University of Alabama men’s basketball Nate Oats continued to fill his coaching staff for the upcoming season as Charlie Henry, a former Chicago Bulls assistant and most recently the head coach of the Windy City Bulls in the NBA G-League, announced via social media that he accepted a job on the Crimson Tide Staff.
Henry, 34, had originally been linked via media reports to a position at Nebraska, where he would have rejoined former Bulls head coach Fred Hoiberg.
Henry has experience working with both coaches as he got his start in the profession under Oats at Romulus (Mich.) High School in 2009. He later joined Hoiberg at Iowa State as director of player personnel in 2013 and was later promoted to an assistant in 2014-15. Henry followed Hoiberg to the NBA where he served as an assistant coach for the Chicago Bulls for two years.
“I want to sincerely thank the Chicago Bulls organization,” Henry said via his Twitter account. “(The) support and opportunities given to me in the last 4 years have made me a better coach. Teisha and I will always remember our time in Chicago fondly because of the many great friendships we made.
“To my former boss and good friend Fred Hoiberg — there is no one better equipped to bring the magic to Pinnacle Bank Arena and I look forward to seeing you guide the Huskers to their first NCAA Tournament win (and many more.) Thanks for making us feel a part of your incredible family.
“(Ten) years ago I had finished up school and reached out to a nearby high school coach that I respected to see if he would take me on as a volunteer assistant in hopes of securing a graduate assistant (job) upon completion. He delivered on that and more importantly, I gained a friend that has supported me every step of the way. The opportunity to rejoin him at the University of Alabama was too special to pass up.
Teisha & I couldn’t be more excited to be a part of the University of Alabama and the Tuscaloosa community!”
Media reports, including one by Jeff Goodman of Stadium.com, indicated that current Alabama assistant Antoine Pettway would remain on Oats’ staff next season, although Alabama has made no official announcement about the full staff.
Oats confirmed last week that Bryan Hodgsen, his top recruiter and assistant coach at Buffalo, would be joining the UA staff.
Reach Cecil Hurt at cecil@tidesports.com or 205-722-0225
