It wasn't pretty - and exhibitions typically aren't - but Alabama basketball defeated Florida State 109-105 on Thursday night in the now-annual "Ballin in Boutwell" exhibition in Birmingham. It was the first look at the 2025-26 Crimson Tide, and there was plenty to like and plenty to work on.
Exhibitions are measuring sticks, and also give coaches opportunities to try different things you wouldn't likely see if the game mattered. You have to take the result with a grain of salt, though the process is certainly important.
Alabama was without three expected contributors: Jalil Bethea, who will miss an extended period of time after undergoing foot surgery, Noah Williamson, and Latrell Wrightsell. Both Williamson and Wrightsell are expected to play in the Crimson Tide's next exhibition matchup against Furman on October 26th.
The most important observations from Alabama's 109-105 win over Florida State
Labaron Philon looks like a National Player of the Year candidate
There's just no way you can overstate how important the return of Labaron Philon is for Nate Oats and his team. After initially declaring for the draft, Philon pulled a stunning 180 in the 11th hour to return to Tuscaloosa for his sophomore season. He looks like he's taken a major leap.
This team will go as far as Philon can take them, and if Thursday night was any indication of what's to come, the sophomore guard can take this team pretty far. Philon played the game completely in control. He got to his spots, made the right reads, and scored at will. He put up 28 points on a hyper-efficient 8-of-12 from the floor. He showed off his improved three-point shot, connecting on 3-of-4 attempts from deep.
The ball was in Philon's hands down the stretch, and he took Alabama home. His start-stop ability is special, and he finished at an efficient clip around the rim.
This version of Philon is not only one of the best players in the SEC, but will be a National Player of the Year candidate and one of the very best guards in the country.
Alabama cleaned up the turnovers in the second half
It was a sloppy, sloppy start to the game for Alabama. Playing at a hyper-speed pace - against a team that also likes to play fast - led to a ton of turnovers early in the game. Alabama turned it over nine times in the first 10 minutes of the game, and finished the first half with 12 total turnovers.
That was cleaned up in the second half, however, with Alabama only turning it over three times in the final 20 minutes to finish with 15 for the game.
Playing at the pace that Oats likes will always lead to more turnovers than fans would like, but it was good to see the Crimson Tide cut it out in the second half.
Alabama's defense has to get a lot better
Giving up 105 points in the first action of the season was a disappointment, especially considering how much Oats has stressed the importance of the team improving on defense this offseason. That's the step Oats knows the team has to take in order to seriously contend for a National Championship.
The defense they displayed Thursday night against the Seminoles wasn't nearly good enough. In particular, there were too many breakdowns in transition, too many second-chance opportunities, and too many easy looks at the rim.
Alabama's rim protection is the most concerning part of the defense moving forward. The perimeter defense showed some promise, but Alabama didn't alter enough shots at the rim. This team will be much different than last year. Neither Aiden Sherrell nor Noah Williamson are the intimidating shot blocker that Cliff Omoruyi was. Alabama needs more from Taylor Bol Bowen as a helpside defender at the rim, something he was terrific at in Tallahassee last season.
Alabama has to clean up the defensive glass
One of the bigger problems for the defense was actually Alabama's inability to finish possessions with a rebound. Florida State racked up 23 offensive rebounds, 10 more than Alabama had for the game. Alabama's first shot defense was fine overall, but the Seminoles got way too many putbacks and easy looks at the rim from offensive boards.
One of the issues seemed to be Aiden Sherrell's slow second jump when he was in the game. He would do a solid job of contesting shots at the rim, but getting back off the floor to grab a rebound was an issue that's probably not fixable.
Florida State exposed what is arguably this team's biggest flaw. The Noles' athletic bigs played Alabama's true bigs completely off the floor. Sherrell played only 14 minutes, with freshman Collins Onyejiaka playing only four. Alabama had more success playing small-ball with either Bol Bowen or Keitenn Bristow at the five. Having to play small makes it more difficult to rebound when you are giving up so much size.
That could be concerning against the more athletic frontcourts that Alabama will see this year.
Two freshmen stood out
It remains to be seen if there will be true roles for Onyejiaka and London Jemison when Alabama is full strength, but Amari Allen and Davion Hannah look like they are going to play major minutes for the Crimson Tide.
Both struggled for stretches, but both showed their immense potential as well. Allen struggled with his shot and saw the reality of how much more difficult it will be to score at this level than it was for him in high school, but he played 26 minutes, the fourth most on the team. It's clear Oats trusts him already, and he's going to be a versatile, Swiss-Army-Knife for this team. There was a stretch in the second half where Allen - who is a guard - was playing the five.
Hannah is a lot more athletic than anyone thought. He got up for a dunk attempt in the first half that would have brought the house down if he could have put it down. He looks like a guy who is going to be a total dog on the defensive end of the floor, which matches what Oats recently said about him.
Both will need to grow up quickly as they will both be needed to provide minutes, particularly with Bethea out. It's obvious after one exhibition that they were terrific finds in the recruiting process.