TUSCALOOSA, Ala — A little more than 24 hours after celebrating a victory over LSU, Alabama basketball players met Sunday night to discuss the sobering news of Darius Miles’ arrest for capital murder.
Miles was was one of two men arrested in a fatal shooting that took place just off of The Strip in Tuscaloosa early Sunday morning. Miles and Michael Lynn Davis were charged in the murder of Jamea Jones Harris, 23, who was shot in the incident.
Oats, who learned of the news Sunday morning, gathered his players for a meeting later that night to discuss how the team will move forward.
“This is a really difficult situation,” Oats said during a press conference Monday. “We’re continuing to support each other as we process this and balance school with basketball. To that end, we regrouped this morning to maintain our routine and some structure in the midst of this situation.”
Due to the ongoing investigation, Oats was unable to share any details of the case with his players. Instead, the head coach spent the meeting consoling his team while reminding them of the resources Alabama has in place to aid players in times of grief.
“There were a lot of hugs last night,” Oats said. “Everybody understands the situation. But everyone’s aware of the services offered on campus and are taking advantage of them through our sports medicine for these types of situations. They’re gonna need some additional support moving forward, too.”
Oats expressed his condolences for Harris’ family several times throughout his Monday press conference. When asked how he is processing the incident himself, he said he couldn’t help but think of his own three daughters.
“It went through my mind how easily it could have been one of mine,” he said. “Tough situation. I talked to Darius’ mother multiple times yesterday, a very hard situation on both accounts. Just continue to pray for Jamea and her family. Although I didn’t know them, but they’re certainly in our thoughts and prayers. And continuing to pray for Darius’ situation, too. It’s just an unfortunate incident that I wish we weren’t having to deal with today.”
No. 4 Alabama (15-2, 5-0 in the SEC) will travel to Nashville, Tennessee to take on Vanderbilt (9-8, 2-2) on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. CT. Monday, Oats said the remainder of the team will make the trip and be active for the game.