Nate Oats and Alabama have been waiting on a final decision from star freshman guard Labaron Philon. Philon chose to enter the NBA Draft last month, but had left the door slightly adjar on a potential return to Tuscaloosa for his sophomore season.
On Wednesday, Philon made his decision official. As had been widely expected, Philon will remain in the 2025 NBA Draft, he told Jeff Borzello.
Nate Oats and Alabama have been waiting on a final decision from star freshman guard Labaron Philon. Philon chose to enter the NBA Draft last month, but had left the door slightly adjar on a potential return to Tuscaloosa for his sophomore season.
On Wednesday, Philon made his decision official. As had been widely expected, Philon will remain in the 2025 NBA Draft, he told Jeff Borzello.
Alabama guard Labaron Philon says he’s staying in the NBA draft and won’t return to the Crimson Tide. He’s already told Nate Oats his final decision.
“I’m all-in on the draft,” he said.
“They weren’t surprised. They knew it already.”
Is the door closed on a return?
Philon is currently in Chicago participating in the NBA Draft Combine. His decision not to participate in the 5-on-5 portion of the Combine raised eyebrows and made it more obvious that he was comfortable with his draft position. It’s possible he has already received a 1st Round promise from a team.
Philon has been widely projected to be a late 1st Round or early 2nd Round pick in June. There’s a significant difference in guarantees between being picked in the 1st or 2nd rounds, so presumably Philon believes he is locked into the first 30 picks.
Labaron Philon’s decision did not catch Nate Oats off guard
The most illuminating part of what Philon told Borzello is that Oats and Alabama “knew it already” when it comes to his decision. He had already shared his decision with Oats before letting it be known in Chicago.
Philon has stated numerous times he was “all in” on the draft process. The guard had a terrific freshman season in Tuscaloosa and would have been a cornerstone for next year’s team. But his high-level play put him on the NBA Draft radar, and it seemed likely for most of the season that he would be a one-and-done at Alabama.
Oats spoke with the media on Wednesday morning at the Regions Tradition Pro-Am and mentioned that Alabama doesn’t necessarily need a point guard to replace the departing Philon and Mark Sears. Alabama has one true point guard on the roster in Aden Holloway, but a plethora of secondary ball-handlers who can initiate the offense.
It’s possible that the Crimson Tide will get involved with Arkansas guard Boogie Fland, who is in the Transfer Portal and withdrew from the draft on Tuesday. He will be heavily sought after and is likely to command a big price tag. Oats and lead assistant Preston Murphy have landed plenty of talented players over the years without being the highest bidder.
If Fland wants the best opportunity to showcase his talent, he’d be hard pressed to find a better spot than Tuscaloosa.
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