Alabama basketball received a huge dose of positive news Wednesday night. The Crimson Tide’s NIL collective, Yea Alabama, announced that Labaron Philon will return to school and withdraw from the NBA Draft process.
Philon, who starred as a freshman guard for Alabama last season, had declared for the draft after the season. He had planned to stay in it, and closed the door on a possible return to Tuscaloosa in an interview with ESPN earlier in May, but evidently decided to reverse course.Still, Oats and company will surely be thrilled to have the Mobile native back. He joined the Crimson Tide as a four-star prospect before last season, and panned out well, starting 29 games for UA.
Philon averaged 10.6 points per game, good for fifth on the roster, and led the Tide in steals with 1.4 per game, while finishing second behind Mark Sears in assists with 3.8 per game, a mark good enough for eighth in the SEC.
“That’s the best thing he’s got going is he’s just ultra-competitive,” Oats said of Philon at the golf event. “But he’s got good size for a point guard, he knows how to set teammates up, he’s got a high IQ, and his skill level’s high. He needs to turn himself into a little bit better shooter, but he’s not a bad shooter, he can score at a high level, and he’s young.
