Nate Oats has been in Tuscaloosa a few months now, but this is your chance to get to know Alabama’s new basketball coach.

Oats recently sat down with AL.com’s Lauren Sisler to talk about a number of topics from expectations to family life and adjusting to the south. The topic of Auburn’s Final Four run was right near the top and Oats sounded energized by it.

“There’s a talent level around this state, around this area, we could recruit talent to get to the Final Four here,” Oats said. “So, I think the expectations got raised, which isn’t bad. I don’t mind that.”

The 44-year old coach also got emotional talking about his wife Crystal’s battle with cancer. He recalled the moment she called him during a staff meeting to tell him of the diagnosis and how the family rallied. Crystal Oats has been cancer free for three years now.

Making the move from Buffalo took the Oats family into somewhat uncharted territory. They’ve spent their whole lives in the north with Nate Oats coaching in Michigan before upstate New York.

There was one unintended consequence to the relocation: He’s gained 20 pounds since being hired.

“The southern food is great,” Oats said, “but it’s really unhealthy.”

Before getting to basketball season, the self-professed football junkie can’t wait to see his first SEC game in Bryant-Denny Stadium.

And he’s getting accustomed to his new vocabulary and the two words that seem to punctuate every sentence in Tuscaloosa.

“It’s like ‘Amen’ in church,” Oats said. “The preacher says something great, ‘Roll Tide.’”

Michael Casagrande is an Alabama beat writer for the Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @ByCasagrande or on Facebook.