The odds of Labaron Philon returning to Alabama are getting longer. Philon is focused fully on the draft, and while he didn't shut the door completely on a potential return to Tuscaloosa for his sophomore season, his standing as a projected 1st Round pick points heavily toward him opting to stay in the draft.
Nate Oats agrees.
Oats spoke to the media at the Senior Bowl Charities Celebrity Golf Classic. In a video posted by Al.com to YouTube, Oats had the following to say:
“We’re getting really good feedback from the NBA. He’s gotta go to the Combine. He’s gotta test well. He’s gotta do well in the workout. What I’m hearing, I think he’s gonna get drafted. Shoot, it’ll be a great success story. He comes in, he’s not on anybody’s draft board, he plays well and he ends up getting drafted after a year with us."
"That's the plan right now."
Philon came to Alabama as a 4-star recruit but not many saw him as a potential one-and-done candidate. He was the talk of the summer around the program, however, and wasted little time carving out a starting role on a team that made it to the Elite Eight.
Philon was a Freshman All-SEC performer, averaging 10.6 points and 3.8 assists per game while starting 29 of Alabama's 37 games.
Philon heads into the NBA Draft combine in Chicago as a projected 1st Round pick. He'll have an opportunity to move up into the lottery depending on how he performs during the May 11-18 event. His return for a second season in Tuscaloosa continues to look less and less likely.
Philon turning into a one-and-done is another feather in the cap of Oats as a developer. Noah Clowney was on nobody's draft boards before becoming a 1st Round pick in 2023 after a single season in Tuscaloosa. Philon might be next.
Where does Nate Oats, Alabama turn to fill the two open roster spots?
This is the question on every Alabama fan's mind right now. How does Oats move forward without Philon and with two open roster spots available?
The short answer? No idea, really.
The staff has been quiet since Cedric Coward's commitment to Duke and Rylan Griffen visiting Tuscaloosa just to ultimately commit to Texas A&M. There are no more known targets at this time.
But there's several players who are in the Transfer Portal right now who are going through the NBA Draft process. Some of them will likely return to college instead of staying in the draft. We'll find out in a couple of weeks at the end of the combine. The deadline to return to school is May 28th.
I would expect Alabama to go hard after a big-named player who exits the draft. Someone like St. John's RJ Luis, Texas Tech's Darrion Williams, or Florida State's Jamir Watkins. There could also be a surprise or two on the horizon. There are a lot of eligibility questions up in the air right now and someone unexpected could be granted another year and immediately jump on Alabama's radar.
Clarity will come over the next month. That may feel like an eternity for Tide fans. But patience is all that is left.