nation, seeing top-three rankings and often No. 1 overall in most major preseason polls.

The return of the nucleus from last season’s first-ever Final Four in program history team along with the addition of a ton of new talent combine for possibly the best roster the Tide have ever had.

But head coach Nate Oats knows it takes much more than just talented players to achieve the ultimate goal of winning a national championship.

The social media team for the program has been chronicling the team retreat in Linden, AL, where the players are being put through various military drills, difficult exercises, team bonding activities, scavenger hunts in the middle of the forest, and perhaps most importantly, competition amongst each other:

Maximum Effort.#RollTide | #BlueCollarBasketball pic.twitter.com/IziiFwCOkY

— Alabama Men’s Basketball (@AlabamaMBB) August 27, 2024

Continuous Growth.#RollTide | #BlueCollarBasketball pic.twitter.com/2KpusG7jQd

— Alabama Men’s Basketball (@AlabamaMBB) August 28, 2024

Day Two.#RollTide | #BlueCollarBasketball pic.twitter.com/BvaMG5tPbW

— Alabama Men’s Basketball (@AlabamaMBB) August 28, 2024

Day Three.#RollTide | #BlueCollarBasketball pic.twitter.com/R2DgR6vlOc

— Alabama Men’s Basketball (@AlabamaMBB) August 29, 2024

By the looks of it, the players are going through an absolute gauntlet. Ultimately though, they will be better for it. While things came together obviously in March, effort and togetherness seemed like an issue frequently for the 2023-24 team, especially on the defensive side.

Clearly, Nate Oats is trying to rectify that now with the season still months away.

If it really is the special season in Tuscaloosa that it looks like it could be in 2024-25 for the Crimson Tide, this will be a fun memory to look back on for the players, the coaches, and the fans.