Blue collar mentality.

It's a term that traditionally embodies a hard work and dependability in everyday life. It also speaks true with sports. And, despite Alabama basketball's high-flying, fast-paced offense, it's also a mentality Nate Oats has espoused in the program since he took over it in 2019 — particularly on the defensive end.

That mentality has taken on new life in Tuscaloosa, leading to a tradition of giving out "Blue Collar Points" and the Alabama hard hat after each game. As the Crimson Tide takes on the the 2024 NCAA Tournament, it's worth asking why Alabama fans and select players wear hard hats, as well as their origins.

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Here's what you need to know on the Alabama basketball hard hat:

Why does Alabama basketball wear hard hats?

The origin of Alabama basketball's hard hat dates back to Oats' time at Buffalo. He first distributed the helmet and the so-called "blue collar points" associated with it during his second season at Buffalo in 2016-17.

"(Former Buffalo assistant coach) Lindsey (Hunter) walks in after a game and he just basically says to the team, ‘We’re not blue-collar enough,” Oats said in 2020. “I thought about it that night, and I thought, ‘He’s right, we aren’t blue-collar enough. I don’t even think our players even know what blue-collar means.’”

In a city like Buffalo, the hard hat made perfect sense and was a visual representation of the city's "blue-collar" working mentality. In homage to that, hard hats represented continuous growth on the court for Oats' program as it worked its way to the top of the Mid-American Conference.

Oats, who led Buffalo to an upset in the 2018 NCAA Tournament over No. 4 Arizona, brought that type of culture and mentality with him to Tuscaloosa when he became the Tide's coach in 2019. The hard hat followed as well, embodying a program of hard work and fight.

The hard hat, which has become a staple prop in the Alabama student section during basketball games, features the Alabama "A."

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Which players wear the hard hat?

Members of Oats' staff tally points throughout the game, which are calculated from stats that can and cannot be found in a box score. In other words: the nitty-gritty, hard-fought and hustle play stats.

Oats spoke about the hard hat tradition on March 2 with ESPN's Rece Davis and Jay Bilas during an appearance on ESPN's "College Gameday" at Coleman Coliseum:

"We’ve got blue-collar points that we tally up throughout the game — deflections, floor dives, charges, rebounds, rebound tips. All kinds of stuff,” Oats said. “Stuff that’s not necessarily measured in the box score, that’s kind of dirty, grimy, blue-collar stuff on a construction site. We try to do that.

“We’ve been top-three in the country in defense two out of the last three years. Not this year, we’re still working on getting our defense going this year. But we do emphasize playing hard, for sure.”

Here's a breakdown of the point scale:

• 1 point each: Deflections, steals, blocks, rebounds and loose balls secured

• 1.5 points: Offensive rebounds

• 2 points: Floor dives

• 4 points: Charges

Each player gets one point for each deflection, steal, block, rebound and loose ball secured they record, 1 ½ points for each offensive rebound they record, two points for diving on the floor to get the ball and four points for drawing a foul. And whoever compiles the most amount of points in a game is awarded the hard hat for that game.

Here's a look at Grant Nelson being awarded the hard hat following a 98-83 win vs. Florida on Feb. 21:

Oats and Alabama doubtless will hope to hand out plenty more as they make their way through March Madness.

This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Alabama basketball hard hat, explained: How Crimson Tide players win award