Neither Labaron Philon nor Amari Allen had bad weeks in Chicago at the NBA Combine, but neither stood out enough to hold their spots going into the week.
Philon's athletic testing wasn't great, though that wasn't exactly surprising. He shot the ball well, however, leading further credence to his growth as a shooter, which was a big knock on him when he went through the draft process a year ago.
Allen's athletic testing was strong, including a 42.5-inch vertical leap, but he popped a major red flag with his height. The Alabama freshman was listed at 6-foot-8 with the Crimson Tide, but measured just over 6-foot-5 at the Combine. That hurt his stock, with NBA teams being intrigued by his size as a big guard/wing.
Both Alabama stars took falls in Jonathan Wasserman's updated mock draft coming out of the Combine.
The draft stock of the Alabama stars is heading in the wrong direction
Pre-Combine, Bleacher Report's Wasserman had Philon mocked at No. 10 to the Milwaukee Bucks and Allen at No. 18 to the Charlotte Hornets.
Coming out of the Combine, Philon has slipped to No. 16 to the Memphis Grizzlies, and Allen has dropped to No. 26 to the Denver Nuggets.
Philon's landing spot outside of the lottery would be ultimately disappointing after he appeared to be a near-lock, but the Grizzlies would be a nice soft landing spot for the All-American guard. Wasserman, and many others, project Memphis to use the No. 3 pick on National Player of the Year Cameron Boozer, so Philon could join him in reimagining the future of the Grizzlies.
Philon's fall is disappointing to see, but Allen's could be greatly beneficial to Nate Oats and Alabama.
Allen is still weighing whether to stay in the draft or return to Alabama for his sophomore season, where he would be given a lot more on-ball responsibilities and may even function as the Crimson Tide's primary ball handler.
A big performance in Chicago could have sent his stock soaring. Instead, he's dropped eight spots in the mock that had him the highest in the lead-up to the Combine.
Wasserman notes that scouts were disappointed with his measurements, as many expected to be the case once the numbers became public.
It'll be interesting to see what the other draft experts have to say coming out of Chicago after gathering intel. For those rooting for Allen to return to Tuscaloosa for his sophomore season, this week went about as well as it could have for those prospects.
Allen has until May 27th at 11:59 pm ET to withdraw from the draft to maintain his college eligibility. He could make that decision soon, or he could drag it out and look to participate in individual workouts with a few select teams he would be interested in joining as he seeks out the first-round promise that he covets.
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