TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Sources tell BamaCentral that former University of Alabama basketball player, and six-year assistant coach Antoine Pettway, is expected to be retained by Nate Oats.

The new head coach is already bringing Bryan Hodgson along from Buffalo, who was the Bulls’ primary recruiter, along with Mike Snowden as strength and conditioning coach.

As for the other assistant coach opening, Charlie Henry is not only a name to watch but has become a strong possibility for the position.

Earlier this week Henry was thought to be following Fred Hoiberg to Nebraska. The Windy City Bulls coach was on Hoiberg’s Iowa State staff for three seasons.

Pettway has been an extremely popular fixture in the program dating back to his days as a walk-on player, and a strong reputation in recruiting.

“I definitely think that would help," Oats said about having an assistant coach already familiar with Alabama. "I don’t want to come in here as a guy that’s never been in Alabama before and hire three guys that don’t know the state of Alabama. I mean, Alabama’s got players, athletes on a yearly basis that want to go to the University of Alabama. I don’t want to upset the state of Alabama. And not even that, it was important for me up in Buffalo to have a guy that a western New York guy.

"I think it’s going to be important for me at Alabama to have at least one guy who whether he’s actually from Alabama originally but at least knows and has connections in the state of Alabama."

While attending graduate school in 2005-06, Pettway began his coaching career by serving as an office assistant in the Alabama basketball office before accepting the full-time position as an assistant coach at Jacksonville State.

He re-joined the Crimson Tide in 2008, spent three seasons as Alabama’s director of operations (2010-13) and has been an assistant coach since.

Note: Friday update, Oats is expected to hire Henry as an assistant coach​